Mega Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
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These mega healthy peanut butter cookies are absolutely LOADED with healthy ingredients! And they taste so good you won’t even notice!
We all need more wheat germ, oat bran, flax seeds, and coconut oil in our lives. What you would call peanut butter cookies that incorporated all of these? Yes, I can well imagine some very unflattering names one could come up with based on this description. But you won’t hear any unflattering ones from me because I TASTED THEM! And let me tell you, not only are these peanut butter cookies mega healthy, they taste fantastic! Honestly, truly.
I wanted to make some extra healthy cookies for my toddler. These cookies were totally experimental and I really wasn’t sure what the end result was going to be. I was so happy when I pulled them out of the oven. And even happier when I tasted them. Instead of butter or vegetable oil, I used coconut oil. Wow! It resulted in a cookie that has an almost melt-in-your-mouth consistency and a freshness that is a.m.a.z.i.n.g.. The wheat germ and wheat bran also helps lighten up the texture, adding a little more “airiness” to the whole wheat. The flavor of the flax seeds is completely camouflaged by the other flavors but adds lots of healthy omega-3’s. These cookies are low in sugar, contain healthy oils, and are bursting with fiber. While not overly sweet, the delicious flavor of the coconut oil more than compensates.
For a ridiculously healthy treat that doesn’t compromise flavor, this cookie is a winner!
Mega Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Let’s get started!
Combine all the dry ingredients, except for the peanut butter chips, in a bowl. Set aside.
Beat the coconut oil, honey and peanut butter until combined. Then add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and beat just until combined. Do not over-beat.
Stir in the peanut butter chips.
Put the cookie dough on a nonstick cookie sheet in 1-inch rounds.
Press the cookies down with a fork in criss-cross fashion.
Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or leave in longer for a firmer cookie.
Enjoy!
Be sure to also try my Mega Healthy Honey Olive Quinoa Cake!
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Mega Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut oil , do not melt it first
- 1/3 cup honey , you can add a little more if you prefer them sweeter
- 1/2 cup natural unsweetened peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons wheat germ
- 2 tablespoons oat bran
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1/2 cup peanut butter or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream the solidified coconut oil, honey and peanut butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for another minute.In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir in the wheat germ, oat bran, and flax seeds.Gently stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture, stirring just until combined. If using, stir in the peanut butter or chocolate chips.
- Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Press down on each ball with a fork to create a criss-cross pattern.Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Amazing flavor, though! I’m hoping that they harden up as they cool.
Yes, they’ll harden as they cool but they shouldn’t have turned into a pancake, agh!
These cookies spread out into one big pancake on my cookie sheet! :(. Are you sure the dough shouldn’t be chilled first?
Oh no! Was your coconut oil solid when you used it or liquid (it needs to be the former). I’m not sure why that happened, Amanda, that’s the first time I’ve heard of that happening. No, the dough does not need to be chilled first.
Must these cookies be refrigerated because of the wheat germ and oat bran? If not, what is their shelf-life?
Hi Serena, no they don’t have to be refrigerated and their shelf life is the same as any other homemade cookie – most recommend 2-3 days outside the fridge and up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Much longer frozen.
I just made these – followed the recipe to a tee ‘except’ I used brown rice flour. The cookies came out well formed, really nice and soft, but unfortunately pretty dry on the first batch. Second batch I added a tad bit more coconut oil & peanut butter. They were a bit better, still dry. I’m guessing it’s the brown rice flour – but, I thought it was close to wheat flour in consistency. ~ Thanks for sharing, healthy ingredients!!
Hi Laurie! Well, because of the ingredients that packed in these, they’re not what I’d call “moist” cookies anyway. But absolutely yes, brown rice flour has a way of soaking up moisture like crazy. I just made a batch of cookies the other day using brown rice flour and they were much drier than they are when I make the same cookies with whole wheat flour. Gluten free baking requires other adjustments and unfortunately it isn’t always as simple as making a direct substitution of flour without altering some of the other ingredients as well.
This recipe is amazing! I tweaked it a bit for my kid and I just want to tell you that these cookies are so good! I substituted black-strap molasses for the honey, and used virgin coconut oil, Justin’s Honey-peanut butter, and did 2 TBS ground red flax and 1-1/2 TBS hemp seeds OMG OMG I have to go get wheat and oat bran for the next batch.. but you know!! Big hit over here.. Thank you for sharing!!
AweSOME!! So thrilled to hear that, Jessica, and that your kid ate these! Doesn’t that just make you want to pat yourself on the back? If you haven’t, you need to! Thanks so much for the feedback. Best, Kimberly
How would I use PB2 instead of peanut butter in this recipe?
Hi Ashley, I’ve never used PB2 so I’m afraid I can’t make any recommendations on how to use it as a substitute in this recipe.
what is the calorie per cookie
Hi Lori, the entire batch has about 2700 calories which breaks down to 135 calories per cookie (if you’re making 20 cookies). 1/3 of those calories are from the coconut oil alone, so a very healthy source of calories (in fact, coconut oil has been shown to assist in weight loss ironically).
Tried these cookies, and they melted out flat on me and don’t stick together (i.e. crumble at first touch)… love the flavour, love the ingredients… not sure what I’m doing wrong… thanks for sharing the recipe! Hope I can get it fine tuned here…
Hi Elizabeth, sorry to hear that! Of all the feedback I’ve gotten via comments and emails, about 95% report success while there have been a couple, like yourself, who report some challenges with the consistency of the dough. It might be helpful if you read through the other comments for some troubleshooting tips (e.g., consistency of the coconut oil, using the correct peanut butter and all other ingredients, baking the dough immediately vs. letting it sit out first, letting the cookies cool completely before moving them, etc). Happy baking!
I meant I want to lose some weight, LOL
I made these cookies three days ago and My husband (The cookie Monster) Said they were the best peanut butter cookies he’s ever eaten! Thank you for sharing this recipe! My husband has cancer and I know that sugar it not good for him, but want to keep indulging him with his favorite treats. I am doing my best to change the way we eat and it’s good for me too, since I need to want some weight. Now to the recipe; I used 1/2 cup of honey because my sweetheart has a sweet tooth. I used 2 tsp of vanilla becasue we love the vanilla flavor, I did not use wheat germ, but used 3 tbs of oat bran and I did use the peanut butter chips. It’s been extremely hot here and the afternoon I made the cookies I believe it was close to 100 outside, although I had my air on in side.I believe that was why my dough was very soft, not liquid but too soft to scoop. I put my bowl in the fridge and covered it with a damp napkin for about 20-30 min. After I took it out I was able to scoop it and form the balls for the dough. In my oven I baked them for 13 min. The bottoms were golden brown and just beautiful and delicious!
Hi Julie, I’m delighted to hear that you both enjoyed them! We’re all big fans, too. Thanks so much for the feedback and your hot weather troubleshooting tips!
These are fantastic. I already grind my own wheat grains for the nutritional value ( much better than store bought) and I’m always looking for healthier options for dessert. I couldn’t find my flaw seed so I just used additional freshly ground flour. My coconut oil was soft since my house was warm so I added a few handfuls of oats (to make it less mushy) and substituted chocolate chips for the peanut butter chips. Next time I’ll also add a little coconut. Great recipe, I’m putting it in the books!
Excellent, I’m happy to hear they were a hit! It’s a great recipe for customizing according to personal preferences and I like the addition of the oats. Grinding the wheat berries for freshly ground flour is fantastic! Thanks so much for your feedback, Kristi!
I just made these, but substituted almond butter for the peanut butter and they turned out great :) My 4 year old and twin one year olds like them!
Fantastic, Petra! I just made another batch of these last week as well and my little ones gobbled them right up, too :) Thanks so much for your feedback!
Delicious and my 5 year old twin boys love them too! They asked if they could hide them so no one else eats them! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s wonderful, Mellisa! So happy they were a hit, especially with your little guys! Thank YOU for making them and for taking the time to leave feedback!
I made these today and love them! I had to substitute ground sunflower seeds and almonds for the wheat germ because I couldn’t find it anywhere here in Alberta, Canada. I do wish they had a bit more peanut butter flavor- we’re peanut butter addicts here :)
Heidi, I’m thrilled to hear that!! I’m surprised to hear it’s so difficult to find wheat germ where you are, but the sunflower seeds and almonds are a great, and healthy, substitute. As to the peanut butter flavor, you can definitely experiment with adding a little more and just increase the dry ingredients accordingly. Thanks for your feedback!
I found the Wheat Germ in the Cereal aisle in my grocery store.
Perfect! Glad you were able to find it, Richard, and thanks for the tip. I just recently saw Bob’s Red Mill brand of wheat bran in the health food section as well.