3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies are the most simple recipe I have, and one of my absolute favorites. You can make the best peanut butter cookies with just a few ingredients, one bowl, and about 20 minutes of your time.
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Chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside, these delicious classic peanut butter cookies are so easy to make from scratch!
This cookie recipe is dairy-free, and 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies are also flourless, which makes them automatically gluten-free.
These peanut butter cookies are classic, but if you’re looking for a different easy peanut butter cookie recipe, check out these Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Cookies, or No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies made with cornflakes.
Why You Will Love This Cookie Recipe
- Only 3 Ingredients! Seriously. Believe it. Three ingredients that you probably already have will create these perfect, rich peanut butter cookies. Easy cookie recipes with few ingredients are some of the best ones.
- Optional Adjustments. Add a bit more flavor by adding some pure vanilla extract, or reduce the sugar to make healthier cookies that still taste great. You can even add in chocolate chips if you’d like.
- The Perfect Peanutbutter Cookies. I’ve made other peanut butter cookie recipes, but I always come back to this easy cookie recipe with just a few ingredients. I just love these!
3 Ingredient Cookie Ingredients
The best part about the ingredients in these peanut butter cookies is that they are easy to remember! 1 egg, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of peanut butter are all you need.
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions is located in the recipe card below
- Egg: 1 egg, at room temperature, is the thing that holds the cookies together.
- Peanut Butter: Creamy peanut butter works best here. Don’t use natural peanut butter, as it can be too oily. Regular Jif, Skippy, or Peter Pan peanut butter is ideal.
- Sugar: 1 cup of granulated sugar makes the best peanut butter cookies, although you can reduce the amount of sugar if you like, down to half a cup.
How To Make Peanut Butter Cookies with 3 Ingredients
- Get Ready to Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat silicone mats.
- Mix Cookie Dough: In a bowl, combine egg, peanut butter and sugar and beat with a hand mixer until just combined.
- Form Cookies: Your cookies will keep the shape that you form them into, so let’s make them look like classic peanut butter cookies! Scoop the dough into 1 inch balls and smooth with your hands. Add the balls to the cookie sheet, and use a fork to press a crosshatch pattern into the cookies.
- Bake: Place the cookies in the oven to bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Baking Tips
- Don’t Overmix! If you mix the dough for too long it can cause the cookies to become crumbly. Only mix until everything is combined. You can skip the mixer and mix the dough by hand as well.
- Make the crisscross pattern using a simple dinner fork. Don’t press down too hard or you’ll flatten the cookies too much. If the fork is sticking, dip it in granulated sugar before using it.
- Avoid over-baking: As soon as the edges of the cookies are golden brown, pull them out of the oven. They will continue to cook while they cool.
- These are delicate after baking. Be sure to let them cool on the pan before trying to pick them up, or they will fall apart. As the peanut butter cookies cool, they become easier to handle.
Peanut Butter Cookie Variations
Because this recipe is so simple, there are a lot of ways that you can change it up to make your peanut butter cookies extra special. Here are a just a few common variations on 3 ingredient cookies that you can try.
Additions: Try mixing in a quarter cup of mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, chopped nuts, raisins, or or other dried fruits.
Flavors: I like to add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to give these cookies more bakery-style flavor. You can try a small amount of almond extract or a pinch of cinnamon too.
Other Nut Butters: These cookies should work with other types of nut butter, including almond butter and sunflower seed butter. You may find that the cookies are a bit more oily using other kinds of butter though.
Other Sweeteners: Any granulated sweetener can be used here, but some will affect the texture of the cookies. Brown sugar adds flavor and makes the cookies softer. Coconut sugar is a healthier sugar option if you have it, or low carb or keto substitutes such as Splenda or Swerve can work in this recipe as well.
Other Peanut Butter Cookies to Bake
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- No Bake Cornflake Peanut Butter Cookies
- Buckeye Brownie Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Cookies
FAQs
You can use a flax egg in many baking recipes to make the recipe egg-free or vegan. To make a flax egg, mix 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of water. Let it “gel” for 10 minutes, then add it to the cookie dough. In this recipe, using a flax egg works, but the cookies are a bit more soft and fragile than if you used an egg.
These cookies are gluten free, because they don’t use any flour. Just be sure that your other ingredients are safe and without any gluten-containing ingredients.
The dough for peanut butter cookies is generally thicker and denser than other cookie doughs, so it needs to be pressed down or it will stay as a round ball while baking. Technically, you can just press the cookies down with your hands, but the fork marks are pretty and traditional.
This recipe is so easy, and everyone will be so excited when you make these homemade peanut butter cookies from scratch! Make sure to Pin the recipe in case you forget it!
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat silicone mats.
- In a bowl, combine egg, peanut butter and sugar and beat with a hand mixer until just combined. If desired, mix in a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Using a cookie scoop or your hands, scoop into 1 inch balls and drop on the cookie sheet. using a fork press the cookies creating a criss cross pattern.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned, do not over bake. Cool on pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.
Notes
- Don’t Overmix! If you mix the dough for too long it can cause the cookies to become crumbly. Only mix until everything is combined. You can skip the mixer and mix the dough by hand as well.
- Avoid using natural peanut butter in this recipe, it will make the cookies oily.
- Add chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or dried fruit to the dough if you like.
- Make the crisscross pattern using a simple dinner fork. Don’t press down too hard or you’ll flatten the cookies too much. If the fork is sticking, dip it in granulated sugar before using it.
- Avoid over-baking: As soon as the edges of the cookies are golden brown, pull them out of the oven. They will continue to cook while they cool.
- These are delicate after baking. Be sure to let them cool on the pan before trying to pick them up, or they will fall apart. As the peanut butter cookies cool, they become easier to handle.
- To Store: Keep these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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