3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

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!

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.

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.

Easy Cookie Making

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.

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).

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:

• Reese’s Explosion Cookies
• Caramel Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

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