Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Yield
13 cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Peanut butter, shredded coconut, and rolled oats form the base of these soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies. Brown sugar lends a light caramel flavour which pairs so well with the peanut butter and sea salt. They're completely flourless, in addition to being vegan and gluten-free, but no one will be the wiser. You must try these in my Obsession-Worthy Peanut Butter Cookie Ice Cream for a decadent summer treat! This recipe is from Oh She Glows Every Day (page 213).
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (5 g) ground flax*
- 3 tablespoons (45 mL) water
- 1/2 cup (53 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup (52 g) gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup (68 g) packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (reduce salt if using salted peanut butter)
- 1/4 cup (49 g) mini non-dairy chocolate chips**
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) natural smooth peanut butter***
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) pure maple syrup
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the ground flax and water to a medium bowl, and whisk until combined. Set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the coconut, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips. Stir to combine.
- To the same bowl as the flax mixture, add the peanut butter, vanilla, and maple syrup. Stir until smooth. The mixture will be very thick.
- Using a spatula (this helps to scoop up every last bit), scoop the wet mixture on top of the dry ingredients, and stir until thoroughly combined. The batter will be very dry at first, but this is normal! You'll need to put some elbow grease into stirring. I like to knead the dough with my hands to make it all come together. (You can also use electric beaters, but I prefer to get in there with my hands and knead until no dry patches remain.) If for some reason your dough is still too dry to shape into balls, add a teaspoon of water and mix again.
- Lightly wet your hands (shaking off excess water) and form about 13 balls, just smaller than golf balls. Stop and rinse off sticky hands as needed. Place each ball onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 to 3 inches apart. Gently press down on each ball to flatten into a 1-cm (just less than 1/2-inch) thick disc. If there are any leftover chocolate chips in the bottom of the bowl, scoop them up and push them into the tops of the cookies.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. The cookies tend to only spread out a little. They'll be delicate coming out of the oven, but they will firm up as they cool. The bottoms will be golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack until completely cooled. Once cooled, the cookies will remain soft and chewy. For a firmer texture, transfer the cookies to the freezer (my favourite way to enjoy them!). Store leftovers in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Tip:
* If you have a flax allergy you can swap 1 tablespoon ground flax for 1/2 tablespoon ground chia seed. The cookies will turn out a bit thicker, but it works in a pinch.
** I use Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips which are vegan.
*** Be sure to use 100% natural peanut butter in this recipe (you should only see peanuts on the ingredient label), as some testers have reported that the recipe doesn't work when using peanut butter that contains added oils or sugar. Avoid using thick or dry peanut butter as the cookies won’t spread out that much. If you prefer homemade peanut butter, you can easily make your own peanut butter if you have a heavy duty food processor. Simply process two cups of roasted peanuts for 5 to 10 minutes until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary. This will make just under 1 cup of peanut butter.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)photo credit: Ashley McLaughlin
These cookies just look amazing, I will definitely try them for the holiday period.
Thanks to the plan on https://bit.ly/34duPGK I can finally enjoy these treats again.
Loved it!
Oh boy, this. Is. Epic. ? My toddler son doesn’t like sweets but this he ate so thank you Angela! ?
This recipe is sorta like magic! Those flourless peanut butter cookies like amazing and yet I read the ingredients and there really is no flour and they are all plant based. Wow. I can’t wait to try them!
Great recipe thank you Angela! I used agave nectar instead of maple syrup and found them a little too sweet so might use less next time… definitely will be making them again :)
Your 2 previous cookbooks have been so inspiring and renewed a passion for cooking and whole healthy food. Thank you for all the gifts you bring to this world. I can’t wait to see your new book this fall.
OMG ? These cookies are out of this world!!!
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!!!
I whipped up some peanut butter in my Thermomix and had to try these… so so good!
Even my husband loves them and he doesn’t like peanut butter… go figure ??♀️
The recipe made a lot more cookies , perhaps my balls were smaller and we ate every single one ?
I made these yesterday evening. Love the coconut shreds! I had all of these ingredients in my pantry, and the recipe was super easy and quick to follow.
Holy moly these are good! I was a little worried they weren’t going to turn out because I had used Adam’s no-stir peanut butter which contains added oil. No problem at all! They are absolutely wonderful – the perfect balance of tender and chewy. I can’t wait to make them again. Thank you!
so yummy! my new favourite.
These are THE BEST!!! I’ve made them many times. They are easy to make and my husband loves them along with your trail mix cookies which we call breakfast cookies. Thank you for your great recipes.
I have an allergy or intolerance to flax seed, and I’ve hardly ever seen that recognized anywhere! Here in Canada the allergy clinics don’t even have a flax seed test, and, no one I know has even heard of a flax allergy. It often comes as a surprise to people. As I read your recipe, I was actually thinking “I wonder if I can substitute the flax seed.” And then…at the end, you acknowledged a flax seed allergy! Is this something you have heard of before, or have you known someone who could not eat flax seed? It’s seemed so unknown and felt like I was the only one until now. Tell me what you know :)
Thanks!
My son has a flax, chia(and hemp and mustard) allergy so you are not alone. It is a rare allergy but you are not alone!
These were absolutely divine!!! Thank you for the amazing recipe :)
After making this recipe so many times, I thought it was about time I thanked you for it. I make these regularly these days.
Haven’t heard from you in a long time. I hope everything is OK, and you’re back posting again soon. Hugs.
This recipe is perfect. So satisfying and delicious. I like less sugar, reduced the brown sugar to 3 tablespoons, no one complained. I didnt have enuf coconut the second time I made them and used extra oats. Super sticky forming into balls, but cooked and tasted amazing. Thanks for this recipe. I’ve loved everything I’ve made from your site and recommend it often
Hello! A friend had recommended your GF recipes awhile back. So when I started looking for DF cookie options I checked back in to see what you were offering. I was not disappointed!! The first recipe was for these Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, and I have been making them ever since! I have tried adapting the recipe, depending on the supplies on hand. Almond butter is a good option giving these cookies a slightly different texture, and I have included other seeds for a change. Originally I used an egg in place of the ground flax seed and water, and that turns out great too! I have used coconut sugar and adjust the salt as I find it tends to add a saltiness to the mix. If I have agave syrup, it replaces the maple syrup and I decrease the sugar a bit to compensate. These freeze really well and keep well on the counter. These have become our staple with a batch in the freezer for tea time or a snack on the go! Next I want to try a seed butter … thank you so much for this treasure!!
So I substituted almond butter bc that’s what I had, and WOW were they an epic failure. They were complete puddles, headed straight to the trash :( i’m wondering if anyone else has actually tried the recipe with success bc mine looked nothing like the pictures and I usually don’t have difficulty substituting almond and peanut butter.
I used tahini instead of peanut butter and they were fine.
Forgot to add that I halved the sugar and they were sweet enough.
These just might be the best cookies I ever tasted! Thanks Angela.
Pretty much followed to a T except used almond butter instead of peanut butter and used a little less brown sugar than called for… Could probably use even less and still be amazing
Love this recipe – it is the only cookie recipe I make regularly.