Flourless peanut butter cookies are soft, tender, and filled with rich peanut butter flavor. They're perfect for any peanut butter lover and require no chilling time before baking. You can have a batch ready in 30 minutes or less!
You're going to love these flourless peanut butter cookies. Not only are they soft and delicious, they're shockingly simple to make! Plus, they're gluten free - you won't even realize the flour is missing.
Since there's no flour in this recipe, the peanut butter flavor really shines. Any peanut butter lover will enjoy this recipe!
These cookies are easy to make with kids because they're made with minimal ingredients and require no chilling time. You can have an entire batch made in 30 minutes or less.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Peanut butter - Store-bought creamy peanut butter works best in this recipe (I used JIF brand). Crunchy peanut butter can also work. I do not recommend using natural/homemade peanut butter in this recipe - the dough turns out dry and does not hold together well.
- Sugars - Sugar adds moisture to the cookies, helps them spread properly, and adds sweetness. I used a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar for added depth of flavor. If you don't have brown sugar on hand, this recipe can be made with all granulated sugar.
- Egg - You'll need one room temperature large egg. To bring your egg to room temperature quickly, place your whole egg (in the shell) in a cup and cover in hot tap water. Your egg will come to room temperature in minutes.
- Vanilla extract - Adds flavor to the cookie dough.
- Baking soda - Make sure you're using baking soda, not baking powder. The two react differently in baking recipes and are not interchangeable.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of your cookies. If you're using a particularly salty peanut butter, you may want to cut the listed salt in half.
Tips and tricks
Crumbly dough - Once all of your ingredients are combined, your dough may look crumbly. This is normal! When pressed between two fingers or rolled into a ball, your dough should hold its shape (as shown in the photo above).
Don't use homemade peanut butter - I don't recommend using homemade or natural peanut butter in this recipe because it can cause dough to be so crumbly that it doesn't hold together at all.
Greasy dough - Your dough will feel a bit greasy because it's made with mostly peanut butter. This is normal. Your cookies will bake into normal peanut butter cookies in the oven.
Press cookies with a fork - For a classic peanut butter cookie look, press the tops of each cookie with a fork to create a cross-hatch pattern.
Use parchment paper - As with most of my cookie recipes, I recommend using parchment paper or a reusable baking mat instead of greasing your cookie sheet. Adding grease to the cookie sheet causes cookies to spread more than they should in the oven.
Cookies spreading too much? - Refrigerate your dough for up to 30 minutes, then scoop and bake. You can also place your prepared cookie dough balls (on the baking sheet) into the refrigerator for 10 minutes just before baking. Cold dough spreads less in the oven.
Storage
Peanut butter cookies will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed container at room temperature. To elongate the shelf life of your cookies, add a slice of bread to the cookie container. Replace the bread as needed when it feels stale.
Frequently asked questions
Your cookies may feel a bit delicate and crumbly straight from the oven. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. If you've used a homemade or natural peanut butter, this can also cause your cookies to turn out crumbly. I recommend store bought peanut butter for this particular recipe. If your cookies are overbaked, they may also turn out brittle and crumbly.
Natural or homemade peanut butter is generally more runny and oily when compared to store bought processed peanut butter. It just doesn't work as well in recipes like this where peanut butter is the main ingredient. The dough will have a crumbly texture and spread into blobs in the oven.
Yes, peanut butter cookie dough and baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months in a tightly sealed, freezer-safe container. Transfer to the refrigerator overnight to thaw, or place on the countertop for 30 to 60 minutes.
This peanut butter cookie recipe is the perfect base for all sorts of fun mix-ins. Try adding ½ cup of chocolate chips, M&M's candies (like my recipe for mini peanut butter M&M cookies), or chopped nuts. You could also roll your dough balls in granulated sugar before pressing and baking.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (270 g) smooth peanut butter
- ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (53 g) brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside (I do not recommend using a greased baking sheet for this recipe - the cookies will spread too much).
- In a large bowl, add peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Mix with a hand mixer until creamed and fluffy, about a minute. Add egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt, mixing until combined, about a minute.
- Scoop dough using a medium (1.5 tablespoon) cookie scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 inch balls. Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Press a fork into the balls to create a crosshatch pattern.
- Bake for about 10-11 minutes, or until lightly browned around edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely (your cookies will be very tender straight from the oven and are much easier to handle when cooled).
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Baked cookies will keep for 5 days in a sealed container at room temperature. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- Raw cookie dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen balls to thaw for up to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before baking, or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
- I do not recommend using natural/homemade peanut butter for this recipe (the type that separates as it sits). Your dough will turn out dry and the cookies will not hold together well.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
Just made these today. Doubled the recipe and used ice cream scoop to make 12 huge cookies.
Delicious and easy! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Glad you enjoyed them!