Cozy up with these delicious, lower sugar Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies for just under 100 calories each! Big on flavor and filled with natural ingredients, this recipe is the perfect way to satisfy that sweet tooth when your craving a chocolate peanut butter cup! Highly recommend storing them in the freezer for a treat on a hot summer day, too!
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Why you Need to Make these Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter
Always craving something sweet? That is pretty much the MO in the Shaw Kitchen and why I’m always thinking of ways to satisfy our sweet tooth while getting in a little bit of nutrition, too (it’s the dietitian in me!)
While I’ve got plenty of no added sugar recipes (like my Dessert Nachos or Almond Butter Fudge), I knew these needed just a tad to really seal the deal, appeasing both my Reese’s loving husband and toddler.
The verdict: a crowd pleaser for all!
What You Need to Make this Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Ingredient Tips
- Whole wheat or white whole wheat flour: To increase the nutrient density, use a w hole wheat variety of flour as opposed to all purpose flour.
- Dark chocolate: Dark cocoa powder and chocolate chips have more antioxidants, so aim for the dark! Do not substitute Dutch process cocoa here.
- Peanut butter: Choose a natural peanut butter without any added sugar. Creamy or crunchy will work depending on your texture preference!
Ingredient Swaps
- Alternative flours: If needing a gluten free option, I haven’t tried these cookies with almond flour or 1-to-1 gluten free all purpose flour, but they may work too!
- Nut and seed butters: If needing to forego peanuts, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or any nut/seed butter of choice can be used! Again, just make sure there’s no added sugar.
- Sugar swaps: I did use refined sugar while developing this recipe but using coconut sugar or date sugar should not be a problem. If considering a non-nutritive sugar, be sure to read my post on Natural Sugar Substitutes and make an informed decision for you and yours!
- Vegan: To make these cookies vegan, use your favorite dairy free chocolate chips and milk, swap out the egg for a flax egg (directions in my Gluten Free Brownie Recipe), and make sure your sugar is vegan certified (you can find out more information here).
How to Make this Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Steps 1 + 2: Preheat oven and cream the peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together.
Step 3: Mix the flour and baking soda together, then add to the creamed peanut butter and sugar mixture with the cocoa powder and salt. Mix in the milk.
Step 4: The mixture will be coarse and crumbly (DO NOT WORRY!) Because this recipe uses nut butter as the butter base, this is the case. They will still hold together! Stir in the mini chocolate chips here.
Step 5: Portion dough into 30 equal cookies and place on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray or on parchment paper. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Step 6: Remove and let cool for 10 minutes. Then, melt additional chocolate in 15 second intervals in a microwave safe bowl then drizzle over the top of finished cookies.
Let glaze cool then take a bite of your labor of love!
Recipe Notes + Expert Tips
- Saying this again about the coarse, crumbly “dough”: Do not freak out! This is totally normal. If you’re having a hard time at all getting the cookies to stick together, just heat 2 tablespoons more of nut or seed butter until melted and mix it into the dough.
- These taste the BEST straight from the freezer. Plus, they’ll last (as long as you don’t eat them all!) for up to 3+ months. You should store them regardless in the refrigerator so the chocolate on top doesn’t melt!
- Do not use a “nut powder” like peanut powder in here, you need the oil from the nut or seed butter to help hold them together.
FAQs
While this recipe was not developed this way, I think it’s certainly possible! Substitute the egg with a flax egg (recipe above) and either use almond flour, oat flour, or bake your whole wheat flour on a clean sheet pan at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 minutes before cooling and mixing up the batter as directed (for food safety reasons). You may need to add more nut butter. Then, roll into balls and store in the refrigerator if planning to consume within a few days or freezer for a few weeks!
Yes! A great way to add fiber AND healthy healthy omega-3s is with chia seeds (I do love chia, as evidenced by my Sweet Potato Chia Chocolate Breakfast Cake, Homemade Cranberry Chia Jam, and Apple Cinnamon Chia Cake!)
My recommendation here would be to fold in 1/2-2/3 cup of chia seeds to the batter after creaming the nut butter and sugar, before adding the dry ingredients! And, for extra crunch you could always sprinkle some on top of the glazed cookies .
Other Chocolate Recipes You May Enjoy
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter melted
- 1/2 cup cane sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsps milk
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer and beat together peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.
- In a smaller bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda.
- Mix the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into wet ingredients. Once combined, add in 1/4 cup of the mini chocolate chips. Note, batter will be coarse and crumbly (see notes above.) Do not worry!
- Grab a 1-ounce serving scoop and portion cookie dough into small cookies (about 30) on baking sheets lightly sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until cookie are soft and moist (almost like a spring when you touch them!).
- Remove from oven, cool for 10 minutes. Melt remaining 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips in a microwave safe dish in 15-second intervals. Drizzle over the top and let cool!
- Enjoy!
Notes
- A quick note on the dough. It will be coarse (i.e. see photo below.) This is totally normal. If you’re having a hard time at all getting the cookies to stick together, just heat 2 tablespoons more of nut or seed butter until melted and mix it into the dough.
- These taste the BEST straight from the freezer. Plus, they’ll last (as long as you don’t eat them all!) for up to 3+ months. You should store them regardless in the refrigerator so the chocolate on top doesn’t melt!
- Do not use a “nut powder” like peanut powder in here, you need the oil from the nut or seed butter to help hold them together.
- Sub almond, cashew, or sunflower seed butter for your preferred spread of choice.
- Sub gluten-free all-purpose flour blend for white whole wheat, if needed.
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