* If you follow me on social media, you know that all of November I will be posting cookie recipes in a series called, 30 Days of Cookies. That's 30 recipes to develop, make, photograph, edit, and write in 30 days. For a roundup of all posts, you can visit the 30 Days of Cookies Archive page. Today is Day 5 of 30 with these Peanut Butter Almond Oat Yogurt Bites (Flourless, No Butter Cookies). Follow along on Instagram for behind the scenes cookie-making-madness and be sure to link up your own cookie recipes, using the hashtag #30daysofcookies.
I promise to lay off making nut cookies for next week's posts, but not until I post these bad boys. When I first started this kickboxing/strength training class a few months ago, part of the program was high-protein, no butter, no sugar, no happiness, no white flour, no "bad" fats (yes, it's a bit on the extreme end). To a baker like me, at first this translated to no more cookie-making. But it didn't take long until I decided to come up with a cookie that didn't break all of those rules. Now, before I get too far, let me clarify one thing. Do cookies with no flour, no butter, and only natural sweeteners mean you should go eating the whole batch? Yes. No. But one little yogurt bite every now and then is enough to cure my peanut butter cravings.
I've always baked with white flour (and still do), so it was a bit of a challenge to come up with a cookie that avoided using it. For this cookie, I used oat flour, which I've found to be pretty simple to make. (Just put oats into a food processor, and there you have it.) Because I've found that oat flour tends to make baked goods more dense, these aren't the cookies to make if you're looking for something light and fluffy. They are the cookies to make if you are craving peanut butter & want to cut back on a little guilt of eating them.
The light plain yogurt & the natural peanut butter in these cookies act as the fats, which help to bind the cookies together. After rolling the dough into balls, you roll them in a ground up almond powder to give them a little extra flavor. When they're done, you have a "cookie" that has a little different texture than most. It's dense, yet still moist, with a nutty peanut butter flavor. I like these cookies best when they've been chilled in the fridge or freezer for a little while, as the chilling allows the flavors to meld together.
Peanut Butter Almond Oat Yogurt Bites (Flourless, No Butter Cookies)
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick oats
- ½ cup all-natural peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ cup plain light yogurt light vanilla works, too
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butterscotch chips
- ¼ cup lightly salted almonds
- Optional: Additional 18-20 whole almonds for topping
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Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse quick oats (1 cup) until it is ground into a fine powder. Pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Add in all-natural peanut butter (½ cup), vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), honey (1 tablespoon), plain light yogurt (¼ cup), and salt (⅛ teaspoon) and stir by hand until incorporated.
- Add in butterscotch chips (¼ cup) and continue to mix by hand.
- In a food processor, pulse lightly salted almonds (¼ cup) into a fine powder. Pour into a small bowl (this is for rolling the cookies in).
- Scoop cookie dough and roll into 1 tablespoon sized balls. Roll each ball in ground almonds.
- Place on cookie sheet and slightly flatten the tops of each cookie.
- Bake at 350℉ for 10 minutes. Immediately after baking, lightly press an almond on top of each cookie. Allow cookies to cool on hot pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove from tray and store for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator until serving. If you do not plan to enjoy them within 3 days, place in freezer.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Nutrition
These are the only no-butter cookies I've had success with thus far, but I hope to post a few more "healthy-ish" cookie recipes throughout this series. The saying, "Butter makes everything better" is certainly true when it comes to baking, but there has to be a way to still enjoy flavorful cookies without it. And that my friends, will be my new mission.