Unless you have an allergy, there’s no way you don’t love Nutella OR peanut butter.
So you are going to absolutely love these Nutella peanut butter cookies!
While most of the cookie recipes here contain protein powder, this recipe doesn’t require any. And yet, these Nutella cookies still contain 6 grams of protein each! Not bad for a delicious cookie.
And while these may not be the “healthiest” cookies I’ve ever created, they very well may be the most delicious.
Plus, with only 3 ingredients needed, these cookies could not be easier to make.
Ingredients needed for Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
For these cookies, we only need 3 simple ingredients:
- Nutella
- Powdered Peanut Butter
- Egg
That’s right: we don’t need any brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, or butter. Simple is the name of the game here.
The Nutella is the star here, and most of the flavor of these Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies comes from the Nutella itself.
If you’re not familiar with Nutella, it’s a chocolate hazelnut spread that is basically the perfect dessert. I don’t find Nutella to taste very much like hazelnuts, but rather just a deliciously smooth chocolate spread. Since it contains all the flavor and sweetness we need, we don’t need to add any additional sweetener ot chocolate to these cookies.
The powdered peanut butter essentially acts as our flour in this recipe, plus it creates that amazing peanut butter + chocolate flavor. If you conduct a search for similar Nutella cookie recipes, you’ll likely find creamy peanut butter needed alongside a flour mixture for structure.
Thanks to powdered peanut butter, we get all of the flavors of natural peanut butter, plus the structure of flour. Win-win!
I haven’t tested substitutions for powdered peanut butter, but you can likely use almond flour or oat flour in its place. That will obviously change the flavor of these cookies, but they will likely still turn out.
Lastly, we need to use one large egg to not only hold these cookies together but also to give them a little bit more volume. When I first developed this recipe, I used unsweetened applesauce, and it actually worked pretty well.
If you can’t use eggs for any reason, you can definitely use applesauce instead, but the cookies end up a little bit more delicate.
How to make Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
Not only is the ingredients list for these Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies tiny, but so are the instructions!
In a large bowl, mix together the Nutella, powdered peanut butter, and large egg until cookie dough forms. The dough may seem a little bit sticky, but you’ll be able to work with it.
Scoop out 8 roughly equal-sized pieces and add them to a baking sheet, then roll each piece into a ball. If you find the dough to be sticky, simply wet your hands with some cold water to prevent it from sticking.
Lightly press down the tops of each cookie dough ball to form discs that look like hockey pucks. We don’t need to completely flatten the cookies, we just don’t want the cookies to puff up into domes in the center.
If you want extra chocolate flavor, you can top the cookies with chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, but I chose to leave them as-is.
Bake the Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.
While the cookies are still hot & soft, gently press the tops down with the back of a spoon or spatula. This trick not only helps the cookies firm up properly but also gives them a slight crackly effect. I’ve used this technique very often, from my Chocolate Crinkle Cookies to my Oatmeal Creme Pies.
Here’s a before and after of how the cookies look after being pressed down:
These Nutella cookies will still be delicious without pressing them down, but I find it really helps the final texture.
Once you’ve pressed the cookies down, you’ll want to let the cookies cool for 15-30 minutes to allow them to completely firm up inside.
You can enjoy these Nutella peanut butter cookies as is, or you can drizzle some additional hazelnut spread over the top or top with some sea salt (my personal favorite).
These cookies are best served fresh, but the leftovers keep very well. Store any leftover cookies in a sealed container at room temperature and they will remain soft and fresh for up to one week.
How to lower the calories of these cookies
When I first made this recipe a couple of years ago, I made much thinner cookies that had only 85 calories each.
If you prefer to go this route, here’s how to change up the recipe:
- Swap the egg for 30g of unsweetened applesauce
- Lower the amount of powdered peanut butter to 46 grams.
- Form 10 cookies and completely flatten them into thin cookies prior to baking.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
I’ll be honest with you: I very much prefer the updated recipe and find it to be a huge improvement, but if you prefer a lighter, lower-calorie option, then this definitely works! At the time, I absolutely loved these cookies, so you can’t go wrong.
More easy (and healthy) cookie recipes to explore
Cookies are my favorite dessert to make, so you’ll find plenty of incredible cookie recipes here on my site. While it’s nearly impossible for me to choose my favorites, here are some cookie recipes I highly recommend:
- Based on this recipe, you’d also love a peanut butter cookie, so you should definitely check out my No-Bake Peanut Butter Blossoms.
- Snowball Cookies may be best around Christmas, but these are a must-bake any time of the year.
- If you need something low-carb, I have a keto-friendly Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that is as good as any regular cookie recipe!
- Give these Peanut Butter & Jelly Stuffed Cookies a try, and maybe swap the jelly out for Nutella to make yourself a Nutella stuffed cookie.
- They say go big or go home, right? Well, you can’t get much bigger than these Half Pound Protein Cookies.
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies
You only need THREE ingredients to make these delicious peanut butter Nutella cookies. These cookies are soft and chewy with a slight crisp on the outside, and they're secretly healthier thanks to one simple ingredient.
Ingredients
- 150g (8 Tbsp) Nutella
- 70g (Roughly 10 Tablespoons) Powdered Peanut Butter
- 1 Large Egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, mix together the Nutella, powdered peanut butter, and egg until a cookie dough forms.
- Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop out 8 pieces of dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, then roll each piece into a ball. If you find the dough to be sticky, wet your hands with a little bit of cold water to prevent sticking.
- Lightly press down the tops of the cookie dough balls to create discs (like hockey pucks). We don't need to press the cookies completely flat, but we press the tops down lightly to prevent them from puffing up too much in the center.
- Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven. While they're still hot, use the back of a spoon or spatula to lightly press the cookies down to create a crackly top. You can skip this step if necessary, but it really helps the final texture.
- Allow the cookies to fully cool and firm up inside for about 15-30 minutes (you can leave them on the cookie sheet), then enjoy!
- These cookies are best served fresh, but will stay soft and chewy for a full week if stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
To make thin, lower-calorie Nutella cookies:
Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1 CookieAmount Per Serving Calories 145Total Fat 7gCarbohydrates 14gProtein 6g
