Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate is a classic combination. This recipe for a healthy (or healthier) chocolate chip peanut butter cookie yields 12 deliciously soft cookies. The main ingredients (oats, almond flour, white whole wheat flour, peanut butter, and Greek yogurt) are a double plus. They contribute to higher fiber and protein content than most normal chocolate chip cookie recipes. This recipe also uses fewer processed ingredients and is lower in sugar than most packaged cookies. Healthy but still delicious, these cookies are the best of both worlds.

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Ingredient Tips

Flours: Almond & White Whole Wheat

If you don’t have almond flour, run some blanched almonds through a food processor or high powered blender. I love almond flour as it makes baked goods more moist and rich. It does however have a higher fat content than normal flour. If for some reason you are allergic, don’t like the taste of almond flour, or do not want to use you can double the amount of white whole wheat flour as a substitute. Bob’s Red Mill is a popular brand with affordable almond flour.

White whole wheat flour is one of the most frequently used flours in my kitchen. Food52 has a great post about what white whole wheat flour is if you aren’t familiar. Essentially, white whole wheat is still a whole grain but lighter in color than regular whole wheat. It has a natural sweetness. You’ll notice the texture isn’t as fluffy as white flour but also isn’t as rough as regular whole wheat flour. In terms of health benefits it has more fiber and nutrients than white flour. If it isn’t available in a grocery near you the King Arthur brand is usually readily available online.

I have not tried it, but if you cannot find white whole wheat flour you can try using whole wheat flour in the same ratio. If you do please let me know your results in the comments.

Rolled Oats and Coconut Sugar

There are oats in here but they are not the star of the dish. They just add a little fiber, texture, and firmness. If you are using almond flour you will likely not notice them significantly.

I’ve only tested this recipe with coconut sugar since I’m partial to it. I love that it’s unrefined and has additional health benefits compared to processed white sugar, this article from Healthline is a great resource to dive into the benefits. There are even additional nutrients in coconut sugar (although not a hefty amount). Madhava coconut sugar is pure, unrefined and affordable; I’ve been using it with great results.

Are you look for an oatmeal cookie? Check out peanut butter oatmeal cookie recipe (also dairy and gluten free) which has more oats in it.

Greek Yogurt and Peanut Butter

This recipe uses 2% Greek yogurt (this is my favorite) although it can be potentially substituted for lower fat or full fat, although I have not tried it. There is no taste or tanginess from the yogurt so even if you’re not a yogurt fan, don’t leave it out! It helps make the final texture moist and soft.

Use the most natural peanut butter available with no sugar added. For this recipe I used Justin’s classic peanut butter which is made only from peanuts and palm oil.

Recipe Tips

• If the dough is too sticky, add 1/2 tbsp of white whole wheat flour until it firms up.
• When scoring the tops of the cookies with a fork, dip the fork in water if it seems to be sticking to the dough. If it’s extremely sticky you might want to consider adding more white whole wheat flour.
• These cookies will not substantially rise or spread so no need to worry about leaving significant space between them on the baking sheet.
• Feel free to use your preferred toppings. These are amazing with chocolate chips but sprinkles or plain (a healthy peanut butter cookie) would be great too.

Nutrition Facts & Storage

• If you’re counting calories these cookies are about 86 calories each according to VeryWillFit. The total amount of sugar per cookie is only 5.4g (significantly less than most packaged cookies) and protein is 3g (higher than most packaged cookies). There is also a fair amount of fiber, about 3% (0.8g) of your daily value.
• These cookies actually get softer the longer you store them. Refrigerate them if you don’t think you will eat them in a few days, otherwise store in an airtight container.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

This healthier chocolate chip and peanut butter cookie uses almond flour, white whole wheat flour, oats, peanut butter, and greek yogurt as the main ingredients. It's higher in fiber and protein and lower in sugar than the standard chocolate chip cookie.

Prep Time7 minutes mins

Cook Time13 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 cookies

Calories: 86kcal

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup almond flour substitute: if not using almond flour double white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar substitute: brown, white or cane sugar
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter no sugar added
• 1/4 cup plain 2% greek yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 3 tbsp dark chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix all dry ingredients together (oats, almond flour, white whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder, sugar). If you are not using almond flour you can double the amount of white whole wheat flour.
• Add all wet ingredients (peanut butter, yogurt, vanilla extract, egg) to the dry ingredients and mix well. The dough will be sticky but should be firm enough to pull apart from a spoon. If not, add 1/2 tbsp of whole white wheat flour until it becomes more firm. Fold in chocolate chips.
• Take a spoon or scoop and measure out twelve balls of dough. Use a fork to score the top of the cookie in a criss cross pattern to flatten the cookies to help them cook evenly. Bake for 13 minutes.
• Remove cookies from oven and let cool for 3 minutes, place on a wire rack to finish cooling.

What do you think of the ingredients? If you make these would love to hear your thoughts.