These chocolate peanut butter cookies are chewy and full of peanut butter and chocolate flavor. They taste like peanut butter brownies in cookie form. They are just 3 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, added sugar, eggs or oil. They are great for an easy dessert or snack.

a stack of peanut butter brownie cookies.

I love peanut butter cookie recipes and this recipe is easy to make, and the cookies store well. They have a chewy texture, and they stay chewy for days. They really taste like brownies in cookie form.

Ingredients

  • Medjool Dates
  • Natural Peanut butter
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Medjool Dates: This recipe uses medjool dates. Dates contain a lot of sugar and provide natural sweetness for the cookies. They also create the chewy texture for the cookies.

Natural Peanut Butter: This recipe uses unsweetened natural peanut butter. This is peanut butter that contains only peanuts and salt in the ingredients. If you need a peanut butter substitute, this recipe will also work with natural almond butter or natural sunflower seed butter.

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: I used unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder. You can also use natural cocoa powder, but I find that dutch process cocoa has a deep cocoa flavor and color.

You can find the full recipe at the end of the post.

close-up shot of a stack of cookies.

How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

  • The dates are pulsed in a food processor until a date paste forms.
  • Then the peanut butter and cocoa are added and mixed in until a crumbly dough forms.
  • The dough will look something like crushed Oreos (see photo below). However, when you pinch it together, it should stick so you can form cookie dough balls.
  • These cookies are similar to my 3 ingredient no bake peanut butter brownies.

cookie dough in the food processor.

Frosting and Decoration Ideas

These cookies are delicious plain. They do not require frosting at all. I decided to decorate the ones for these photos only to help distinguish them as chocolate peanut butter cookies because I’ve made a chocolate cookie recipe that looks very similar in appearance. If you do want to do a simple frosting or decoration, here are some ideas:

  • Drizzle with peanut butter. The easiest is a simple drizzle of peanut butter on top. You will need to keep the cookies separate though so that your peanut butter doesn’t stick to the other cookies.
  • Peanut butter icing. You can make an easy peanut butter icing with just powdered sugar, peanut butter and water. Keep in mind, this will mean adding refined sugar to your cookies. Start with about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and stir in some peanut butter until it forms a paste. Add in a little water to thin it out until it reaches your desired consistency.
  • Peanut butter coconut oil drizzle. For the cookies in the photos, I used a mixture of peanut butter and coconut oil. I melted the coconut oil and mixed it with the peanut butter. After drizzling it on the cookies, I placed them into the fridge for about 30 minutes to let the drizzle set. The coconut oil will solidify in the fridge which gives you a more solid peanut butter drizzle. I used 2 tbsp of peanut butter and 1 tbsp of coconut oil.

overhead shot of the cookies in a single layer.

More Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes

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5 from 9 votes

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

Chewy cookies that taste like chocolate peanut butter brownies in cookie form. These cookies don't need any flour, eggs, added sugar or oil.
Servings: 12 cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 packed cup (165 g) pitted Medjool dates
  • 2 tbsp (14 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup (128 g) unsweetened natural creamy peanut butter

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
  • Add dates to food processor and pulse until paste forms. You may need to stop a few times and scrape down the sides of your food processor to help it mix. If you are using older dates that are dry and no longer soft and moist, you will need to rehydrate them before using. See notes for more details.
  • Add in cocoa powder and peanut butter. Pulse until they are evenly incorporated and blended in. Your dough should look something like crushed and crumbled oreos. See post for photo for reference. When you pinch it together, it should stick.
  • Using a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop out dough. Once measured, use your hand to mash it into the cookie scoop so that the dough will stick together. Release onto prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
  • Squeeze and roll dough ball between your hands to compress it further and make a smooth round ball. Place back onto cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough balls, spacing them two inches apart when you put them back onto the cookie sheet. Press down on each dough ball so that it forms a thick round disk (about 1/3 inch thick).
  • Bake cookies for about 10 minutes. The cookies should puff up slightly and may crack a little on the surface. They will not change too much from their original shape but the tops should look dry.
  • Let cookies cool on cookie sheet before removing them. If adding frosting or icing, add it after the cookies have cooled.

Notes

  • I drizzled these with some peanut butter mixed with coconut oil. This is completely optional. I enjoyed these fine without the frosting but wanted to decorate them to distinguish them from another chocolate cookie I made that looks similar. See post for more details on the frosting options.
  • The dates need to pitted before measuring them out for the recipe.
  • If you are using a newly opened package of dates, the dates should be soft and moist. If your dates are a little dry, you can rehydrate them before using them. To do so, soak them in warm water for 10-15 minutes. Drain water, pat dry the dates and then add them to the food processor.
  • Make sure to use natural peanut butter. This is the type with only peanuts and salt in the ingredient list, no added oils. Peanut butter can be substituted with natural almond butter or natural sunflower seed butter.
  • If you don't have a food processor this may also work in a mini chopper but you may need to reduce the recipe to get the contents to fit.
  • If you want more chocolate flavor, you can add an extra 1/2-1 tbsp of cocoa powder. This will make the cookies less sweet but they will have a deeper chocolate flavor.
  • My favorite Medjool dates to use are Double Date Organic Medjool Dates.*
  • *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 108kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 9g, NET CARBS: 11
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!