Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cookies
/Gluten-Free - Egg-Free - Refined Sugar-Free - No-Bake
This recipe was birthed during the summer months when I did not want to turn on the oven, yet I wanted a cookie. Who doesn’t want a cookie from time to time? I played around with some recipes on the internet but found that they were lacking in peanut butter flavor and many were way too sweet for my taste. So I adjusted and came up with this simple recipe.
For me, there is nothing quite like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. It’s a flavor that I’ve always loved. While I enjoy a good almond or cashew butter as my go-to nut butter, I still find myself returning to my peanut butter roots when I want a tasty, comforting treat.
When making this recipe, there are a couple of brands that I recommend to keep the consistency accurate and the recipe dairy and soy-free. I have no affiliation with these brands. I’m simply sharing because I enjoy these brands and it will be helpful to use similar products in this case (peanut butter consistency varies drastically between brands).
For the peanut butter, I use the Santa Cruz Dark Roasted Creamy. This is a thicker consistency peanut butter with just one ingredient, organic roasted peanuts. If you are using another brand, which is fine, please note that you may need to adjust the amount based on whether or not it is runnier than what this recipe was tested with.
The chocolate coating uses dark chocolate chips from an allergy-friendly brand, Enjoy Life. By using these, you ensure that the recipe remains dairy-free (and soy-free) if that is a necessity for your household.
I hope that you enjoy these quick, simple, 6-ingredient PB Cookie Dough Cookies.
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cookies
Prep: 15 minutes
Makes: ~15 cookies
Ingredients
1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/8 tsp. sea salt
3 dates, halved & pitted
3/4 cup unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. unrefined coconut oil
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (dairy-free, if needed)
Sea salt flakes
Directions
Process the oats and sea salt in a food processor until a crumbly flour forms.
Add dates and process on high until they are broken into tiny pieces and the oats are now a fine flour.
Add the maple syrup and peanut butter. Pulse until a ball of dough that holds together when pinched has formed. Taste and adjust the sweetness or add more peanut butter, if needed.
Roll the dough into 1 Tbsp. sized balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and gently press down to form a cookie shape. Place these into the refrigerator while you make the chocolate.
Over low heat, melt the coconut oil and chocolate chips in a small saucepan. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
Once the chocolate mixture has melted, dip (or drizzle) the cookies halfway into the chocolate and place back on the parchment paper to cool. Top the chocolate half with a sprinkle of sea salt (don’t skip this step!).
Return the sheet of cookies back to the refrigerator for ~1 - 2 hours until the chocolate has cooled and hardened.
Pro Tips
Peanut Butter: For this recipe, I used Santa Cruz Dark Roasted Creamy Peanut Butter. This is natural, thicker peanut butter so if you are using a different brand be prepared to adjust the amount of peanut butter that you use in the recipe based on its runniness or thickness in comparison.
Get Creative: Try adding coconut shreds, peanut chunks, cacao nibs or something else to your cookie dough. Just be sure to adjust the amount of peanut butter so that it still holds together.
Storage: Once the chocolate has hardened, cookies can be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for up to one week. A portion can also be frozen for up to 3 months in a sealed container or bag.
Peanut-Free: Try using another nut or seed butter that suits your needs. I have not tested this so you may need to adjust the amount of sweetness or nut/seed butter slightly to get the taste and texture that you desire.
Grain-Free: Omit the oats and use a pulsed nut or seed instead.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
