Almond Butter Cookies
These soft and chewy Almond Butter Cookies can go straight from mixing bowl to oven, no dough chilling required! This is an easy peanut-free dessert that’s great for anyone with an allergy.
★★★★★
Amanda says –
“I’ve made these many times as the recipe is written and they are perfection every time.”
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
✔ Tasty Peanut-Free Cookies: This recipe is my take on the popular peanut butter cookies everyone adores, but made peanut-free for my son who has an allergy. (FYI: I’ve given all of my peanut-free ingredient suggestions below!)
✔ Pure Almond Flavor: For a delicious almond taste, you’ll use both almond butter AND ground up almonds. The ground almonds really give the cookies a flavor boost!
✔ Super Soft and Chewy: I love that this recipe uses a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar because it adds to the flavor and chewiness.
Creating This Recipe for My Family
When my son was just over a year old, we learned that he had a really severe peanut allergy. For years and years, we didn’t keep any peanuts or anything processed/potentially contaminated with peanuts in the house.
Once I finally discovered the peanut-free products that work for my family (recommendations all listed in detail below!), I made a batch of these cookies as an alternative to the peanut butter ones everyone makes around the holidays. And in the 10 years since I first posted this recipe, we’ve made these cookies countless times!
I have to say, I think I actually like these almond nut butter cookies better than peanut butter cookies! They have that classic nut butter taste — without the allergen!
My Peanut-Free Ingredient Recommendations
This is a super simple recipe for almond butter cookies that uses minimal ingredients. You’ll need a few pantry staples like flour, baking powder and baking soda, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
Plus, you’ll need two almond products to amp up that almond flavor!
Peanut-Free Almond Butter
Make sure you look for an almond butter that doesn’t need to be stirred before measuring. My FAVORITE almond butter for baking cookies is Barney Butter.
Barney Butter Almond Butters are made in a peanut-free facility, so you can bake these cookies with peace of mind knowing that they’re allergen-free.
Do you want these cookies to be extra crunchy? Feel free to substitute crunchy almond butter, or to leave a portion of the ground almonds a little coarser for that extra crunch!
Peanut-Free Whole Almonds
Yes, you have to double check the whole almonds as well to confirm that they’re not processed in a facility that also processes peanuts. My go-to almonds for this recipe are Blue Diamond Almonds.
According to their website, their snacking almonds are made in peanut-free facilities.
An Overview of Making Almond Butter Cookies
- Mix the dry ingredients: Combine the flour with the baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients: Using a stand or hand mixer, you’ll beat the butter until creamy. Then add the sugars, continuing to beat, and then add the almond butter, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet: Make sure you don’t over beat the cookie dough, just stir in until mixed well.
- Immediately scoop and bake: I like to make 2 tablespoon-sized cookies dough balls and flatten them with a fork to help them spread in the oven!
The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
Recipe FAQs
Got questions about how to make this recipe? Here are the answers to a few commonly asked questions. Feel free to leave any other questions in the comments on this post and I’ll respond with answers.
Can I use a different nut butter in these cookies?
It depends! Are you allergic to almonds, all nuts, or peanuts? Or do you just not have almond butter on hand? Feel free to substitute other nuts and nut butters, depending on your needs.
If a peanut allergy isn’t a concern, then a no-stir peanut butter and peanuts will deliver the best results.
If all nuts are a problem, I recommend trying sunflower seed butter, but I haven’t tested it myself.
Katie’s Tip: I do not recommend nut spreads, such as Nutella or other Chocolate Hazelnut Spreads in this recipe because they have a much higher sugar content and aren’t as nut concentrated, so the recipe would not turn out the same.
Why does this recipe have you make fork marks on the cookies?
The almond butter cookie dough is pretty dense thanks to the almond butter and ground almonds. The denser dough has a harder time baking through and spreading while baking.
Making the classic criss-cross pattern on the cookie flattens the dough and allows for more even baking. Plus, you get nice crispy edges where the fork pattern was made!
Katie’s Tip: You don’t have to use a fork! You can also use a glass with an interesting pattern on the bottom or a Cookie Stamp.
Freezing Instructions
I have a full tutorial on How to Freeze Cookie Dough, so check that out if you want to freeze the dough to bake off later.
Or, freeze the cookies after they’ve been baked and cooled to room temperature.
- Cool the cookies COMPLETELY! This is super important.
- Transfer the cookies to a freezer storage bag with a zip top (keep them in a single layer, if possible). Label with contents and date.
- Remove as much air as you can without crushing the cookies. I like to zip the bag almost all the way, insert a straw, and suck out the extra air.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- To thaw, we like to pop the cookies in the microwave for 15-20 seconds on a napkin.
★★★★★
Teresa says –
“I have used natural almond butter and it turns out great! My kids love these cookies!”
More Almond Desserts to Make
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Almond Butter Cookies Recipe
These Almond Butter Cookies are the tastiest I've tried and make a great addition to your regular cooking baking.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup almond butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup almonds, ground to resemble coarse breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF, then line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Beat butter until creamy. Then, add sugars beating until fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. (Scraps the bowl as necessary.)
- Beat in almond butter until incorporated.
- Beat in vanilla and then eggs, one at a time.
- Gently stir in the dry ingredients (I switched to the paddle on my Kitchen Aid mixer).
- Add ground almonds and stir until just incorporated.
- Roll cookies into 2 tablespoon-sized balls. Place on baking sheets and press each ball twice with a fork to make a crisscross design.
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. The edges should be slightly browned and the cookies puffed.
- Cool on sheets for 4 minutes before transferring to a cookie cooling rack.
Notes
adapted from Cook's Illustrated
If peanut allergy is a concern: Look for an almond butter labeled "Peanut Free," i.e. Barney Butter. For the ground almonds, I recommend Blue Diamond Brand as a peanut-free option.
Freezing instructions: Make sure you check out my How to Freeze Cookie Dough tutorial for instructions on freezing these tasty cookies. Instructions for freezing the baked cookies can be found in the post above.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 191Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 120mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gProtein: 4g
Nancy Kuhfuss says
I’m making these for blossom cookies with the Hershey kisses for my grandson. Should I make a thumbprint or leave it in the ball and push down with the kiss after baking. Also, should I make one inch balls like I do for the blossom cookies.
Katie says
Thank you for your patience while you waited for my reply. My daughter has been ill in the hospital the last couple days. I would make them one inch size and skip pressing with the fork tines and instead lightly press the hershey kiss into the center of the cookie after baking.
Karen says
Am I blind? I don’t see the measurement for flour in the ingredients!!
Katie says
It is showing just fine for me at the bottom of the post in the printable recipe card: 2 1/2 c flour
Sharon says
What can I use to sub for flour? I am gf. Also, can I use Almond meal for the ground up almonds or would that be that be too fine? Thanks.
Katie says
I have not tried substituting almond meal for the ground up almonds. I think it would be too fine because the ground almonds give a slight texture to the cookie. I haven’t tried this particular cookie gluten-free yet, but what I typically do when I’m experimenting with making a traditional baked good gluten-free is to use a mix of half of each of multi-purpose cup for cup gluten-free flour and almond flour. So, for this recipe 1 1/4 cups of each type of flour. That has worked well for me with a lot of recipes in the past.
Paula P says
I made this recipe with pecan butter and pecans. People loved them.
Raved about them.
Thanks!
Katie says
So glad to hear!
Teresa says
I have used natural almond butter and it turns out great! My kids love these cookies!
yvonne says
So I have natural almond butter that does need to be stirred. Why can’t I use that?
Katie says
Natural almond butter is usually thinner consistency and I haven’t tested this recipe using it, but feel free to experiment with it if you would like.
Teresa says
@Katie, works out great!
Camille Ramsey says
Also, do you need to add the ground almonds or can this be made without them given it does not alter the flavor?
Katie says
I have not experimented with making this recipe without the ground almonds. If you try it, let me know how it turns out for you.
Melissa says
@Katie, I didn’t use the ground almonds and it turns out perfect.
Katie says
thanks for sharing!
Camille Ramsey says
Just came across this recipe as i was looking for an alternative to peanut butter cookies. This may be a dumb question but has anyone used this recipe for thumbprint cookies with the hersheys chocolate kisses? I wanted to make them for the holiday and like a lot of other folks hooked on this recipe, my daughter has a peanut allergy as well.
Katie says
Yes, we have used this recipe to make the thumbprint cookies and it works great!
Deanna McCormick says
Delicious, I used half wholewheat flour and replaced half the white sugar with
Splenda. I will make them again and try the maple syrup substitute. Thank you
Michael says
Wonderful recipe. I made a batch exactly as the recipe calls and they were superb. On the next batch, I wanted to cut the sugar just a bit so I cut the brown sugar to 3/4 cup replaced the 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1/2 cup of real maple syrup. Wow did that work! Maple and almond butter work great together
Katie says
So glad you liked them and your adaptation with the maple sounds amazing, I’ll have to give that a try!
Sylvia Bivens says
Wow! That sound delicious! I’m going to try that the next time.
Linda says
I have powdered almond butter. When using almond butter in cookie recipe and it calls for one cup, how much powdered would I use in its place? Thanks for the help. Linda
Katie says
Hi Linda,
I haven’t tried using powdered almond butter in place of creamy yet. If the container has substitution equivalents for how to make 1 cup of almond butter using the powder (I’m assuming you’d have to add liquid?), then I would try that if you wanted to test it out. Otherwise, I would just wait until you can purchase some creamy almond butter that is not powdered. Let me know if you end up experimenting and what you find.
Sharon says
If I don’t have almonds to grind up, is it likely to affect the cookie (other than that they won’t be crunchy)?
Katie says
I have not tried it without the ground almonds. If you do, I would love to hear what you think of them.
Pearl says
I’ve put a bookmark on this recipe! Ive made them a few times, and they are gone in just a couple of days! My husband and sons really like them. They are so good. Thank you
Katie says
So glad to hear this! This is one of my favorites, but I haven’t made it in a while. Thanks for the reminder!
Candace Owens says
Curious if you think greek yogurt in place of the egg would work? I use it in most of my baking recipes since our youngest is allergic to eggs as well as the peanuts. I may have to play around with it. Also thinking I may need to use half pecan butter (we make our own from local pecans and I have 15 pounds of pecans in my freezer) and half almond butter.
Katie Goodman says
I think using part almond and part pecan would be great. I haven’t tried this with greek yogurt in place of egg, but I’d love to hear how that works if you test it out. Maybe try making a partial batch first so that you don’t waste a lot of ingredients experimenting with the egg swap. Good luck!
Lolo says
Made these cookies and i’ve to say, they r the best cookies i’ve made and tasted. They are not sickly sweet but just right. Defo try these ones.
Jen H says
I can’t wait to make these! We have been ‘peanut free’ because of an allergy for a few years now but LOVE Barney Butter!!