3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies are flourless cookies that are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free too. They’re simple to stir together and have so much peanut butter flavor. They’re easy to make and perfect warm right out of the oven. They’re crispy crumbly with soft centers.
The recipe for 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies has been around for a really long time. I’m not sure anyone knows who the original author was, but they sure are delicious.
I found out about these amazing cookies when I was given a large recipe tin from my aunt. Inside was hundreds of recipes that have been floating around the state of Montana for over 50 years.
Amongst several gems, I found a recipe card titled ‘Unbelievable Cookies’. So with a name like that I had to give them a try! They’re basically peanut butter cookies made without flour and they have so much flavor.
They turned out great of course, and we’ve been making them ever since. So I hope you will enjoy these super simple and incredibly flavorful cookies too!
Most recipes will recommend a creamy peanut butter (no stir) like Jiffy rather than natural peanut butter. But the cookies pictured here were made with natural peanut butter, they’re just a little bit more crumbly.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Peanut Butter – regular creamy peanut butter like Jiffy will give you the best texture. But I make these with natural organic peanut butter from Costco and we love them a bit crumbly, (it’s also what’s pictured here). If you can’t have peanuts, you can use another nut butter, but the texture does vary with the different kinds.
- Egg – works to bind the peanut butter together with the sugar and is essential for a good cookie texture.
- Sugar – I like to use coconut sugar as a natural option, but regular cane sugar will give you a less crumbly cookie.
- Salt – if you use natural peanut butter you’ll need to add a bit of salt since it’s unsalted. Your cookies will taste way better with a touch of salt, added or from the kind of peanut butter you use.
How to make these 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies recipe step by step
Step 1: Start by stirring together the peanut butter, coconut sugar, and egg together in a medium-sized bowl until completely combined. No need for an electric mixer with this cookie dough. A firm silicone spatula or wooden spoon works well.
You could also stir in some chocolate chips during this step if desired.
Step 2: Portion the cookie dough into dough balls as pictured with a cookie scoop or using 2 spoons onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Step 3: Flatten them with the back of a fork to make a crisscross pattern. These cookies don’t spread, they bake up the same size as the cookie dough rounds.
Step 4: Bake until golden brown, crispy on the edges, and soft in the center, about 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet until they firm up enough to transfer to a wire rack.
Ways to serve these
- Dip one side of these peanut butter cookies in melted chocolate and sprinkle the chocolate with a little flaked sea salt.
- Try these as an ice cream sandwich with my Vanilla Ice Cream or Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream.
- Add a little Healthy Fudge Frosting on top if desired for another peanut butter cup combo.
FAQ’s
2 reasons, first you need to wait for them to cool on the cookie sheet for a bit before trying to transfer them to a cooling rack. Secondly, if you make them too thin they will fall apart. If you’re looking for a less crumbly cookie, try my Monster Cookies.
This slightly flattens the peanut butter cookie dough and allows these cookies to bake more evenly. They’re also very traditional on peanut butter cookies and it’s a visual signal they’re peanut butter.
Storing leftovers
- To store – you can store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They will get drier over time, so I recommend freezing them right away.
- Make ahead – these can be made ahead and frozen for 2-4 weeks before use. They can be stored for longer but they do start to dry out in the freezer over longer periods of time.
- Reheating – you can lightly warm these in a 150ºF oven for a few minutes or place them in a microwave.
- To freeze – place any leftover cookies into an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month for the best results.
Tips & Tricks
- If you’re looking for a cookie that doesn’t crumble using natural peanut butter, try my Monster Cookies which are also flourless.
- Natural peanut butter does work here as well as other nut and seed butter. However, each one will have a slightly different texture. The best texture in these cookies is with an unsweetened creamy peanut butter like your classic Jiffy. I use the natural organic peanut butter you get from Costco.
- Also if you use cane sugar rather than coconut sugar your cookies will be less crumbly.
- I like to use natural nut butter in these cookies, but it is more crumbly and you want to add 1/4 tsp sea salt to the cookie dough or sprinkle them with flaked sea salt since natural peanut butter doesn’t have salt.
- Be sure to check out the notes in the recipe card! The original recipe calls for 1:1:1 of the 3 ingredients, but I’ve found these cookies work perfectly with 3/4 cup of sugar. The original recipe is a bit too sweet for us!
Dietary Options & Substitutions
- Paleo – try these with almond butter or cashew butter. The texture will be different and the cookies do tend to spread more, especially with almond butter.
- Vegan or Vegetarian – Try using a flax egg, the cookies will be more crumbly.
More Cookie Recipe Inspiration
I really hope you enjoy these 3 Ingredients Peanut Butter Cookies! If you do get a chance to make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup peanut butter - unsweetened, see notes, I used a natural brand
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar - The original recipe calls for 1 cup, but we find 3/4 cup to be plenty sweet
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt - use only if your peanut butter doesn’t contain salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Place all ingredients in a medium sized bowl, and mix until combined.
- Portion out the cookie dough with a cookie scoop (#40) onto parchment lined baking sheets.
- Lightly flatten each cookie dough ball with the back of a fork to create criss-cross marks on the tops of the cookies.
- Bake for about 10 minutes. The cookies are done when they start to turn golden brown, but are still soft in the middle.
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet until they are firm enough to move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Just curious unsweetened peanut butter or sweetend? Made them with sweetend peanut butter and just cut back the sugar about half or so turned out scrumptious 😉
I used unsweetened peanut butter in mine. Your cookies sure looked scrumptious from the picture! 🙂
Kari, these were heavenly! And soooo freakin easy! And the frosting was revelatory! Avocados, who knew?!? I’m drooling at the memory of them. Thanks for sharing your recipes! You rock!
Thanks so much Margaret, I love to get feedback about my recipes!
These are fantastic! I did a small tweak or two…I used half coconut sugar and half Xylatol, and added a bittersweet chocolate drop from Whole Foods to the top of each cookie. I must put them away or I will eat them all!
Your recipe has motivated me to get my blog going again! I will post my final result there (https://thegrainfreegoddess.wordpress.com/) Thanks so much!!
Um. HOW DID I MISS THIS?!?!
Um…I don’t know! I had these peanut butter cookies the last two days in a row for lunch. Obviously, not sound nutrition, but seriously delicious!
Kari, these are awesome! We LOVE the frosting! Even the kids loved it… I didn’t let them see the avacados go in! We are onto trying the lotion next.
They’ll never know once the frosting is finished – it’s so fudgey! I think you’ll love the lotion because it’s so good at cooling you down.
My recipe calls for 1 tsp vanilla also. I tried them once with stevia, didn’t care for that. I like the fudge frosting idea and the different nut butters, yum.
I’ve made peanut butter cookies like this before. AMAZING for sure! I’ve even done half sugar and half honey, which makes they spread more. I have also wanted to try them with almond butter before and never have!
My final version were these cookies: http://mutritiousnuffins.blogspot.fr/2012/07/primal-peanut-butter-cookies.html Soo delicious! And less sugar overall, which I am definitely a fan of 😉
I want to try them with different nut butters too! Hazelnut butter and chocolate chunks is next because I love the flavors of Nutella! I made a batch with only honey and I’m tinkering with that recipe to make a cookie crust out of it.