(Recipe card and blog post updated February 9, 2021)

These 5-ingredient low FODMAP peanut butter cookies might just be the best thing since sliced (low FODMAP) bread. 😉

Paula Deen’s home cooking show (specifically one episode) was where I discovered how simple and easy it could be to make truly delicious 5-star cookies without any flour or butter. At the time I had zero intention of turning these into a low FODMAP cookie recipe… but I’ve realized now that’s an added bonus!

This recipe the way my sister and I made it was a huge hit with my family and friends for many years… and still is! (We originally started making this recipe with Domino white sugar, in case you were wondering!)

I eventually decided to experiment with altering the ingredients for health reasons to support clients in my private practice. The verdict has been that my “Jennafied” version is just as tasty as its original counterpart, so I’d like to share it with you!

But first…

Table of Contents

Ingredient swaps and modifications

So what did I change about the original peanut butter cookie recipe? Just a couple things. (I’m sorry, Paula Deen!)

Natural peanut butter

In Paula Deen’s original recipe on the Food Network, she uses “mainstream” peanut butter, which I recommend you swap out for a natural alternative which contains no partially-hydrogenated oils.

Partially hydrogenated oils are actually a form of hidden trans-fat – there’s a lot to say about that, and we actually cover this topic very in-depth in my Kitchen Alchemy Nutrition Fundamentals online course!

Coconut palm sugar

Coconut palm sugar is my top favorite 1:1 swap for white sugar in baking! I also prefer t

Paula used Splenda® in her cookies. Free free to check out my two cents on Splenda® (sucralose) and IBS and why I don’t use Splenda®, if you’re curious!
Splenda® and table sugar are inter-changeable using a 1:1 ratio in baking, so I always used regular sugar to make Paula’s recipe with regular granulated sugar. Nowadays, when I have it on hand I like to use coconut palm sugar.
- According to studies conducted by the Food & Nutrition Research Institute Department of Science & Technology in the Philippine Department of Agriculture, coconut sugar is significantly lower in glycemic index and higher in micronutrients… Specifically iron, zinc, potassium and calcium) as well as inulin (beneficial fiber) and phytonutrients. (1) It’s not much different otherwise so don’t worry about it if you don’t have it at home 🙂

For low FODMAP peanut butter cookies

Thank goodness peanut butter is naturally a low FODMAP food! Woohoo!

These cookies are also already gluten-free and dairy-free/lactose-free which makes them generally well-tolerated for people with those food sensitivities.

However, when it comes to low FODMAP sweeteners…

Low FODMAP sweeteners

Coconut palm sugar is considered a low FODMAP sweetener in servings of 1 teaspoon or less, according to the MONASH University (2). In this recipe unfortunately there’s more than a teaspoon of coconut sugar per cookie, so we need to modify! 12 tablespoons = 36 teaspoons of coconut sugar in 16 cookies… that’s 2 1/4 teaspoon per cookie.
Luckily we can use a bit of brown sugar to replace some of the coconut palm sugar in baking… That’s just enough to keep these cookies low FODMAP without compromising the taste!

For diabetes-friendly peanut butter cookies

From a glycemic index standpoint, coconut sugar is slightly lower in glycemic index (rate at which it spikes blood sugar) compared to regular sugar. However, according to the glucometers of many of my clients with diabetes, coconut sugar isn’t much better for managing blood sugar if it’s consumed in large quantities! 🙁

The solution: Replace brown sugar with 1/4 cup of 100% Monk Fruit.
- Make sure to read the ingredients to verify there’s no erythritol! (You can read more on what I have to say about monk fruit and IBS here.)

For peanut allergies

You can easily substitute the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter or nut butter. I’ve done this many times to create “cashew butter sugar cookies” and they’re DIVINE. You really can’t go wrong!

All of that said, here’s my peanut butter cookie recipe… Enjoy and let me know via DM or tag me on Instagram @wholeisticliving to let me know how these turned out!