Sugar Free Cookies
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These sugar free cookies are soft, chewy, and need just 3 ingredients to make! I love how they bake in just 10 minutes.
Having a father with diabetes means I am regularly making dessert for him without sugar. He has a few favorites up his sleeve, but when he requests a diabetic-friendly cookie, I make him my famous sugar free cookies!
Now, not all sugar substitutes are equal, so I did extensive recipe testing using every popular kind on the market. In culinary school, we learned that sugar isn’t just about sweetness- it impacts texture, browning, and even how soft a cookie stays. After all that testing, the clear winner as allulose, which mimics real sugar almost perfectly, and is the sweetener I use here.
The result? Cookies that taste like they came straight from a bakery: crisp edges, soft middles, and nearly impossible to stop at just one.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- 3 Ingredients. No flour and no grains are needed, just pantry staples!
- Quick and easy. With less than two minutes of prep and ten minutes of cooking time, these could not be any easier.
- Low in carbs. Not only are these completely sugar-free, but they are also keto-friendly.
- No bitter aftertaste. Sugar substitutes are known for leaving desserts with a slightly bitter taste, but not these ones!
★★★★★ REVIEW
“These cookies are so good. I use baking soda and sugar free maple syrup for my sweetener. I bake for 10 minutes. I love having something that is gluten free and tastes delicious!!” – Susan
“These were so easy and very nostalgic!” – Renee
“No one could tell these were sugar free cookies! SO GOOD!” – Ceriuna
Key Ingredients
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
- Almond butter or peanut butter. Smooth and creamy with no added sugar (just look for one with a touch of salt).
- Sugar substitute. I like to use allulose, but you can try a brown sugar substitute or powdered sugar substitute. In testing, I found monk fruit to be too gritty (although pleasantly sweet) and stevia to be a bit bitter and artificial tasting.
- Egg. Always use room-temperature eggs. It prevents the cookies from crumbling once cooled.
Substitutions I’ve tried
- Use a liquid sweetener. Instead of a granulated sugar substitute, use half a cup of sugar free maple syrup. The cookies will be a little softer in the middle.
- Add chocolate. For sugar free chocolate chip cookies, add 1/2 cup of sugar free chocolate chips to the batter. You could also just make my favorite sugar free chocolate chip cookies.
- Make it eggless. Follow a vegan diet or don’t have eggs on hand? I’ve had success with using a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax with 3 tablespoons water).
How to make sugar free cookies
Step 1- Make the dough. Start by creaming together the almond butter, allulose, and egg until a thick and sticky dough remains. Be sure to mix everything very well, to ensure the peanut butter is completely immersed.
Step 2– Shape the cookies. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out portions of the dough and place them on a lined baking sheet.
Step 3- Assemble. Press down on the balls of dough into a thick cookie shape.
Step 4- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, or until the edges just begin to firm up.
Pro recipe tips
- Do not over-bake the cookies as they continue to firm up as they are cooling down. Once they begin to brown around the edges they are ready to be removed from the oven.
- If you’d prefer thicker cookies, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and refrigerate the dough for 40 minutes. This will also help them from over-spreading.
- Make ahead. You can make the dough up to 48 hours in advance. When ready to bake the cookies, let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
These cookies are made without added sugar and use allulose, which has little to no impact on blood sugar. That said, everyone’s tolerance to sweeteners can vary, so it’s best to check with your healthcare provider if you’re baking specifically for diabetes management (like I do for my dad).
Yes, you can. I have to make nut-free desserts for my niece who has allergies. For these cookies, I swapped out the nut butter for sunflower seed butter. Other readera have had success with tahini.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftovers can keep at room temperature, covered, for up to one week. If you’d like them to keep longer, store them in the refrigerator for up to four weeks.
To freeze: Place the cookies in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to six months.
Sugar Free Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup Almond butter * See notes
- 3/4 cup allulose * See notes
- 1 large egg room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper or a cookie sheet.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all your ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Using a cookie scoop or your hands, form small balls on the cookie sheet, spread 3-4 inches apart. Press each ball into a cookie shape and press down with a fork. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are 'just' golden brown but still soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Notes
- Almond butter sub: Peanut butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, or tahini works.
- Sugar substitute: Allulose bakes like sugar and is best. I’ve also had success with keto brown sugar or a powdered sugar substitute. I don’t really like monk fruit sweetener (it’s too gritty) or stevia (it’s too bitter).
- Leftovers: Keep at room temperature, covered, for up to one week or in the fridge for four weeks. Freeze them, too, for up to 6 months.
So, I added 2 things to the recipe, and reduced one
Added:
1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup of almond (or peanut, but I was making almond butter ones) slivers
Reduced the sugar to 7/8 of a cup because the vanilla brings tons of sweetness to the recipe.
Anyone made these with coconut sugar?
Tons of people have, they taste great with it 🙂
I’ve made these four or five times now and can’t tell you how much I love them! Excellent for my diabetic husband as well!
Thank you, Fiona!
Hi, these looked delicious and were so easy to put together. Unfortunately they fell apart while baking. Do you know why?
I used natural peanut butter, one egg, and splenda, and I baked them in aluminum trays greased generously.
Hi there! This shouldn’t have happened- They should be firm and dough-like before it is baked. Once it is baked, it will be soft but continues to firm up once cooled 🙂
Your recipe doesn’t give how many cookies per recipe. Can you give me that information please?
Made these but added a tsp of vanilla and 1/4 cup almond butter. They were delicious!! We added a few Lilis chocolate chips to the top of a few. That was good too!
These came out great! Is there a way to make them a little less sweet? Can I just use less of the monk fruit sweetener?
Yes you can!
This was delicious as cookie dough with the flour free type, and only took about 3 minutes! I cant wait to use this recipe again!
Thanks for this recipe, Yummy and healthy- amazing!
Thank you Cindy!
Is there any way to get the complete nutrition for these cookies? I’m interested in the potassium content. Thank you!
Hi! I haven’t calculated it, so you can add the ingredients into a calorie calculator (like myfitnesspal) and it will provide it for you!
I made these last week, used 4T of chia seeds and added some cacao nibs to tighten up the dough a bit. Baked them a little longer for a crispier cookie. They were a hit. Making them Again tonight and plan to add sesame seeds and some flax seed meal and less of the cacao nibs. Thanks for a great recipe that is egg and oil free
I tried making these according to the instructions (1 cup peanut butter, 3/4 cup coconut sugar/monk fruit sweetener , and 1 egg), but they were wet and not dough, like at all. I added an addition 1/4 cup of sugar + 1/4 of white wheat flour. Then they were perfect!
Never mind! Found it! Lol 🤣
Hi there. These look yummy. I looked to see how many servings your recipe makes so I can calculate my macros. Did I miss it? Thank you!
you mention several times that you use a monk fruit/stevia blend but all of your links are for the Lakanto monkfruit/Eurythritol sugar product. This product does not contain stevia. Can you please clear up the confusion?
Thanks! 🙂
This is the one I use- I hyperlink and mention stevia because in some countries, they have stevia baking blends, that work.