Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cookies
on Apr 04, 2016, Updated May 07, 2024
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Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cookies made with whole wheat flour and no butter, oil, or shortening. This whole food dessert recipes is a family favorite!
Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cookies made with whole wheat flour are one of our new favorite cookies. These cookies are made with honey, whole wheat flour, and lots of peanut butter. You won’t need any other fat/oil like butter or shortening in this recipe either because the peanut butter has you covered. I like this fact because that means I can still make cookies when I run out of butter over the weekend but we still want to make a treat on Sunday night.
This simple one dessert is going to becomes a family favorite in no time. Here’s a little tip when it comes to buying whole wheat flour. I like to buy white whole wheat flour. This means they milled the flour from soft white wheat berries. Traditional whole wheat flour is made from hard red wheat berries. Flour made from the soft white wheat berries is more tender and tastes less “wheaty”. It’s a great option for baked goods.
You can also use whole wheat pastry flour which is made from the white wheat berries and is also ground more finely than traditional wheat flour. Both are pretty easy to find and I feel like they make a big difference when it comes to making cookies and muffins or cakes with whole wheat flour.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthier Ingredients: Whole wheat flour and honey provide a nutritious twist.
- No Extra Fats: Peanut butter adds flavor and removes the need for other fats.
- Better Texture and Taste: White whole wheat or pastry flour ensures a tender, flavorful cookie.
Recipe Ingredients
- Peanut butter— natural and normal will both work, smooth or creamy
- Honey —I like to buy local, it seems less bitter than cheap store honey
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Whole wheat flour
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Honey Peanut Butter Cookies
Step #1. Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine the peanut butter and honey, mixing until smooth.
Step #2. Add the egg and vanilla, and stir until well incorporated.
Step #3. Mix in salt, baking soda, and flour until a dough forms. Roll the dough into small balls (about 1 tablespoon each) and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Gently press each ball with a fork.
Step #4. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until they turn slightly golden brown. Be careful not to overbake, as honey can burn easily. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Recipe FAQs
I like to buy white whole wheat flour. This means they milled the flour from soft white wheat berries. Traditional whole wheat flour is made from hard red wheat berries. Flour made from the soft white wheat berries is more tender and tastes less “wheaty”. It’s a great option for baked goods.
Yes! I make double batches all of the time and we’ll eat one batch and freeze the other. Make sure you properly store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.
Yes, cookies will be soft upon coming out of the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. If the edge is firm, the cookies are done. However, if you leave an indentation, they need to bake for a bit longer.
Expert Tips
- For the best flavor and texture, opt for natural peanut butter with minimal additives. It’ll give your cookies that irresistibly creamy texture without being too oily.
- If you find your dough too sticky to handle, don’t hesitate to chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. This makes it easier to roll into balls and helps the cookies maintain their shape while baking.
- While the recipe suggests white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour, feel free to experiment with other types of flour like almond or oat flour for a different twist on texture and flavor.
- Honey in the dough means these cookies can go from perfectly golden to overly browned in no time. Start checking them a couple of minutes before the timer goes off to ensure they don’t burn, especially if it’s your first time making the recipe.
More Cookie Recipes To Consider
Dessert Recipes
Brownie Cookies
Dessert Recipes
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cookies
Italian Wedding Cookies
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Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter, natural and normal will both work, smooth or creamy
- 1 cup honey, I like to buy local, it seems less bitter than cheap store honey
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer combine the peanut butter and honey and beat until totally incorporated. Stir in egg and vanilla.
- Add the salt, soda and flour and mix until it comes together to form a dough.
- Shape dough into small balls (about 1 tablespoon of dough each) and place on the prepared sheet. Use fork to lightly press each dough ball down.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies become slightly golden brown. (Note: Be careful to not over bake! Honey burns much more easily than sugar.) Remove from the oven and place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
Made these tonight, exactly by the recipe. I used Jif creamy peanut butter cause that’s what I had. They are beautiful and yummy. Thanks!
Yay! We love these, I’m so glad you do too!
I used a gluten free flour blend as our family is both gluten- and refined-sugar free. They turned out amazing!!! We missed peanut butter cookies and artificial sweeteners and stevia just didn’t cut it. Just had to chill the dough in the fridge before rolling into balls as it was quite sticky!
I’m so glad you let us know! Congrats on a well exicuted GF cookie! Which flour blend did you use???
Very good, I only baked mine for 7 mins tho. How many calories are in one of these?
I did a double batch as I had a lot of honey and was trying to find ways to use it up. Cookies are ok, but not my kind of peanut butter cookie. Maybe they’ll be different next day. Didn’t have to use as many cookie sheets as I did as they don’t spread at all. I use a meat cleaver dipped in sugar to do the pattern on them. Much simpler and faster.
Can you use almond flour in this recipe
I haven’t done any baking with almond flour so I’m not sure if it would work or not.
Made mine subing wheat flour for pressed peanut flour. Ah mazing. Dianne S.
I’ve never heard of that! Is that the same as the “peanut butter powder” that I’ve seen?! It sounds amazing!
Yum, so good! I followed the recipe exactly (using white while wheat flour), and did find that the dough was so sticky that I had to just leave them as balls instead of flattening. Seems to work okay, though, and the edges didn’t get too crispy. Probably turned out a bit more chewy than if they had been flattened. But tasted great!
Can you use just regular all purpose flour?
Yep! You might need a little more (maybe 1/4 cup) because it doesn’t absorb as much liquid as whole wheat flour does.
Hi!
Do you think these would work in bar form? Like pressing the dough into a 9×13″ pan and baking them?
Thanks so much!
You know what, I really don’t know. The edges might get a little crispy like a brownie but I’d sure try it and see. Will you let me know if it works?
Those look fabulous! I use hard white wheat flour (which is what your link is to, by the way) and grind it myself, and it does seem milder-tasting and lighter, even though it is hard wheat. I have read that you can buy soft wheat, but haven’t tried it. Thanks for sharing these healthier treat recipes, I do feel a lot better about making treats for my kids when I know everything in them is wholesome, or at least real food.