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You are here: Home » Cookies

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Dec 16, 2020 -May contain affiliate links

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Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe· 4.9 from 9 reviews
Overhead view of 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies

Three ingredients, a few minutes, and one bowl are all you need for flavorful, warm 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies! You will absolutely love how easy and tasty these flourless peanut butter cookies are.

5 peanut butter cookies piled on a piece of parchment paper

This recipe is a little bit of a miracle! First because it has so few ingredients, and second because it’s so DELICIOUS! Just 3 simple things create the most wonderful, comforting, classic 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies you’ll ever try. They’re naturally flourless and free of gluten and dairy, so it’s a perfect treat for friends with dairy or wheat allergies!

We also love that this is an easy peanut butter cookie recipe that little kids can help with. The ingredients and measurements are simple and forgiving, it only requires one bowl, and no mixer is needed!

Peanut Butter, brown Sugar and and egg on a wood board

Ingredients in 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

You know the last day before you make a trip to the grocery store, when the kitchen feels pretty empty but you’re still craving something sweet and homemade? That’s when this recipe swoops in to save the day! You only need 3 things, and it’s so simple that you can probably memorize it right away:

  • 1 cup of peanut butter - We liked using all-natural peanut butter! Many recipes suggest using a more processed brand, but we had great success with natural. Smooth peanut butter from a newly opened jar works best!
  • ½ cup light brown sugar - The molasses in brown sugar gives amazing flavor to these cookies, making it a better option than white granulated sugar! Most recipes call for a whole cup of white sugar, we think ½ cup gives these peanut butter cookies just the right sweetness.
  • 1 egg

Mix it all together, shape the dough into balls, and flatten them with a fork in a criss-cross pattern. That’s it!

peanut butter cookie dough
peanut butter cookie dough in balls on a baking sheet
peanut butter cookie dough balls
flattening a peanut butter cookie with a fork
Making a crisscrossed pattern on a peanut butter cookie with a fork

Nut-Free 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

To make a nut-free peanut butter cookie, substitute sunflower butter for the peanut butter. You could also easily use cashew or almond butter if that’s what you have in the pantry!

 baking sheet with peanut butter cookie dough balls

Variations on a Simple Peanut Butter Cookie

We did a little experimenting with our pan of cookies! We had to see just what would make the best peanut butter cookies.

  • We made a couple with chocolate chips on top
  • Some got a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar
  • A few got a sprinkle of sugar
  • We left some rolled into balls, not flattened
  • We left some without toppings and flattened them into a traditional peanut butter cookie shape

The best one? Surprisingly, the plain ones that stayed in a ball! They had the best, moist texture that we really enjoyed. Of course, you can’t go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter, but the plain cookies really let the peanut butter flavor shine and in our opinion they were the best ones.

Overhead view of 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies

How Long to Bake 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Be sure NOT to over-bake the cookies! Take them out of the oven before they turn golden. Remember that they’ll bake for a little bit on the pan, and you want the middles to remain soft.

How to Store Peanut Butter Cookies

Keep any leftover homemade peanut butter cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You could also pop them in the freezer for a delicious frozen cookie treat!

More Peanut Butter Recipes

  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Tart
  • Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
  • Chocolate & Peanut Butter Salted Mousse
  • Peanut Butter Banana Vegan Hot Chocolate
5 peanut butter cookies piled on a piece of parchment paper and more cookie son the background

DID YOU LIKE OUR PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE RECIPE?

If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.

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Overhead view of 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.9 from 9 reviews

  • Author: Vicky & Ruth
  • Total Time: 17 minutes
  • Yield: 15 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

Three ingredients, a few minutes, and one bowl are all you need for flavorful, warm 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies! You will absolutely love how easy and tasty these flourless peanut butter cookies are.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 Cup all-natural peanut butter, preferably from a newly opened and well stirred jar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Line one large baking sheet with parchment paper 
  3. In a bowl add all the ingredients and mix well with a spoon.  
  4. You'll need to mix everything really well for a minute or two until it becomes a smooth dough.  The more you mix the smoother the dough.
  5. Take 1 ½ tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into a ball.  We used a 1 ½ tablespoon ice cream scoop. Flatten each ball with a fork making a criss cross pattern. You can also leave the cookies balls. ( See Notes)
  6. Place the cookies in the prepared baling sheet.
  7. Bake for 12 minutes.  Let the cookies cool completely before handling them.

Notes

  1. You can sprinkle some sugar, cinnamon sugar or add some chocolate chips to the cookies if you like some variations.
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cookie
  • Calories: 135
  • Sugar: 8.9
  • Sodium: 9.7
  • Fat: 9.2
  • Saturated Fat: 1.9
  • Unsaturated Fat: 7
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 11.1
  • Fiber: .9
  • Protein: 4.2
  • Cholesterol: 0

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Tag @mayihavethatrecipe on Instagram and hashtag it #mayihavethatrecipe #tahiniandturmeric

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cindy

    December 17, 2020 at 7:39 am

    These cookies are delicious and Sooo easy to make!!!! Adding chocolate chips was a great idea. The only problem is controlling how many you eat!!

    Reply
    • Vicky & Ruth

      December 17, 2020 at 11:44 pm

      Ha, ha that’s so true!

      Reply
  2. Hanna Quana

    December 17, 2020 at 7:18 pm

    These were sooo easy to make and so good! I used crunchy PB and put mini choc. chips in. It was difficult not to eat them all. Making another batch later!! Yum!

    Reply
    • Vicky & Ruth

      December 17, 2020 at 11:43 pm

      Thank you! Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. a woman called Sam

    December 17, 2020 at 11:18 pm

    How long to bake the balls

    Reply
    • Vicky & Ruth

      December 17, 2020 at 11:43 pm

      Bake the balls for 12 minutes, the same as the cookies. Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Raquel

    December 21, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    The best, easiest, and most delicious cookies! I highly recommend making them!

    Reply
    • Vicky & Ruth

      December 29, 2020 at 10:31 am

      We love quick, easy, and delicious recipes too! Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Gita Freed

    December 29, 2020 at 1:40 pm

    I just made these cookies and put some chocolate ganache on top. Yummy! Another winner from Ruth & Vicky!

    Reply
    • Vicky & Ruth

      December 29, 2020 at 2:28 pm

      AAW! Thank you so much! That sounds delicious!

      Reply
      • anita raymond

        December 07, 2023 at 7:01 am

        I love your recipes, especially when they have an "exotic" touch. I get your recipes every day - almost - and never know what to expect. Thane you so much!

        Reply
        • Vicky and Ruth

          December 12, 2023 at 12:06 pm

          AWW! Thank you so much!

          Reply
  6. Rebeca

    January 04, 2021 at 10:49 am

    Thank you Ruth and Vicky.
    The cookies are delicious and soooo easy to make 🙂

    Reply
  7. Ronnie

    January 05, 2021 at 6:24 am

    These cookies are delicious and sooo easy to make! I love them.

    Reply
  8. JUDY STERN

    December 11, 2021 at 8:09 pm

    Would these work with a flax egg substitute?

    Reply
    • Vicky and Ruth

      December 13, 2021 at 1:26 pm

      Honestly, we don't know. We may try to experiment with that. Let us know if you try it before we do!

      Reply
  9. Susan Nathan

    December 12, 2021 at 6:43 pm

    I can't wait to make these -- anything with peanut butter is the best and I love that there are only 3 ingredients -- less for me to mess up:). Thanks again for another amazing recipe!

    Reply
    • Vicky and Ruth

      December 13, 2021 at 1:20 pm

      Thank you Susan!

      Reply
  10. Pearl Bailes

    December 15, 2021 at 8:48 pm

    Would it work to use tahini in place of the peanut butter?

    Reply
    • Vicky and Ruth

      December 22, 2021 at 4:52 pm

      You could probably replace tahini for the peanut butter. Just make sure you stir the cookie mixture well until it thickness enough to scoop. The more you stir the tahini mixture the more it will thicken.

      Reply
      • Pearl Bailes

        January 01, 2022 at 2:31 am

        Update: I replaced the peanut butter with tahini and the resulting cookies were terrific. I used an electric mixer to blend the ingredients. I made the cookies somewhat smaller than the recipe suggests, and I left them unflattened. They were even more delicious the next day. Thanks for a great recipe!

        Reply
        • Vicky and Ruth

          July 07, 2022 at 1:34 pm

          Great variation! Thank you for sharing!

          Reply
  11. Elaine

    December 10, 2023 at 9:49 am

    Delicious, will make again! Only yielded 11 cookie balls if I used just over 1 tablespoon each. Not sure what happened there. Otherwise, very good, super easy and fast.. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Vicky and Ruth

      December 12, 2023 at 12:03 pm

      We are so glad you loved the cookies. Not sure what happened with the yield either. Maybe it varies depending on how runny or thick the penaut butter is.

      Reply

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We are Vicky & Ruth, authors of the vegan cookbook Tahini and Turmeric. Born and raised in a multicultural Jewish-Lebanese-Spanish household our culinary journey began in Barcelona, Spain where we learned from our family the rich flavors of Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, Morocco, and Spain. From our mother's fragrant Lebanese dishes to our grandmother's secret Sephardic Turkish specialties, our Moroccan friend's fragrant recipes, our sister's vibrant Israeli creations, and our neighbor's authentic Spanish fare, each dish was a key that unlocked new exciting yumminess.

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