Julie Clark
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Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
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Make these Easy Peanut Butter Cookies that are just 4 ingredients and gluten-free! Perfect cookies for kids to make. Add chocolate chips or nuts, too!
When you get an intense cookie craving, what recipe do you run to? I try to choose quick and easy. Sometimes I crave spanish peanut cookies, strawberry cookies or our yellow cake mix cookies, and other times chocolate chip, but if I want peanut butter and need cookies fast, this 4 ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe is what I turn to.
Have you ever tried our Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Cake recipe? It’s crazy intense and takes some work but is totally worth it. But the truth is when our family is craving a sweet, we rarely have the time to make a fancy 2-layer cake. That’s where these cookies come in!
Dogs love peanut butter, but make your pups some homemade dog biscuits while you’re making these cookies!
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
You might be surprised but these Simple Peanut Butter Cookies are not only simple, but in some ways, they are kind of healthy. Yes, there is some sugar, but these are gluten-free. They actually have no flour in them at all.
Ingredients for Peanut Butter Cookies
Did I mention that these somewhat-healthy-cookies are only 4 ingredients?
- Peanut Butter
- Egg
- Baking Soda
- Brown Sugar
You can whip them up in just a few minutes!
Can you use natural peanut butter in cookies?
Natural peanut butter doesn’t always work the best in baking because it tends to be more oily and thinner than traditional peanut butter.
If you use natural peanut butter the cookies will spread more and be more crispy than cookies with sugared peanut butter. Traditional peanut butter also adds flavor (sugar and salt), so using natural peanut butter may mean the cookies need tweaked a little with sugar and salt content.
We highly recommend using peanut butter with sugar in it for this recipe.
What does baking soda do for cookies?
You may find other flourless peanut butter cookie recipes that only have 3 ingredients. No baking soda. So what does the baking soda do? Baking soda causes the cookies to rise just a little bit. You can make these quick cookies without baking soda, but they will be flatter.
How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies
These cookies are so easy to mix up. You’ll just need a bowl and the 4 ingredients. Sometimes we mix the cookies by hand and other times we use a powered hand mixer.
- Make sure the egg is well mixed with the other ingredients.
- Drop the cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet. We like to use non-stick silicone baking mats for even baking.
- If you like soft, chewy cookies, do not overbake the cookies. They should not be brown at all.
- When the cookies first come out of the oven, allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. They will be very soft and may fall apart if you move them too soon.
- Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack and then store them in an airtight container.
Add Chocolate Chips to Cookies
Would you rather have a quick and simple chocolate chip cookie recipe? Add in some chocolate chips. Like raisins or nuts? Try adding those in…anything you think would be good!
Get creative and whip up some of these simple cookies.
But watch out…this could be kind of dangerous……they are easily addicting!
How to Store Cookies
These cookies are fine stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days. They don’t make a huge batch of cookies so I think you’ll find they don’t last long!
Can you freeze cookies?
Yes! These cookies freeze well. Store them in an airtight container and freeze for 2-3 months. Upon defrosting, allow the cookies to come to room temperature before opening the container. This will ensure the cookies stay moist.
Other Easy Cookie Recipes
Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
Make these Easy Peanut Butter Cookies that are just 4 ingredients and gluten-free! Perfect cookies for kids to make. Add chocolate chips or nuts, too!
Servings 24 cookies
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients until well blended.
- Drop by teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes.
- Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then move to a wire rack and cool completely.
Notes
Add in chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, or your choice!
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 24 cookies, with 1 serving being 1 cookie. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Serving: 19g | Calories: 89kcal | Fat: 5.6g
Took cookies to the hospital I work at. Those nurses and office staff couldn’t get enough of them. Told me to bring some more in. I direct them to “Tastes of Lizzy T
I tried them but really prefer crunchy to make them feel like a cookie and not a cake
How can I get my cookies crunchy. Love crunchy. Love your recipes. Tried several. Superb.
I love,love,love these pb cookies. .These are so easy and quick. I have used Splenda brown sugar in this recipe as well. Taste fine too but I find them a wee bit dry. I’ll try using a little more peanut butter or like Gramma Clark will grind my own.
Just got these in the oven, I didnt do it by teaspoon fulls though I did table spoons lol they look BIG, but dying to try em mmm delish
Maddie! You are such a wise little experimental baker! I bet these are delicious! No wheat! This is just great for me! I can’t wait to try this recipe, but I’ll have to tweak it a little………. 1. I will grind my own peanut butter (regular peanut butter has too many other ingredients for my diet). 2. I’ll try using a little ground flaxseed instead of eggs (another one of my many food allergies). 3. I’ll try a different sweetener (100% pure maple syrup), as sugar is another no-no for me. Can’t wait to give this a try! Thank you… Read more »