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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies are the ultimate peanut buttery treat! Naturally gluten free with only 6 ingredients and no flour or butter. This easy one bowl cookie recipe will be your new favorite. Make sure to double it and try the variations!
- Only 6 ingredients. And you probably have all of them in the cupboard! All you need is peanut butter and a few pantry staples.
- Naturally gluten-free. A lot of flourless peanut butter cookie recipes call for oats but this recipe doesn’t.
- Lots of peanut butter flavor. Peanut butter is the true star of this recipe, especially since we’re using natural peanut butter which offers even more nutty flavor.
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Oven
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free
- Skill Level: Easy
Looking for more cookie recipes? Try my classic gluten free peanut butter cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, and sugar cookies too.
Just six basic ingredients, one bowl, and a few other items you already have in your kitchen – that and about 20 minutes are all you need to have a chewy batch of peanut butter cookies ready and waiting for you! Scroll down to the recipe card below for measurements.
- Granulated sugar: A cookie isn’t a cookie without sugar to sweeten it up!
- Brown sugar: The molasses in the brown sugar adds a slightly smoky caramelized flavor that actually makes the peanut butter stand out and taste even better. It also provides the acid to activate the baking soda.
- Baking soda: Baking soda gives these cookies the crisp but chewy texture. They get a little bit of puff, but not so much that they are cakey.
- Peanut butter: This is the star of the show, which is why I recommend natural peanut butter. In most commercial brands of peanut butter, sugar and other oils are added which makes them creamy and smooth without needing to be stirred, but takes away from all that peanut butteriness.
- Egg: An egg helps bind the ingredients and provides a bit more leavening.
- Vanilla: Not always included in peanut butter cookies, but vanilla is always a delicious flavor enhancer in sweet recipes.
Here is a brief overview so you can see just how easy they are to make. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the full quantities and details. But don’t skip my PRO TIPS below!
- Make the dough. Combine the sugars and baking soda then beat in the peanut butter until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla.
- Bake. Form 1 tablespoon balls of dough, flatten to 1/2 thick with your palm, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Cool. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
A few quick tips will make sure that these flourless peanut butter cookies are total perfection:
- NordicWare Baking Sheets are my favorites for cookie baking and much more. From roasting veggies to sheet pan meals, cookies to cake rolls, we use them almost daily. They are light, and the aluminum distributes the heat evenly.
- I recommend natural peanut butter to get the most pure peanut taste. But without the stabilizing oils in the usual jars of Skippy or Jif, the dough can be a bit more crumbly and the cookies do tend to be just a bit more fragile than the “usual” peanut butter cookies.
- Use parchment paper. While these are not especially sticky cookies, they are tender before they are cooled completely. But you also don’t want to leave them on a hot pan to cool completely or they could dry out. Using parchment ensures that you can safely take them off the pans without your cookies crumbling.
- Work the dough. Flourless peanut butter cookie dough can be a bit crumbly at first, and even when fully mixed does look a bit grainy. This is especially true when using natural peanut butter. Be sure to blend it with the sugar to let the oils and the sugar crystals cream together before mixing in the egg and vanilla.
- If the dough is a bit crumbly use your hands to form it into tight balls. Then flatten those balls into disks. The dough is thick, so it will not spread much while baking, which is why you often see the crosshatch marks in peanut butter cookies. I usually just use my hand or a glass, but you can press down with a form to make the crisscross pattern.
- To avoid a dry cookie, take it out when it is golden and set, but not firm or hard. Then will harden more as it cools on the pan for a few minutes. You do only want to leave them on the pan for about 10 minutes, though, or they will get too dark and dry on the bottom.
Proper Storage
- Room temperature. Flourless peanut butter cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week.
- Freezer. To freeze these cookies, place them into a plastic freezer storage bag and squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing, Then place into a plastic container or cookie tin to keep them from breaking and further prevent freezer burn. For the best flavor, enjoy within 2 months, though they will be safe to eat for much longer.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies are truly a blank slate. You can take this basic recipe and customize it with your favorite mix-ins, toppings, fillings, frostings, and more.
Here are a few ways you can customize this recipe:
- Stir in chips to make Triple Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies.
- Add a Reese’s in the middle to make Peanut Butter Cup Blossom Cookies.
- Enjoy a taste of nostalgia with Flourless Fluffernutter Cookies.
- A dollop of caramel turns them into Dulce de Leche Cookies.
- Make Cookie Sandwiches with Vanilla Frosting or Chocolate Frosting.
- Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches (try: No-Churn Toffee Nutella Ice Cream)
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies are the ultimate peanut buttery treat! Naturally gluten free with only 6 ingredients and no flour or butter. This easy one bowl cookie recipe will be your new favorite. Make sure to double it and try the variations!
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup natural peanut butter (I used creamy, but crunchy will work too)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a fork, mix together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and baking soda in a bowl.
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat in the peanut butter until creamy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
- Form balls using about 1 tablespoon of dough, place on the cookie sheet and flatten to about ½ inch thick with your palm.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden and set.
- Let cool on the sheet for about ten minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Facts
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Amount Per Serving (1 cookie)
Calories 100
Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Fat 5g8%
Cholesterol 7mg2%
Sodium 50mg2%
Potassium 86mg2%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 9g10%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 10IU0%
Calcium 41mg4%
Iron 0.4mg2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Disclaimers: Please discuss your individual dietary needs (i.e. gluten free) with a physician. Even when not specified, be sure to verify all ingredients are gluten free, if needed, by reading labels on all packaging and/or confirming with the manufacturer this varies by brand and can change at any time. Nutrition information shown is an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.
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