Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

Healthy peanut butter cookies are made with wholesome ingredients and are gluten free. Enjoy a guilt free, protein packed peanut butter cookie day or night.

Back when I first started this blog, in 2017 (whoa, that was a long time ago!), this healthy peanut butter cookie recipe was the very first one I created.

I took what I thought were fantastic photos, wrote my first blog post, and hit publish.

Looking back, I’m still pretty proud of of it all, but there were definitely some opportunities for growth here.

As my blog has progressed over the years, I’ve gotten better at my food photography skills, recipe creations and blog writing abilities.

So rather than providing you with a brand new cookie recipe, I wanted to go back in time. To provide this healthy peanut butter cookie recipe a little face-lift.

Not to worry, I kept the very original blog post and photos so that you can see just how far things have come since 2017. Just scroll down to the bottom for the original.

Why healthy sweet treats?

Back when I started this blog, it was centered around creating healthy (and sometimes indulgent) sweet recipes.

That’s kind of what I was known for from friends and family. The one who always brought along dessert.

As I started to get into my health and wellness journey, I wanted to create healthy desserts that no one would know were actually healthy. It was probably a good six months before I finally took the leap into blogging.

I always loved peanut butter cookies, but the amount of sugar usually sent me into a sugar coma and left me feeling less than pleasant afterwards.

That’s where these healthy peanut butter cookies come into play, and why they were the first recipe I ever wanted to create.

Wholesome ingredients in healthy peanut butter cookies

The first focus for this healthy peanut butter cookie recipe was to start with ingredients that packed a protein punch.

Surprisingly, that included beans.

Stay with me here.

Beans create a nice, chewy texture for the cookies and really bring on the protein. Peanut butter also packs that protein punch as well. Along with a bit of vanilla protein powder to round out the protein trio.

In sticking with the wholesome ingredients, pure maple syrup and raw cane sugar provide natural sweetness for the cookies.

One Blender, One Bowl

Lately I’ve been all about ease of recipe creation and fewer bowls and appliances to clean. Hello 18 month old and newborn baby!

These healthy peanut butter cookies solve that problem.

The majority of the ingredients are blended together to create a smooth consistency with the beans.

Then dump everything into a large bowl and mix in all the dry ingredients and peanut butter. This creates the perfect peanut butter cookie base.

Riding the traditional peanut butter cookie wave

No peanut butter cookie would be complete without the crisscross marks made with fork tongs.

I mean, obviously there are really great peanut butter cookies out there without those marks. But there’s something about having them on these cookies that makes them feel super nostalgic.

When I was younger and would bake with my mom, this was always how we made our PB cookies. Some day I’ll teach these same tricks to Kennedy when we bake together.

Gluten free protein cookies FTW

I have to say, these peanut butter cookies are just as I remember them.

Soft and chewy with the right amount of sweetness and bursting with peanut butter flavor. I mean, just look at that cookie texture!

Making these gluten free allows many of my friends and family to enjoy them. Plus they’re perfect for that post workout snack where you need to replenish with protein, but also want something a little sweet.

I can’t wait for you to try out this very original PB cookie recipe and tell me what you think!

P.S. Original cookie recipe and blog post are below so you can see just how much things have changed over the past four years.

Original Peanut Butter Cookie Blog Post

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I love a good peanut butter cookie. Like those giant ones you get from some cute little corner bakery cafe. Where they’re super soft in the center, but crunchy around the edges and have those perfect crisscross marks. But there are many times while eating said buttery cookie I know that it’s full of just that, butter and loads of sugar. And while the sugar coma of bliss quickly wears off, I start to feel not so great about eating that round of peanut butter deliciousness.

So out of that sugar spiral these cookies were born. They’re full of peanut butter flavor with just enough sweetness to rival that corner cafe. But they’re packed with protein from both peanut butter, and a little surprise called chickpeas!

Chickpeas essentially take the place of your creamed butter and sugar and get mixed with peanut butter and protein powder. And out come these perfectly soft, want to eat the whole batch out of the oven, peanut butter cookies. You can also make these cookies gluten free by using a gluten free protein powder. I love this Bob’s Red Mill Protein Powder.

A good friend of mine who claims she doesn’t like peanut butter {crazy person, I know!} really loved these cookies. The best part is that there is no butter or added sugar and no one is the wiser. Pure maple syrup makes them perfectly sweet and helps to give a little crisp around the edge. My mouth is actually watering right now writing this post…is yours?!

Were you able to trick your friends or family with these healthy peanut butter cookies? Let me know in the comments!