These Healthy 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies are so quick and easy to make. Made using only natural peanut butter and maple syrup, they’re the perfect sweet treat you can have ready in under 30 minutes.
I love simple, healthy dessert recipes with only a few ingredients. Especially for those times when cravings strike and you need a sweet treat, but don’t want to put a lot of effort into baking.
These 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies are a simple and easy cookie recipe that you can whip up in less than 30 minutes. Plus, they’re made using only natural peanut butter and maple syrup – it doesn’t get any easier than that.
And trust me, when I was testing these cookies, I was skeptical too. How could peanut butter cookies be made using only two ingredients? But, I promise, these cookies work!
They are a bit more delicate than a traditional peanut butter cookie, but not badly so. I made several different versions of them while recipe testing and settled on this version as my favorite. These cookies are lightly sweetened and loaded with peanut butter flavor.
>> Craving more peanut butter desserts? Give this No-Bake Peanut Butter Fudge recipe a try.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick & Easy- These cookies take only 5 minutes to mix up and 10 minutes to bake. The hardest part is waiting 15 minutes for the batter to chill. You can have tasty, healthy peanut butter cookies ready for snacking in just 30 minutes.
- Healthy- With only 5.5 grams of sugar per cookie, these healthy cookies won’t leave you feeling sluggish after eating them. Plus, each cookie has 5 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber. They’re the perfect snack to satisfy your sweet tooth after dinner.
- Simple Ingredients- Just natural unsweetened peanut butter (peanuts + salt) and pure maple syrup is all you need. You’ll love how simple, yet delicious these easy peanut butter cookies are.
- Gluten-Free & Vegan- Naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and refined sugar-free these cookies will fit almost anyone’s diet.
Ingredient Notes
Here are some notes on key ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- Natural Peanut Butter- The only ingredients you should see listed on the label are peanuts and salt. Opt for smooth peanut butter since chunky peanut butter could make these cookies too crumbly. Teddie Peanut Butter is my favorite brand.
- Real Maple Syrup- You want to use the real deal in this recipe. Pure maple syrup is made by boiling down sap from maple trees. Fake maple syrup, sometimes called pancake syrup, is often made using high fructose corn syrup, artificial color, and artificial flavors.
Step by Step Instructions
Here is how to make these 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies.
Step 1: Make the dough. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together 1 cup peanut butter and a ¼ cup maple syrup in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Place the cookie dough batter into the freezer to chill for 10-15 minutes.
Chilling the dough for a few minutes in the freezer makes it easier to roll into balls.
Step 2: Bake the cookies. Roll the dough into 12 balls and use a fork to flatten each cookie in a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. For the best texture and flavor, allow the cookies to cool completely before eating.
The cookies won’t look very browned, but that’s okay. You don’t want to over-bake them.
- Let the dough chill. Giving the cookie dough a few minutes to chill in the freezer makes rolling it a bit easier. All you need is about 10 to 15 minutes for it to firm up enough to be rolled into balls.
- Press with a fork. The classic criss-cross pattern on peanut butter cookies isn’t just tradition. Pressing the cookie dough balls with a fork helps to flatten and shape them just a bit. Since peanut butter cookies don’t spread much in the oven, it’s necessary to shape them before baking.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before eating. When testing this recipe, I tasted the cookies at a few different temperatures. I preferred the texture and flavor the most when they were completely cooled.
Substitutions and Additions
Here are a few ways you can customize these peanut butter maple syrup cookies to fit your diet and taste preferences.
Substitutions
- Peanut Butter- While I haven’t tested these cookies using different types of nut butter, you can try swapping the peanut butter for almond butter or sunflower seed butter. I don’t recommend using processed creamy peanut butter with hydrogenated oils and added sugars as these ingredients could change the consistency of the batter.
- Maple Syrup- I tested this recipe with both powdered sugar and brown sugar. While both were edible, I much preferred the taste and texture of the maple syrup version. I think honey or agave nectar would be the closest substitutes for maple syrup, although I haven’t tried it myself.
Additions
- Chocolate- Peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Try mixing in a few chocolate chips or dipping the baked cookies into melted chocolate.
- Jam- Make these thumbprint cookies by pressing your thumb into the middle of them and adding a bit of your favorite jam before baking.
- Egg- I also tested these cookies with just peanut butter and egg. The texture of these cookies was excellent, but the flavor was off. So, if you don’t mind using 3 ingredients to make these peanut butter cookies, try adding one egg to the batter.
Of course, eating a peanut butter cookie on its own or with a glass of milk is perfectly acceptable. However, if you find yourself with more cookies than you want to eat plain, give these ideas a try.
- Crumble over ice cream or make mini ice cream sandwiches
- Smear them with jam or jelly
- Whip up a peanut butter cookie pie crust
- Make peanut butter cookie butter
- Toss them in a milkshake
- Roll into peanut butter cookie truffles
- Make chocolate bark with peanut butter cookie chunks
Storage
Leftover peanut butter cookies should either be stored at room temperature or in the freezer. Do not refrigerate baked peanut butter cookies as this will cause them to stale quickly.
- Room Temperature- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature for 5 to 7 days. Placing a slice of sandwich bread inside the container will help them stay soft.
- Freezer- For longer storage, flash freeze leftover cookies on a baking sheet before placing them inside of a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months.
How to Thaw
You can thaw frozen peanut butter cookies either on the counter at room temperature for a couple of hours or in the microwave in 15-second intervals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chilling the cookie dough for a few minutes before baking allows the dough to firm up. This makes it easier to handle the dough when rolling it into balls.
Nope! This 2 ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe is proof that you don’t have to put eggs in peanut butter cookies. However, if you have an egg to spare, it does improve the texture a bit. But, the cookies are still delicious without any egg.
The fork marks on a peanut butter cookie are not just for show or decoration. Pressing a fork into the peanut butter cookie dough balls helps shape them before baking. Otherwise, you’d likely end up with baked cookie balls instead of cookies.
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural peanut butter creamy, salted
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the peanut butter and maple syrup in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Place the cookie dough batter into the freezer to chill for 10-15 minutes.1 cup natural peanut butter, ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- Roll the dough into 12 balls and use a fork to flatten each cookie in a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. For the best texture and flavor, allow the cookies to cool completely before eating.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days at room temperature or for up to 6 months in the freezer.