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.
Such delicious cookies! I make them very often.
Great to hear that, Lama!
Your recipe says creamy peanut butter. Can these be made with crunchy peanut butter?
Yes but the texture will be different 🙂
The best sugar free cookies recipe I’ve ever tasted 🙂
Just made these and they came out lovely! Used 3 tablespoons powdered Stevia added the baking powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon and one additional egg yolk. New to keto lifestyle & these are a winner!
Easy, delicious, and perfect.
So happy I found this recipe. I used almond butter, 1/2 cup of sugar free syrup and an egg. Dropped by 1-1/2 TB, made 11 that baked up fluffy and soft. Good flavor and texture. Next time I will add some sugar free chocolate chips for fun. Thanks!
Delicious, the directions are accurate. I added a teaspoon of vanilla, making a double batch tonight
J.M.J.
Wow, these were really easy to make. I don’t bake very often – and this was a fun, quick, easy recipe to make to share with family or welcome the new neighbors in the neighborhood.
Great recipe . Will try at least once. Hope I like.
Haven’t tried these yet but I’m excited to find another blog that has sugar-free recipes because I’m trying to eliminate refined sugar from my diet. On these, I am wanting a sugar cookie taste – not pb cookie – do you feel cashew butter would give more of a sugar cookie taste as opposed to using peanut butter?
Sounds amazing – and so simple!
Thank you!
The are delicious! You won’t regret it and so easy to make!!
This is a terrific recipe. I used allulose as my sweetner but increased it to a cup because it is not as sweet as other replacements. Almond butter with no sugar added and egg beaters instead of an egg. They are a bit stiff but still easy to roll into balls and flatten with a fork. This is my decadent go-to dessert now that I am on my new post heart attack lifestyle. I wish I could eat them all but I limit myself to 1 a day. Thanks!
Made these today. My husband is a diabetic, so I’m always looking for sweet recipes for him. My daughter, son-in-law and my grandsons all loved them. Only have 2 left 😋
to the people asking if liquid stevia can be used instead – I used 20ml and they look like cookies and are edible but… get/make a better sweetener if you can, the stevia aftertaste is… bad
NEVER use stevia haha- it leaves a horrible aftertaste.
SO easy and delicious! I wanted a keto alternative that didn’t include almond flour… these were perfect!
These turned out great! I used Lakanto monk fruit sweetener, Santa Cruz no stir organic PB and I used the version with an egg but also added 1/2 TB chia seeds for some extra texture.
Can I give this recipe more stars?!? Here’s why: 1. I followed as closely as possible, using regular PB, granulated white sugar, and one large egg, which I had set out earlier to get room temperature. I mixed egg and sugar until smooth – with a fork (a fork!), then folded in PB until it became thick and tacky. I rolled in very small balls and pressed evenly. Then baked exactly 8 minutes @350° on parchment paper, careful to not disturb from pan until completely cooled. Sprinkled sugar after they came out… Now I’m confused as to why PB cookies ever had flour or any other unnecessary ingredients to begin with! *PERFECTO* And just beautiful! How one could muss these up simply eludes me. And they taste like peanut butter cookies should!
2. What a wonderfully delicious and simple recipe – but for it to be so versatile that many folks with differing food restrictions, health goals, and lifestyle choices.. we can all enjoy this tasty treat as needed!! And even if a second go at it is needed when substituting, it’s possible without hurting the wallet/food budget!! I would give this recipe, and you, Arman, 10 stars if I could! I cannot wait to try even more from you very soon. 🙂 P.S. Leaving pics in the reply section, if I can <3