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I love 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies! I first made these about 10 years ago and we’ve been loving them ever since. They are the most peanut buttery cookie you’ll EVER try.

That’s right, they have just 3 ingredients: peanut butter, sugar, and egg. They’re easy to make, naturally gluten-free, can be made sugar-free (Keto) and kids can make them too!

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stack of 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies


I was first introduced to these cookies via Parents Magazine, back in the days when my kid was little enough for me to subscribe. I loved that magazine, all the fun ideas and kids parties…now I’m lucky if my daughter even wants to have a party, let alone let me plan something epic.

As you know, peanut butter cookies are one of our favorite cookies around here: my husband is addicted to peanut butter. He only eats desserts if they are carrot cake or peanut butter, so he loves these cookies.

Because they only have 3 ingredients, they are SUPER peanut buttery, more so than a regular cookie. If you’re craving peanut butter cookies then THIS is the recipe you want to try.

I’m going to show you how to make them with granulated OR brown sugar – so you can make these cookies no matter what you have in your pantry.

stack of 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies

3 Ingredient Cookies

Okay so what are the 3 ingredients in peanut butter cookies?

  • Peanut Butter
  • Egg
  • Sugar

Peanut Butter: because there is a full 1 cup of peanut butter in this recipe, you want to use one you like to eat. Use a regular no-stir peanut butter (not a natural brand that separates). My favorite is Skippy Naturals (or Jif Naturals) because it’s a more natural peanut butter but is still no-stir. Just be sure, if you want these to be a Keto cookie, that you use a Keto-approved peanut butter.

You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter, your choice.

You just need 1 large egg for this recipe.

Sugar: you can use either brown or granulated sugar in this recipe. I’ve also made these with sweeteners for a sugar-free and Keto peanut butter cookie.

  • 1 cup granulated
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sweetener of your choice (i.e. Splenda or Swerve Sweetener)

I love making 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies with brown sugar the best because the cookies have a deeper flavor since brown sugar is more flavorful than white.

How to make 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

These really are the easiest cookies to make – ever. One bowl, just a spoon – even the kids can make these without help.

Simply add your peanut butter, egg, and sugar to a bowl. Stir, then it’s time to scoop out the cookies onto your cookie sheet.

How to make 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Prepping for the oven

These cookies will not spread much since there is no butter or leavening. If you just drop balls of cookie dough on your cookie sheet and bake them, they’ll pretty much stay balls (depending on the sugar you use).

Peanut Butter Cookies have criss-cross marks, which also helps to flatten the cookies.

The dough is a bit wetter than normal cookie dough and will stick to your fork, so you have two options for the criss cross marks:

  1. Dip your fork in granulated sugar in between marks, which will help the fork not stick as well as add a bit of crunch and texture to the outside of the cookie.
  2. Dip your fork in water so it doesn’t stick, instead of using sugar.

If you are using a sugar replacement to make sugar-free cookies, I recommend using water instead of dipping your fork in more sweetener, otherwise that not-natural taste of sugar-free substitutes will overpower the cookie.

Don’t crowd your cookies on the cookie sheet, but they won’t spread a ton, so you can fit about 12 per sheet.

  • If you’re using brown sugar they will spread a bit more than granulated.
  • If you’re using sweetener, they will barely spread at all (if they even do).
stack of 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies

Adding to the ingredients

These are 3 ingredient cookies but you can definitely adapt the recipe to include some fun mix-ins, like chocolate chips. Here are some ideas:

  • Chocolate Chips
  • Chopped Peanuts
  • Reese’s Pieces, chopped peanut butter cups, or M&Ms
  • Any candy
  • Dip the baked cookies in chocolate and sprinkle with sprinkles

Just add about 1/2 cup of any mix in to the batter before baking. I’ve dipped them in chocolate before too, the kids love that.

Baking and Storing

Bake these like normal cookies (at 350°F for about 10-14 minutes). They will be a little bit crumblier than a normal cookie, because they don’t have any flour for binding, but they will hold together.

These will last in an airtight container for up to 4 days or you can freeze them for up to a month.

These are our favorite cookies and I hope you love them too!

I’ve used this recipe to make these other peanut butter cookies too:

Have you made this recipe?

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stack of 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies
5 from 18 votes
Make these easy cookies with just 3 ingredients. You can use brown or white sugar, make them sugar-free or keto! And they're natually gluten-free. These are our favorite peanut butter cookies!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Yield 12 cookies
Serving Size 1 cookie

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
  • 1 cup sugar (see note)
  • 1 large egg
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Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  • Stir together all three ingredients in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or spatula until smooth.
  • Scoop desired size cookies onto cookie sheet. Will make approximately 12 two-tablespoon sized cookies. Bake 2 tablespoon size cookies for about 10-14 minutes, or until golden on the edges and no longer glossy in the center. Let them sit for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to one month.

Recipe Notes

Peanut Butter Notes:

  • Use a regular no-stir peanut butter (i.e. Skippy; Skippy Naturals is fine)
  • For Keto, make sure that the peanut butter you use is Keto-friendly.

Sugar Notes:

  • Use 1 cup granulated sugar or 1 cup packed brown sugar OR
  • Use 1/2 cup sweetener of your choice.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 145mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 23IU | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
stack of 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies with words on photo

3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies is an easy cookie recipe! Chewy and soft this peanut butter cookie can be made with brown sugar or granulated! They are flourless cookies and are gluten free – these are the BEST cookies!

Last Updated on September 28, 2020



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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6 Comments

  1. Very delicious and I love
    the chewyness of the cookie!!I like to make the cookies big ,about 3or more tablespoon size.
    I doubled the recipe so I could make a whole batch of cookies .
    .

  2. These 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies are the bomb!!!! I made a batch of sugar free with brown sugar and a regular batch with regular brown sugar. They came out so good!!. Very simple to make and well worth making them. Thank you so very much!!

  3. These were super easy to make. I also hand-placed some semisweet chocolate chips on top before baking. They tasted great but were a bit crumbly until FULLY cooled. Will make again.