3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
4.5
(112)
In Epi’s 3-Ingredient Recipes series, we show you how to make great food with just three ingredients (plus staples like oil, salt, and pepper).
Classic peanut butter cookies, with their crisscross pattern, crispy edges, and nutty, chewy centers, are hard to beat. Along with chocolate chip cookies, they’re among our very favorite dessert recipes. But this version, with its down-to-the-studs list of ingredients, may be even better. And because this easy cookie recipe doesn’t contain any butter or flour, the resulting treats can be enjoyed by anyone who maintains a dairy-free or gluten-free diet.
The flourless cookie dough comes together in a mixing bowl with just 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup white sugar, and 1 egg. (Watch how easily they’re made here.) Have you ever seen a shorter cookie shopping list? You’ll get the best results using conventional peanut butter; natural peanut butter—the kind that separates as it sits in the jar—will turn out a crumblier cookie. A finishing sprinkle of flaky sea salt is optional, but highly recommended, since it drives home the salty-sweet flavor that makes PB cookies so incredibly irresistible.
Recipe information
Total Time
35 minutes
Yield
About 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2
Beat egg with a whisk in a medium bowl. Add peanut butter and sugar and whisk until fully incorporated and smooth. Drop mounds of dough by the tablespoonful onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2" apart. Lightly press tops of cookies with tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern. Sprinkle with salt, if using. Bake cookies, rotating trays halfway through, until golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool slightly.
Do Ahead: Cookies can be baked 3 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in April 2016. Head this way for more of our best cookie recipes →
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Reviews (112)
Back to TopAwesome recipe but can it be done using a stove top and frying pan?????¿?
The pan fried cookie guy
The wilds of San francisco
12/10/2023
These are good cookies, but I wanted a less sweet, more tender cookie with a nuanced nutty flavor. The brand of peanut butter makes a difference. The store brand has one less gram of added sugar per serving than other brands and was a better value dollarwise. I modified the recipe by reducing added sugar to a rounded 1/3 cup scoop of sugar, adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the egg and sugar mixture. I rolled the dough into balls, flattening them into a thickish disk before pressing impressions with the fork and salting the tops. Baking took 13 minutes. The result was a lighter, more tender cookie with a deep nutty taste.
Jane Paso
6/21/2023
These cookies are amazing for saving time. The peanut butter does overpower everything but otherwise, delicious.
Anonymous
FL
12/5/2022
Yummy Quck and Easy!
NatNat
ADELAIDE SOUTH AUSTRALIA
9/23/2022
This recipe works! I’ve made these cookies several times and they get devoured. I do make a few changes. I only use 1/2 cup sugar and it’s plenty. Creamy peanut butter is good but I prefer crunchy because it adds that extra crunchy texture. And yes, definitely add the flaky salt.
Darcie
Pinehurst NC
7/28/2022
For a super fast, super easy peanut butter cookie craving, yes, I’ll make these again! But I much prefer the more traditional flour and butter and brown sugar and vanilla, etc., etc., peanut butter cookie. I followed this 3-ingredient recipe and method exactly but they were just ok, albeit satisfied a craving. Also, I did large walnut sized balls of dough that I flattened with a fork. I have no idea where y’all came up with “bake 6-8 minutes”. Mine took 13 minutes. They do taste best when the bottom and edges are just slightly browned and crisp.
Aunt Susan
Houston, TX
6/16/2022
This actually is a very old recipe … published decades ago. Some of the names this recipe was published under include “Semipronius Cookies,” which actually appeared in a telephone company newsletter in the 1960s. No matter … the cookies are easy to make, and easy to give as a gift. However, they ARE very, very sweet, even if you sprinkle sea salt on top to offset the sweetness. Se
Bailey05
NY, NY
2/13/2022
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