These Sugar Free Peanut Butter Cup Cookies are made with almond flour and milk chocolate for the perfect dessert. I like to sprinkle them with a little flaky sea salt for an added dose of flavor!
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Nothing beats the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Growing up Reese’s cups were my favorite candy. Here’s a low carb way to add something similar to a soft cookie!
What Peanut Butter Cups to Use
I like to use the peanut butter cups from ChocZero. The cups are available in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. For this recipe I like to use milk chocolate or a combination of milk chocolate and dark chocolate.
The cups have no-added-sugar, no sugar alcohols, and no artificial sweeteners. The cups are sweetened with monkfruit and have 1 net carb per serving.
Cookie Texture and Taste
These cookies are soft, warm, and gooey at the center and crisp along the edges.
How to Make Sugar Free Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter and sweetener in a mixing bowl.
- Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice. Use the mixer and blend.
- Add in half of the almond flour and beat.
- Add in the remaining almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat.
- Fold in the peanut butter cups.
- Roll the dough into balls or use a cookie scoop.
- Bake.
What Sweetener to Use
I like to use granular monkfruit sweetener Monkfruit is zero calorie, zero carb, and is made without the use of artificial sweeteners.
Why Lemon Juice and Baking Soda Are Used
When combining lemon juice and baking soda, it creates a chemical reaction that will add a puff to the cookies and make them softer and chewier as they cool. The cookies will not taste like lemon at all.
You cannot substitute baking powder for baking soda. You can omit the lemon juice, but the cookies will not be as soft and chewy.
Baking Tips
Watch these closely while they are in the oven. You want it to appear as though you have under-baked the cookies at first. The cookies should never look fully baked while they are in the oven.
Once the bottom of the cookies begin to turn dark brown and the cookie has taken shape and appears somewhat firm, remove the cookies from the oven. Almond flour bakes fast. If you leave the cookies in too long you will end up with burnt cookies.
Every oven bakes differently. I notice that items toward the back of my oven brown faster than food toward the front. Sometimes I have to rotate the positioning of sheets and pans to take this into account, otherwise, some cookies would turn out done while others were way too soft. Become familiar with how your oven bakes.
Cooling is Important
The longer the cookies cool, the firmer they will be. Patience is crucial.
How to Store
Store these tightly sealed in the fridge (up to a week) or sealed on the counter for 3 days.
Additional Toppings/Add-in Ideas
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Macadamia Nuts
- Sea Salt
- Peanut Butter
Freezer Tips
You can freeze the cookies after baking and you can also freeze the dough. Defrost the dough in the refrigerator prior to baking.
More Sugar Free Recipes
Sugar Free Cheesecake
Sugar Free Vanilla Cupcakes
Sugar Free Pound Cake
Sugar Free Cookie Dough
Sugar Free Blueberry Muffins
Healthy Lemon Blueberry Bread
Sugar Free Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup zero calorie sweetener
- 1 egg
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped ChocZero peanut butter cups This was one package for me. Use 1 1/2 cups if you want more chunks of the peanut butter cups.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream the butter and sweetener in a mixing bowl using a stand or hand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice. Use the mixer and blend on low for 30 seconds. And then blend on medium for a couple of minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl.
- Add in half of the almond flour and beat.
- Add in the remaining almond flour, salt, and baking soda. Beat.
- Fold in the peanut butter cups.
- Line a sheet pan or cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat. This will prevent the cookies from over-browning.
- Roll the dough into balls or use a cookie scoop. Flatten the top with your hands or with a spoon. (A cookie scoop is a tablespoon and will result in smaller cookies, 24 total. For larger cookies, you can make them into 2 tablespoons, 12 total.)
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. When checking in on the cookies they should look really soft, but golden at the edges when ready. They will harden up as they cool. You don’t want them to look firm in the oven. That will result in burnt cookies. Mine were ready right at 12 minutes.
- Remove the cookies and cool on the silicone baking mat and cookie sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. This is important. If you move the cookies too soon, they will crumble. Give them a chance to firm up.
- Cool on the cooling rack before serving.
Notes
- The nutrition facts noted are for the smaller cookies using 1 tablespoon of dough. If you make larger cookies using 2 tablespoons the macros are as follows: Cals:230 Fat:20G Net Carbs: 4G Protein: 6G
- The combination of lemon juice and baking soda is added for texture. These cookies taste nothing like lemon.
- You can make these dairy-free by substituting coconut oil for the butter. There will be a difference in taste.
- Watch these closely while they are in the oven. You want it to appear as though you have under-baked the cookies at first. The cookies should never look fully baked while they are in the oven.
- Once the bottom of the cookies begin to turn brown and the cookie has taken shape and appears somewhat firm, remove the cookies from the oven. Almond flour bakes fast. If you leave the cookies in too long you will end up with burnt cookies.
- Every oven bakes differently. I notice that items toward the back of my oven brown faster than food toward the front. Sometimes I have to rotate the positioning of sheets and pans (halfway through) to take this into account, otherwise, some cookies would turn out done while others were way too soft. Become familiar with how your oven bakes.
Tara
Monday 29th of May 2023
Can I use maple syrup or coconut sugar as a sweetener
staysnatched
Tuesday 30th of May 2023
Sure, if you want.
Felecia
Sunday 12th of March 2023
I was "terrified" to try this recipe given I don't bake and this asks for understanding that comes from experience.
My husband has heart disease and I must watch salt content all the time PLUS he has a sweet tooth leading him to "hide" reeeses cups from me.
I used stevia/white sugar substitute and paid close attention to the directions that before adding additional ingredients - the batter should be light and fluffy
It took 15 minutes coming and going to get the batter "fluffy" - totally worth it
My husband LOVES them, and I am very grateful to StaySnatched for this important help.
love, felecia
staysnatched
Wednesday 15th of March 2023
You're welcome!
Jocelyn Zamora
Friday 14th of May 2021
These Cookies are 🔥🔥🔥.... best low carb cookie recipe I’ve tried yet!
staysnatched
Thursday 20th of May 2021
Yay! I love to hear that.
Cheryl
Saturday 16th of January 2021
I would love to see a recipe that does actually use 100% monk fruit
staysnatched
Saturday 16th of January 2021
Thanks for sharing.
Brielle Herbst
Monday 19th of October 2020
I just made these and they are so good! The recipe is easy and doesn't call for any weird ingredients that I wouldn't normally have on hand (big choc zero fan here...) The taste is great! Not too sweet or artificial tasting (I used monk fruit). Husband and kid approved too. I made 12 cookies this time and froze the other half of the dough in the cookie tray that Brandi recommends in her Amazon store. I will definitely be making these again!
staysnatched
Tuesday 20th of October 2020
Wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed them.