These 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies are probably the easiest, softest, and most delicious cookies you could make. And yes, they only require 3 ingredients, and are gluten free. Soft, chewy, and simply the best peanut butter cookies!
Peanut Butter Cookies
I’ve been making these cookies for years, if not decades. I even made these cookies with bacon before. Yes, they were crazy delicious! But for now let’s stick with the original peanut butter cookies and if you’re brave enough, go ahead and add in some bacon. You won’t regret it!
These cookies are such a great snack and nothing is better than a good chewy peanut butter cookie to get your energy back up and in the mood for more work.
Ingredients in 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
So what are the 3 ingredients in these peanut butter cookies? You guessed it, peanut butter is one of them!
- Peanut Butter
- Eggs
- Sugar
How to Make 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
This is such a popular recipe all over the internet, however as usual I always make my own tweaks and this time I reduced the sugar. I’ve mentioned before that my sister is diabetic and pretty much my entire family is watching their sugar intake, so I will always cut down sugar every chance I get. Bonus: these cookies are gluten free!
- Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. You will need 2 baking sheets so line them both with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place all the ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and using the paddle attachment mix everything until combined. (A whisk attachment can also be used). The cookie dough should be soft and easy to scoop.
- You can use a small ice cream scoop to scoop out cookie balls or use your hands to roll out the dough into balls the size of a golf ball. Place them onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart, or 3 per row.
- Using the back of a fork, press down onto each cookie ball, then press again from the opposite direction (90 degrees the other way).
- Place both baking sheets in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden. DO NOT over-bake. They will still be soft when you take them out of the oven, but as they cool they will harden.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets completely before transferring them.
Trust me when I tell you that you will not miss that sugar, these cookies are still sweet, soft and chewy. Don’t forget that the peanut butter itself usually has sugar in it, depending which brand you go with.
How to Store Peanut Butter Cookies
These cookies will last up to 5 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Avoid cookie jars as they tend to get stale and lose their chew.
For really long-term storage, tuck a slice of bread in the container along with the cookies. The cookies will stay moist and chewy by absorbing the moisture from the bread.
Can You Freeze Peanut Butter Cookies
Absolutely! After you bake them, let them cool completely.
- Place them on a baking sheet and flash freeze them until they are frozen solid. This is done so they won’t stick to each other in the freezer.
- Place them in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper in between the layers. You can also place them in freezer bags.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- When ready to serve, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Try These Other Cookie Recipes:
- Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Classic Shortbread Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
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3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups peanut butter creamy, at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar granulated
Instructions
- Prepare oven and baking sheets: Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make cookie dough: Place all the ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and using the paddle attachment mix everything until combined. (A whisk attachment can also be used). The cookie dough should be soft and easy to scoop.
- Form cookies: You can use a small ice cream scoop to scoop out cookie balls or use your hands to roll out the dough into balls the size of a golf ball. Place them onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart, or 3 per row.
- Using the back of a fork, press down onto each cookie ball, then press again from the opposite direction (90 degrees the other way).
- Bake: Place both baking sheets in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden. DO NOT over-bake. They will still be soft when you take them out of the oven, but as they cool they will harden.
- Cool and serve: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets completely before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Video
Recipe Notes
- This recipe will yield approximately 28 cookies.
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Mixer/No Mixer: As you can see in the video, I mixed and whisked everything by hand for these cookies because all my mixers were already packed for our move, but in the instructions I am giving you instructions on how to do this with a mixer.
- Peanut Butter: I used Jif Creamy Peanut Butter for these cookies. You will want a smooth peanut butter and not a crunchy one. I have also used organic peanut butter in the past, and while the texture of the cookie dough was quite a bit crumblier, the cookies turned out the same.
- This is a popular 3 ingredient peanut butter cookie found all over the internet, however in my version I have reduced the sugar by half. The original recipe requires 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar and 1 egg. However, I prefer my cookies not quite so sweet, which is why the sugar has been reduced, but feel free to use the full amount of the sugar.
Kathy says
I was so happy to see a recipe that doubled my usual 3 ingredient recipe. This was great! i used Jif and added chocolate chips on the tops by pushing them in slightly before the cookie cooled. My husband loved them. Said he liked getting chocolate in every bite.
Thanks for this!
Judy says
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Thank you
Joanna Cismaru says
My pleasure!
Wendy says
This recipe looks fabulous! Do you think I could use unrefined coconut sugar?
Nicole Beaulieu says
Of course! Enjoy 🙂
Janice Richard says
I’m trying these today 😀 glad I checked your recipe because the one I usually made only had the one of everthing so going to try your way thanks
Linda says
My granddaughter and I made these using monkfruit sweetener in place of sugar because my husband is diabetic. Very good!! Cutting the sweetener in half is a good idea!
Cassandra says
Omgoodness yes….I made these and they were delicious. Since I found out that I’m fructose intolerance. I try to find receipts that I can make at home when I have an sweet tooth. I’ll go make me some of these peanut butter cookies thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Pandora Fox says
Wonderful! Didn’t miss the additional sugar at all. I did use brown sugar, because I like the slight molasses flavor. Also, added in a tsp of vanilla and pinch of salt. I know that’s not three ingredients but I wanted a bit more complex flavor. With your recipe, I FINALLY found the perfect peanut butter cookies! Thanks so much! PS: Felt kinda bratty so I dipped half of the cookies into dark chocolate. Didn’t last 24 hours. 💗
Joanna Cismaru says
LOL I would have done the same thing, love peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate. 🙂
SusiRenea says
I have been making these cookies for many many years! They are so quick, easy, and delicious! I have reduced the sugar even further using as little as 1/4 cup and I generally always use crunchy peanut butter. I have never had a dry or crumbly cookie…yet lol. They are so super easy I often whip up a batch after dinner for a lil snack.
Susan says
Can I use fresh, natural peanut butter?
Nicole Beaulieu says
You can, but they may turn out a bit crumbly. They’ll still taste great.
A'sa Melvin says
Hi Joanna!!!
I am very excited to try these yummy looking peanut butter cookies, but (& yes, there is always someone that has to [but?]), guess it’s me this time… I was wondering why ‘smooth not crunchy’ peanut butter is the only choice??? You don’t seem to mind brand types, even organic, so Why the obvious disdain for Crunchy peanut butter??? Is this just personal choice or is there a problem with peanut bits??? Help, please?!?!
Joanna Cismaru says
We tried making peanut butter cookies with crunchy peanut butter a few months ago and they came out super crumbly and had trouble holding their shape around the peanuts. You can, of course, use crunchy peanut butter if you don’t mind a crumbly cookie. They still tasted good.
John Elliott says
I use brown sugar and quinoa flour no gluten lots of protein
Dan from Platter Talk says
Great job with these easy-to-make cookies. I love that you have reduced the sugar in them because as pointed out, often times there is much sugar in a recipe than is necessary. Thanks for passing these along, they look totally dunkable!
Joanna Cismaru says
And they are! 🙂
Virginia Puzar says
What no flour?
Joanna Cismaru says
No flour!
PMaddams says
These have been my favorite peanut butter cookies for many years. You can also make these with none of these ingredients in your house AND make friends in the process. Go to a neighbor and borrow one egg; go to another neighbor and borrow a cup of sugar; go to the third neighbor and borrow a cup of peanut butter. Bake as suggested; divide cookies into four groups and share with those neighbors!
Natasha says
I love that idea 🙂