Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)
These flourless chocolate peanut butter cookie sandwiches are super fudgy and rich and happen to be grain-free, gluten-free and dairy-free!
I’m super excited about this post! First of all – because it’s peanut butter and chocolate. That’s one of my favorite combinations and I’m guessing one of yours, too? ;)
Second of all – they’re flourless! So that means all of you can make these cookies! I love it when I can make my whole grain and gluten-free friends happy at the same time. :)
For more flourless cookies, check out The View from Great Island’s roundup of 25 flourless cookies. I can’t wait to try those peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!
These cookies are actually more like brownie bites, especially when you add the peanut butter filling and refrigerate. But to achieve the ridiculously chewy texture, you can’t over bake them. And I know you’ll want to!
I only baked these tiny cookies for 4 minutes. I tested them at 5 and 6 minutes and that just wasn’t working for me. They totally turn from soft and fudgy to cakey in a minute. All ovens are different so if you’re worried about underbaking your cookies, bake a test cookie or two and see what works for you.
These cookies are kind of weird, too. They’re peanut butter cookies, but they actually use almond butter in the dough. I tried this twice with natural peanut butter, but there was such a funky aftertaste. Not only in the dough but in the baked cookies.
So you have to make these cookies with almond butter! You’ll be able to taste the almond butter in the dough, but once they’re cooked, it’s all chocolatey goodness with absolutely no hint of almond.
If you don’t have almond butter on hand, I recommend not going out to buy some. It’s absurdly expensive, especially when you can make your own at home in only a few minutes! All you need are almonds and a food processor.
One thing that’s kind of sad about these cookies is how much sweetener I ended up adding. I started off with, “I’m just going to use a little honey!” Um. Yeah. In goes a fourth cup of coconut sugar after trying that batch.
“But that’s it! I refuse to add more sugar.” And after that batch… in went half a cup of melted chocolate (which also contributes to the fudgy texture!)
I have a little confession to make. The yield might be a little off. I assembled one peanut butter cookie sandwich. Ate one peanut butter cookie sandwich. Assembled three more. Ate another.
What I do know is that the filling makes just enough for the cookies! And that’s what’s important, right? ;)
Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches (grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 1/4 cups (300 grams) natural almond butter the kind with just almonds
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey
- 1/4 cup (40 grams) coconut sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs 50 grams each, room temp
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup (40 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) semi-sweet chocolate melted, use Enjoy Life chocolate chips for dairy-free
For the peanut butter filling:
- 1/2 cup (132 grams) natural peanut butter the kind with just peanuts and salt
- 2 tablespoons (40 grams) honey
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) melted refined coconut oil or unsalted butter (for a non-dairy-free version)
Instructions
- Add the almond butter to a large mixing bowl, and use a large wooden spoon or an electric hand mixer to give it a good stirring. This is to help redistribute the oil.1 1/4 cups (300 grams) natural almond butter
- Add the honey, sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking soda and salt.1/4 cup (80 grams) honey, 1/4 cup (40 grams) coconut sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 large eggs, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Beat in the cocoa gradually on low until fully combined.1/3 cup (40 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- Once it’s thoroughly combined, mix in the chocolate. At this point, the dough will be very wet and seem a little oily. That’s totally normal but refrigeration will take care of that.1/2 cup (90 grams) semi-sweet chocolate
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or until it’s no longer sticky and it’s easy to roll into balls.
- Meanwhile, prepare the peanut butter filling.
- In a medium bowl, mix together all the filling ingredients until well combined. Place this in the refrigerator for now.1/2 cup (132 grams) natural peanut butter, 2 tablespoons (40 grams) honey, 1 tablespoon (14 grams) melted refined coconut oil
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (162°C) and line a baking tray with a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into 3/4″ balls and place 1 1/2″ apart on the prepared baking tray.
- Bake for 4-6 minutes or just until the top of the cookies appear baked. They may or may not have puffed up. If they appear puffy, they’ll deflate a little while cooling and will then look like the cookies pictured.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on the baking tray.
- Once the cookies have completely cooled, assemble the cookie sandwiches by rolling a marble-sized ball of filling mixture and placing it in the middle of a cookie. Press down slightly and place another cookie on top.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Use refined coconut oil if you don’t want any coconut taste. If you don’t care, unrefined works just as well.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
Oh boy do those look super fudgy and delicious!
Thank you, Sylvie! :)
I’m going to come live with you so I can eat these little gems every day. I hope you’re okay with that :)
That’s okay with me but you have to bring American baking ingredients with you. ;)
These cookies are so appetizing that can only imagine how tasty they are. They contain all my favorite sweet products- peanut butter and chocolate. As far as I can judge from the photo the top crust should be crispy.
Thank you! :) And they’re not really crispy at all. Just chewy, chewy goodness. :)
Erin, do you think peanut butter would work in the cookies instead of almond butter to really up the PB factor? I keep huge jars of peanut butter on hand, but don’t always have almond butter.
It doesn’t really work taste-wise. I tried! :( (see the first paragraph after the second picture ;))
I love that you use almond butter for the cookies, sounds incredible!!
Thank you, Kristi! :)
Chocolate AND Peanut Butter? Yes please! These look amazing!
Thanks, Phi! :)
Oh, these look amazing! I would probably have to make them at nap time so I wouldn’t have to share… ;)
Hahaha. Best comment ever. :D
Don’t forget about your vegan readers! :D We don’t do eggs, but maybe they’d work with flax eggs? They look so cute and scrumptious!!
Thanks, Katie! And I know. I feel bad that these are pretty much okay for everyone except the vegans. It’s often that way with my recipes just because I use a lot of eggs. :( Sorry! I have no idea if these would work with flax eggs but if you try it, please let me know how it goes! :)
These are beauties! I love chocolate and peanut butter combinations especially when they involve chewy, fudgy looking cookies!
Thanks! :) And yes. Chewy and fudgy is the best! Cakey-ness? Pssh. Not around here! ;)
Can’t believe how fudgy these look! Peanut butter + chocolate is perfection in any form. :)
Thanks, Jessica! And yeah. Peanut butter and chocolate is never wrong. ;)
These look SO fudgy – and of course I never get tired of pb and chocolate!
I have to admit that after making these cookies 224 times, I’m a little tired of it. But that’ll pass by tomorrow, I’m sure! ;)
Oh my gosh, I love how fudgy these look!
Thank you! :)
Oh my these look awesome! They are basically that peanut butter cup brownie in cookie form! :D So excited to tries these sometime.
YES! You’re exactly right. This is what they taste like. :) I hope you get a chance to make them!
These look like super addicting little cookies!
Yup! They are indeed. ;) Thank you!
These cookies look so scrumptious. I love that you used almond butter for the filling. Oh my goodness I want one…maybe 3
Thank you! And the almond butter thing is kind of weird but it just works for some reason. :)
Wow those look amazing. I would’ve never guessed they were gluten-free with how fudgy they look.
Hehe. It’s all that sugar! ;)
These look yummy. Should not be advertised as dairy free though since it contains chocolate.
I forgot to link to the dairy-free chocolate chips that I recommend for the dairy-free folks. I’ve used them myself and love them! Thanks for pointing that out. Post is fixed! :)
Yay flourless! And I love mini brownie bites of any kind – so good!
Thanks, Katrina! :)
Chocolate and PB is the best combo ever, so I’m totally loving these cookies!
Right?! Except raspberry and white chocolate. ;)
This is right up my alley! These cookies look so delish, Erin!
Thank you! I’ll have to make them for you in May. :D
Erin,
Thanks for your wonderful website first & foremost! My girls and I love to use your recipes for healthier desserts. Anyway, we tried these cookie sandwiches & followed recipe exactly. The cookies crumbled very easily and in fact were very difficult to apply peanut butter. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Heathar
Hi, Heather! Thanks for your nice comment. :) These cookies are very easy to overbake. Could that have been it? When they come out of the oven, they should not appear fully cooked. The top should just no longer appear wet. Did you maybe do yours a little longer? Or did you perhaps have oil pooled at the top of the almond butter that you poured out before measuring what you needed? A lack of oil might explain it! I’m sorry that didn’t come out. They’re really like little brownies and shouldn’t have been crumbly at all. :(