These Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies are so simple to make! Made in just one bowl with no flour and no butter, ready in 15 minutes! Despite their limited ingredient list, these cookies are incredibly soft, chewy, and full of flavor! Try them and I’m sure you’ll be a fan, too!
You guys know I’m not a gluten-free blogger. Not even close. Nor am I a butter-free blogger… I can’t remember the last thing that I made without butter.
And yet, this butter-free, flour-free flourless peanut butter cookie recipe is not just one of the best gluten-free cookie recipes I’ve tried, it’s just hands down one of the best cookies. Period.
It holds its own against some of my favorites like my chocolate chip cookies and butter cookies. When I make cookies in this house, I usually give away most of them so that I don’t eat all of them myself. Zach and my sister protested when I tried to give these away. Again, this was over a flour-free, butter-free cookie. Who would’ve thought?
This recipe was inspired by a 3-ingredient version that’s been making the rounds across the internet for years, but it took me until now to finally try it for myself. Of course I’ve made some modifications, but if you only have peanut butter, an egg, and sugar in your pantry you can make these at home (I’ll include notes on how below).
What You Need
I get that right now ingredients can be scarce (check out my Crazy Cake for a basic pantry-staple cake recipe) and none of us are about to make an extra grocery trip to the store to pick up a pound of butter or a bag of flour that we’re heart-breakingly out of. So today’s recipe has you covered with staple pantry ingredients (and half of them can be omitted or substituted).
You need:
- Peanut butter. This ingredient you can’t substitute or omit. My preference is creamy but I believe crunchy would work just fine. I have not tried this recipe with natural peanut butter, but since that type can be finicky I can’t recommend it with this recipe.
- Sugar. I use a mix of granulated and light or dark brown sugar. If you don’t have brown sugar, substitute it with more granulated, and vice versa. So long as you use a total of 1 cup (200 grams) of sugar, you’ll be good to go.
- Egg. Again, this can not be omitted nor do I know of a working substitute. A large or extra large egg will work best.
- Vanilla extract. If you don’t have it, leave it out, but I love the depth of flavor it adds.
- Salt. Again, this can be omitted, but if you have it use it for better flavor.
- Baking soda. I like using baking soda because it encourages the cookies to spread, subtly adds to their flavor, and gives the cookies a pretty, crinkly appearance. If you don’t have it, leave it out. Since the cookies won’t spread as much without it, be sure to gently flatten the cookie dough balls with your fingers or with the tines of a fork before baking.
Some of these ingredients are my personal preferred additions, but as you can see the cookies can ultimately be made with just 3 ingredients: peanut butter, sugar, and an egg (so please don’t ask me how to substitute any of those!).
I was going to include a “Tips” section here but this recipe is really so simple and straightforward I really don’t have any. There’s no mixer needed (though you can use one if you prefer), no tricks, nothing fancy required.
I do want to note that I have a classic peanut butter cookie recipe on the site. If you have all of the ingredients and the time to make them, that one will always be my favorite recipe, but this one is a very satisfactory runner-up in a pinch.
OK, hopefully I’ve convinced you that these flourless peanut butter cookies are every bit as tasty as the flour-filled and butter-laden ones that you’re used to. If I can get behind them, I think anyone can 😉
Enjoy!
More Recipes You May Enjoy
Are you more of a visual learner? Check out my YouTube channel where I show you exactly how I make this recipe step-by-step in my own kitchen.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light or dark brown sugar¹ firmly packed
- ½ teaspoon baking soda² recommended but optional
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (280 g) creamy peanut butter³
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract recommended but optional
- Additional granulated sugar for sprinkling
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (if you don’t have parchment paper, just drop cookies directly onto an ungreased cookie sheet).
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together sugars, baking soda, and salt until combined.½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (100 g) light or dark brown sugar¹, ½ teaspoon baking soda², ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract and stir until completely combined.1 cup (280 g) creamy peanut butter³, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Drop by 1 ½-Tablespoon-sized scoop onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar and then lightly press down with your fingers to slightly flatten.Additional granulated sugar
- Transfer to 350F/175C preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn a light golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheet as they will be too fragile to move when warm. Do not over-bake these cookies or they will be dry and crumbly.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Masha M.
I’ve tried these with natural peanut butter several times and (depending on the brand of peanut butter) they seem to work very well. It may take a couple of tries to find the right brand for you, but they’re definitely worth it if you prefer natural peanut butter!
I also love to put chocolate on top! I’ve always loved the idea of the recipes I’ve seen for peanut butter cookies with Hershey’s kisses on top, but not the execution. The cookie texture is never what I think it should be. But I tried it with these (and with various different types of chocolate) and they’re finally what I’ve been imagining! Thank you for this recipe!
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them so much, Masha! Thank you for the feedback using the natural peanut butter. 🙂
Amanda
helloooo i was wondering if I could use baking powder since I don’t have baking soda on hand? I’d really like to make these asap!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Amanda! We actually discuss how to make these cookies without baking soda in the post. Do not substitute baking powder–they aren’t the same 😊
J
Cookies came out crumbly and not like the picture
Sam
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that! Is it possible they were slightly over- baked?
Vicki
I’ve just become gluten sensitive, so thank you for this recipe. Was wondering if youve tried adding some butter to this recipe and how that would be
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Vicki! We haven’t tried it, so we’re not quite sure how it would work here.
Pete Sanders-Nesbitt
Thank you Sam for this recipe. I have a need to drastically reduce butter in my cooking. This recipe is perfect!
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Pete! 🙂
Ellen Z
So simple and delicious! I added chocolate chunks and sprinkled them with salt. Baking soda was a great addition
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Ellen! 🙂
Miriam Rose Blanar
These were really good! I made these for a friend who is keto, so I used erythritol and coconut sugar and natural peanut butter and they turned out great! Although I’ll need to try these without keto ingredients soon to see the difference.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know how those substitutions worked, Miriam! We appreciate it 😊
Patti
Do you think peanut butter chips could be added, or would that be too much, without flour and all
Sam
Hi Patti! The cookies may fall apart if added into the dough. You could try pressing them into the cookies after they are baked, while still warm. 🙂
Leslie
To include peanut chips, I used half a cup of crunchy and half a cup of creamy peanut butter. The chips in crunchy are very small and did not cause issues with the cookies.
Have used this recipe multiple times and always get rave reviews from folks.