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!
And as an aside for all of you peanut fans out there, you absolutely MUST try these Boiled Peanuts, a Southern classic!
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!
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.
I tried the cookies yesterday; really good. You mentioned the nutrition of several ingredients such as wheat germ, flax seeds, etc. Do you have the nutrition facts for this recipe and other recipes? fat grams if any, carbs, etc. Didn’t see them. Thanks,
Hello, Mary! I’m so happy to hear you liked them! No, I don’t have the nutrition info available for my recipes. There’s a site though that I like that allows you to plug all the ingredients in and their amounts and it will generate all the nutrition info for you: fitday dot com.
these are SO tender after baking I can hardly move the cookie off the rack, any suggestions to toughen it up?
Hi Lara! Depending on the elevation of where you live, you may need to bake them a little longer. Also be sure to use a good non-stick cookie sheet or make sure it’s adequately greased, that way the cookies will be able to come off easily. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before transfering them to the cooling rack. They are really soft right out of the oven, but will firm up nicely once they begin to cool.
Thanks so much for this recipe! Makes me grateful for google (searched peanut butter, coconut oil and oat bran). I just made them and they taste wonderful. My substitutions were rice malt syrup for the honey, and instead of whole wheat flour I used 1/3 cup vanilla protein powder and 2/3 cup wholemeal spelt flour. This recipe is a keeper!
That’s wonderful, Michelle! I’ve been experimenting with some other insanely healthy dessert options – more keepers to come :) I’m so happy you’ve found my site and hope you’ll be a frequent visitor!
I look forward to checking back! Happy experimenting!
Yummy! So I want to make these now while baby sleeps…without a store run….if I have no oat bran, flax or wheat germ do you think I can just replace with whole wheat flour?
Hi Michelle! Thanks for the compliment! :) The bran and germ are very light as opposed to the dense whole wheat flour. They create a lighter, more porous texture in the cookies. I wouldn’t recommend a direct substitution with flour. If you’re going to omit those ingredients, just add an extra tablespoon of flour – no more. The texture of the cookies will be greatly altered without the other ingredients, but will still taste basically the same.
These were amazingly delicious! My family loved them and I ate three straight out of the oven! Thanks for the healthier version without all the butter!
Hi Holly! Thanks so much for making these cookies and for your feedback! So happy you liked them! :)
I just made these, because it is a little cold here this weekend and I have been looking for a treat to make for my husband before we are in to bbq only weather. I am so impressed! The cookies really hold their shape, but melt in your mouth, and they have just the right amount of sweetness to feel like a treat. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe. I will definitely make these again!
Thanks, Rae! I’m so happy you made and enjoyed them! Thank you for your feedback :)
Would the cookies turn out ok if you were to use only 1/4 cup of coconut oil? Or would applesauce substituted work? Just trying to see if there are any tweaks I can do to make them closer to 100 calories each. They sound good though and I look forward to trying them!
Hi Austin! You know, I don’t know! I already consider it pretty miraculous that they hold together so well as is. Using half the amount of coconut oil would render them too dry – probably wouldn’t hold together. You could try using 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/4 cup applesauce so there’s more moisture. How that will turn out I’m not really sure. Eliminating the coconut oil altogether will remove the fantastic flavor of these cookies as well as the “melt-in-your-mouth” quality (and some of the health benefits). If you go with half oil and half applesauce, let me know how they turn out!
Just made these with what I had on hand..Loved them by the way.. I had creamy Skippy peanut butter, so I used 1/3 c. coconut oil. That was my only change. The dough was very oily, but baked up real nice and soft!! Thank you for posting a relatively healthy cookie recipe! I have a problem with white sugar so this fits!!
I’m happy you enjoyed these, Trinity! They really do have a great texture and flavor. Thanks so much for your feedback!
I can’t wait to try these! Any idea of what the calories might be per cookie?
Hi Lisa! That’s a good question! I just tallied up the calories. The entire batch of 20 cookies has about 2700 calories (not including the peanut chips, which are optional), which comes to about 135 per cookie. A whole 1/3 of the total calories are from the coconut oil, which has interestingly been shown to help burn fat and assist in weight loss. A good portion of the other calories are from crude fiber, which also assists in weight loss. And the majority of the carbs in these cookies are complex carbs which are much better for you and much slower to convert into glucose in your body. Still, while I wouldn’t promote these cookies as part of a weight loss regimen (though if I were to indulge occasionally while dieting, these would be it!), it is important to consider the source of the calories rather than just look at the caloric number itself. Not all calories are created equal :) In terms of healthy eating and healthy sweets, these cookies are packed with a ton of goodness. Let me know what you think when you’ve tried them!