Whether you are looking to eliminate gluten, curb carbs, or slash added sugars in your diet – or simply enjoy a delicious melt-in-your mouth cookie – these beauties can’t be beat. Made with only a handful of ingredients—and no flour—these peanut butter cookies are almost too good to be true. The foolproof batter comes together in mere minutes (with no mixer required), yet the taste and texture are as good as any cookie recipe requiring far more ingredients and effort.
These are a reader favorite cookie, and on occasion I have been asked if the brown sugar can also be replaced with a no-calorie sweetener. I do not recommend it. The small amount of “real” sugar makes these look, and taste, like a peanut butter cookie should. I have tested these with various no- and low -calorie sweeteners and most work. The cookies made with granulated no-calorie sucralose (like splenda or it’s generic equivalent) was my taster’s favorite, but any of the all-natural baking blends made from stevia and sugar (like Truvia Baking Blend or Domino’s Light), also work well. It can be found in most Both are found in supermarkets next to the other sweeteners.
Makes 24 cookies
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated no-calorie sweetener*
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the peanut butter, sweetener, brown sugar, baking soda, and vanilla in a medium bowl and stir until well mixed. Add the egg and stir until dough is formed.
3. Shape the dough, by level tablespoons, into 1-inch balls. Place onto an ungreased baking sheet and flatten balls with a fork, forming a crisscross pattern on top of each cookie.
4. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown on the bottom but still slightly soft in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
*To make with any of the sugar baking blends use 1/2 as much (or 6 tablespoons).
Dare to Compare: One peanut butter cookie at Subway contains 220 calories, including 26 grams of carbohydrate, 16 grams of sugar and 12 grams of fat. Pick one up at Starbuck’s and you’ll buy 400 calories, 19 grams of fat, 54 grams of carbohydrate, and 30 grams (or a full day’s worth), of added sugar.
Nutrition Information Per Serving (1 cookie): Calories 90 | Carbohydrate 8g (Sugars 4g) | Total Fat 5g (Sat Fat 1g) | Protein 4g | Fiber 1g | Cholesterol 10mg | Sodium 120mg
Food Exchanges: 1/2 Starch, 1 Fat
Carbohydrate Choices: 1/2
Weight Watcher Point Plus Comparison: 2 Smart Point Comparison: 3
