Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
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These clean eating peanut butter cookies are full of peanut buttery goodness!
The holidays are upon us. This time of year, it’s soooo easy to fall off track with our eating plans. Holiday parties, big dinners, and treats everywhere we go seem to attempt to sabotage us at every turn.
I always have a rough time around the holidays. Not necessarily because I don’t eat clean, but because I tend to eat more. There is food everywhere I go!
One of the things I love most about the holidays is the cookies. But because I’ve been eating clean for so long now, I actually do not like regular, store-bought cookies anymore. I prefer the homemade ones. Cookies that may not be best friends with my waistline, but at the very least, will give my body some better nutrition.
These cookies are a case in point. They are a little high in calories and fat, but the ingredients are clean and wholesome. So at the very least, I can feel somewhat better about indulging this season. And at least with these, I don’t have a tendency to overeat because my body isn’t getting hooked on all the refined garbage found in commercial cookies.
So enjoy these in moderation, but do enjoy them. It is the holiday season after all. If you can’t enjoy a good cookie now, when can you?
More Healthy Holiday Cookies
NOTE: This is adapted from a Paula Dean recipe that is no longer on the Food Network.
Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter (no sugar added)
- ¾ cup honey
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ½ cup peanuts (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.
- Using two teaspoons, scoop and drop the cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 F. for 12-14 minutes. You may need to experiment with the timing on these because the thicker they are, the longer they take. 12 minutes is about right if you make them no thicker than ½ inch. These cookies will bake up exactly as they are on the cookie sheet. No spreading.
- Remove from oven and cool.
Notes
Nutrition
Sure!
I get mine at Trader Joe’s. Just read ingredient lists. If it says JUST peanuts, then it’s clean. (a little salt is okay)
Sure. You might want to cut back on any added peanuts then though. Otherwise you’ll just have a mouthful of peanuts.
My pleasure!
Fantastic!
Oh, baby! These were delicious. I’ve even tried these with 3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder added to the batter. You are always my go-to when I need to satisfy a craving. Thanks 🙂
My pleasure! So happy you enjoyed them!
Do these usually turn out crunchy, soft, or in between if baked at 12 minutes (or just enough to be fully baked)? Also, I saw a recipe for peanut butter and jelly cookies, where you put an indentation in the middle of the cookie and add a small amount of jelly or jam in the middle before baking. Will this work with these, and will I need to change the bake time at all because of jelly or jam?
Sar – These are somewhere in the middle. You can play around with the baking time a bit to get more of the consistency you are going for. It’s hard to say exactly because everybody’s oven is different. I wouldn’t think you would need to change the baking time if adding jam. It should all work the same. Let me know how they turn out!
They turned out great! Thanks 🙂
Sar – Awesome!!
I used pure maple syrup instead of the honey. The cookies were soft and very delicious!
Maryse – Awesome!! Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Can you use Sucanat instead of honey?
Sidney – Sure! You might have to use a little extra though. Play it by ear.
I don’t smoke, never been a big drinker except the occasinal glass of wine, but peanut butter THATS my crutch! It is not uncommon to see me sitting on my couch watching the history channel with a spoon and the jar 🙂 of course once i discovered clean eating I switched from Skippy to all natural clean brands. I’m always leery about any recipe that uses my precious PB because if it turns out horrible thats a loss of PB! lol I compare it to a smoker who has a coworker who constantly bums cigs. I tried this because for Christmas instead of candy I got 2 costco sized jars of natural PB (my family knows me well) and these were AWESOME!!!!!!!!! they are like balls of PB goodness!!!!
Jessy – Fantastic!! I’m so glad they weren’t a waste of your PB!! LOL
These are so so good. I am so impressedd! This is a chewy cookie that tastes so good! Definitely try it everyone! Thank you.
Brianna – My pleasure! Glad you like them!
Just made these!! They’re great! My 18 month old loves them (so do my dogs that grabbed one she dropped lol)
Jessi – Haha! Great! I’m glad you all enjoyed them! 🙂
I’m going to make the peanut butter cookies today!!
Liane – Fantastic! Let me know how you like them! 🙂
They are really nice!! My daughter and her friend loved them too!!
Can I freeze them?
Also making the naan bread tonight. Can I freeze the dough? x
Liane – I would just make the naan and freeze that. Yes, you can freeze the cookies. I’m glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
OMG!! I love these cookies! I cannot stop making them. I like to double the batch and put them in the fridg. Very good cold in my opinion. I love them for breakfast.
Michele – I’m so happy you like them! 😀
My daughter and I just made these and they were a hit! I did bump the temp down to 325 for the second batch since the first were a little darker on the bottom and that did the trick. 🙂
Jessica – Fantastic! Ya, every oven is a little different, so it’s good to make those adjustments as needed. I’m so happy you both enjoyed them! 😀
These sound so delicious! Do you think almond butter would work also?
Victoria – I haven’t tried it, but it might work okay. Let me know how they turn out if you try them! 🙂
Hi! I saw the comment about freezing but, is that before or after baking? I’m looking for clean doughs that can be frozen. Also, do you know if they should be thawed before baking, or just add a few minutes to baking time straight out of the freezer?
Thanks so much!
Amy – I think because these are so high in natural fats, you could pretty much do anything you want with them. You do, however, want to be very sure that no matter how you freeze them, they are packed air-tight. Air is your enemy in the freezer. But with these you could go either way.
Do you think I could substitute the whole wheat pastry flour for spelt flour?
Sara – You can, but the cookies will be more dense and “bready”.