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You only need a few simple ingredients to make these soft, tender, and perfectly sweet peanut butter cookies! Naturally gluten free, we give the classic 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies recipe a simple but powerful upgrade to make this sweet treat easier and more delicious than ever.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies are the BEST. I mean, THREE INGREDIENTS?! Pantry staple ingredients at that! This recipe is so simple, but the cookies are impossibly delicious. AND it only takes 30 minutes to whip up a batch of incredible cookies, which is perfect when you’ve got a sweet tooth.
- They’re perfectly crisp around the edges, but unbelievably rich and chewy in the center. They even hold that classic peanut butter cookie criss-cross on top!
- This flourless cookie recipe is naturally gluten free and dairy free, and you could easily make it keto by using Swerve instead of sugar. If you’ve got a peanut allergy, you could make these 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies with almond butter or cashew butter, too!
Key Ingredients
Peanut Butter – Use a peanut butter that’s made from just peanuts (and maybe salt), without any extra ingredients. Those ingredients really aren’t necessary and they can throw off the texture of the cookies.
Sugar – For a healthier 3 ingredient peanut butter cookie, use coconut sugar or Swerve (granular or confectioners’).
Egg – Just one! That’s all you need to bind the peanut butter and sugar, creating a super simple cookie dough.
Chef’s Tip
- The dough can be a little tricky since there’s no flour in the recipe. If you’re having trouble rolling the dough into balls, place the bowl of dough in the fridge for half an hour or so. The chilly temp will help the peanut butter solidify a little and it’ll be much easier to work with.
- For a little crunch, try making these cookies with crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy.
- Be careful not to overbake the peanut butter cookies. Start checking them around minute 7 or so, as cook times will vary from one oven to another. For crispier cookies, let them cool on a wire baking rack instead of a plate.
Try These Incredible Desserts, Too
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
- The BEST Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Keto Peanut Butter Cups
- Perfect Paleo Brownies (Fudgy, Crackly Top, Gluten Free)
- Gluten Free Pecan Pie
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup white sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- 1 pinch salt
Equipment
- Medium bowl
- Baking sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Cookie scoop
- Fork
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set pan aside. In medium bowl, use hand mixer to mix together peanut butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract (optional), and salt until smooth and creamy.
- Use cookie scoop to portion out dough. Roll each scoop between palms to shape into small balls (see Notes if dough is hard to roll), then arrange dough balls on cookie sheet, being careful not to place them too close together. Use fork to flatten each ball and create criss-cross pattern on top of cookies.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until edges are golden and cookies are slightly firm. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet 2 minutes, then transfer to plate or cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- If the dough is too sticky or not rolling well, chill the bowl of dough in fridge for 30 minutes prior to rolling.
- Peanut butter: No-stir creamy organic peanut butter is recommended, but you can use any creamy peanut butter. Crunchy will also work.
- Make it Keto: Use our Soft Keto Peanut Butter Cookies recipe! It’s pretty similar to this one, with the addition of butter.
- Leftovers: Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container up to 7 days. If you want to freeze the cookies for later, bake them first and let them cool completely. Place them in the freezer on a plate, wire rack, or baking sheet until completely frozen, then transfer them to a sealable plastic bag or airtight container and freeze up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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