3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

The easiest cookies you will ever bake. Naturally gluten-free, incredibly chewy, and bursting with intensely rich peanut butter flavor.

By Cressio Rinaldi

It sounds too good to be true, but a cookie really can be made with just peanut butter, sugar and an egg. There is no flour and no butter, and the cookies come out soft, chewy and intensely peanutty, with crisp edges and a crackled top. They are also naturally gluten free.

The dough takes about a minute to stir together. You roll it into balls, press a crisscross into each with a fork and bake for ten minutes. The cookies come out looking underdone, which is exactly right. They firm up as they cool, and that final step is the most important one.

It makes about a dozen cookies, which is enough for a small batch and a good recipe to start with kids.

Read this first

1. Use regular commercial peanut butter, not natural. Natural separates and makes crumbly cookies.
2. Take them out when the edges are barely golden. They will look soft.
3. Let them cool on the tray for 10 minutes before moving them.

Prep time: 5 mins · Cook time: 10 mins · Serves 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup Creamy peanut butter (commercial brand works best)
• 1 cup Granulated white sugar
• 1 Large egg

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Look for: A hot oven, and a parchment-lined tray.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the peanut butter, sugar, and egg. Stir vigorously until the dough becomes completely cohesive and thick. Look for: A thick, shiny, cohesive dough, like a soft paste, with no streaks of egg.
3. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Look for: Even balls, with the surface smooth and slightly cracked.
4. Using the tines of a fork, press down gently on each dough ball in a crisscross pattern to flatten them slightly. Look for: A neat crisscross pattern, with the dough pressed to about 1/2 inch thick.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are just barely golden brown. The cookies will look incredibly soft but will firm up as they cool. Look for: Lightly golden edges and a puffed, soft-looking center that looks underbaked.
6. Important: Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before trying to move them, otherwise they will crumble. Look for: Cookies that firm up and hold together when lifted, with a crackled top.

Nutrition

Amount per serving. Nutritional values are estimates calculated from the ingredients above and can vary.

• Calories: 190
• Fat: 10g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Carbohydrates: 21g
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 19g
• Protein: 6g
• Sodium: 100mg
• Cholesterol: 15mg

Notes

• Let Them Cool Completely: These need the full cooling time on the baking sheet, as the recipe warns — without any flour for structure, they're too delicate to move while warm.
• Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• Freezing: Freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months, or freeze the rolled, unbaked dough balls and bake straight from frozen with a minute or two added.

Cook It With Me

Heat the oven

Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the dough

In a medium bowl, combine the 1 cup of creamy peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar and the egg. Stir vigorously with a spoon or spatula until the dough is completely cohesive and thick, with no streaks of egg. It will look quite sticky at first, and then come together.

Roll

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, about a tablespoon each, and place them on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Press

Press down gently on each ball with the tines of a fork, in a crisscross pattern, to flatten them slightly.

Bake

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden brown. The cookies will look incredibly soft, and will firm up as they cool.

Cool

Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before moving them. If you try to lift them sooner, they will crumble.

The Ingredients, One by One

Creamy peanut butter

Commercial brands, such as Jif or Skippy, work best. They contain stabilizers that keep the oil mixed in. Natural peanut butter has more free oil, and makes greasy, crumbly cookies.

Granulated sugar

One cup gives sweetness and the crisp edge. It also gives the cookies their structure, since there is no flour.

Egg

One large egg binds everything together.

Optional extras

A pinch of salt, a splash of vanilla, or a sprinkle of coarse sugar on top. Chocolate chips can be folded in.

The Technique Behind It

Why there is no flour

The peanut butter contains protein and starch, and the egg binds it all together, so the cookie holds its shape without flour.

Why they look underbaked

The cookies have no flour, so their structure comes from the sugar and egg, which set as they cool. They are fragile when hot.

Why the fork pattern

The dough is thick, and it doesn’t spread much. Flattening it helps the middle bake through.

Mistakes That Cost You the Dish

• Using natural peanut butter The cookies are crumbly and oily.
• Moving the cookies too soon They fall apart.
• Overbaking They turn dry and crumbly.
• Skipping the parchment They stick.
• Making large cookies They don’t cook through.

Fix It: If This Happens, Do This

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Cookies are crumbly	Natural peanut butter or moved too early	Use commercial peanut butter and cool completely.
Cookies are dry	Overbaked	Take them out when the edges are barely golden.
Dough is too sticky	Warm kitchen or large egg	Chill the dough for 15 minutes.
Cookies are greasy	Natural peanut butter	Use a no-stir brand.
Cookies are bland	Needs salt	Add a pinch of salt.

What Each Ingredient Does (and What You Can Swap)

Ingredient	Its job	Swap, and what changes
Creamy peanut butter	Flavor and structure	Crunchy works. Almond butter works too, but may be less stable.
Granulated sugar	Sweetness	Half brown sugar gives a chewier cookie.
Egg	Binder	No substitute.
Add-ins	Variation	Chocolate chips or chopped peanuts work.
Salt	Flavor	A flaky salt topping is good.

Plan Ahead

• Make ahead: Roll the dough ahead and chill it.
• Storage: In an airtight container for 4 days.
• Freezer: Freeze the balls for 3 months.
• Allergy: These contain peanuts.

What to Serve With It

Serve with a glass of cold milk. They also make a good sandwich cookie with chocolate frosting.

Questions People Ask

About the Author

Cressio Rinaldi

Cressio Rinaldi is the recipe developer behind Cressio Recipes. He cooks, tests, and writes every recipe on the site himself — refining each one until it's simple enough for a weeknight and good enough to make again. He's not a trained chef, just someone who cooks constantly and pays close attention to what actually makes a recipe work.