These Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies are incredibly simple to make with only 6 ingredients, and no flour or butter required! But don’t be fooled by their simplicity- this flourless peanut butter cookie recipe is a major contender for your favorite cookie recipe yet- they turn out with lightly crisp edges and soft centers. You may want to double this family favorite!
These flourless peanut butter cookies are seriously the easiest, quickest cookies and I almost didn’t want to tell you guys that they were gluten free, or didn’t have any butter or flour, because I know there are people out there who will dismiss this recipe thinking of it simply as a replacement if you can’t have normal cookies. Not the case. This is actually just an amazing cookie recipe and it’s simply a fun side note that they don’t have flour or butter. As proof- I honestly make these more often than any other peanut butter cookie recipe. It’s a bonus that they’re stinking fast. It literally takes me maybe 60 seconds to mix the dough. This is one of our family favorites for our weekly Monday Night Family Nights because I always have the ingredients on hand!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Creamy peanut butter – I recommend Jiff or Skippy style, not natural style peanut butter for texture purposes.
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Table salt
- Chopped chocolate or chocolate chips – Optional.
- Oats – Optional.
- Granulated sugar – For rolling, optional.
How to Make Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
- Mix Your Dough: When your ingredients first come together, the dough is very smooth and loose. It doesn’t look thick enough to be cookie dough. The key is to keep mixing! It will quickly come together and magically change texture- this time into kind of a crumbly texture. NOTE: The texture of this dough is different than standard cookie dough, almost oily? It feels funny but it works. Just go with it.
- Optional: Add Chocolate Chips and/or Oats: If you’d like to add chocolate chips, which are optional, you’d do that at this point. Again, the texture of this dough is different- the chocolate chips won’t “stick” in there as well. Just do your best to mix them in. You can also add oats in there, too!
- Shape: I like to roll balls in sugar and give them a little crisscross, but you could simply put spoonsful of dough on the sheet and flatten them a little with a bottom of a cup if you’re in a hurry.
If I add chocolate chips, I usually skip the step with rolling in sugar and crisscrossing and instead I just use a cookie scoop and then lightly flatten the dough balls with my hand or the bottom of a cup. - Bake: You want to bake them just until the edges are set, and not over bake. In my oven 8 minutes is just about perfect. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes so they don’t fall apart on you when you transfer them, and then put them on a cooling rack.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- I love that the basic recipe makes a small batch, about 18 cookies with a standard size scoop. You can easily double it if you want more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Freeze the cookies once they cool and transfer to an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. They thaw quickly at room temperature.
I have not tested this recipe with other nut butters. As long as they are the smooth consistency of Jiff or Skippy peanut butter, it would likely work. The more natural peanut butters and nut butters might be a bit more problematic and result in a flat, oily cookie. One reader in the comments says she has better luck with natural peanut butter if it’s cold from the fridge when mixing up the dough, so that may help if your alternative nut butter is a similar consistency. Several people have reported good results using almond butter.
Readers have reported that chunky peanut butter works well!
Easy (Flourless!) Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter we recommend standard Jiff or Skippy, not natural style pb
- ¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 large or extra large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (dark or semi-sweet) optional
- ⅓ cup oats optional
- granulated sugar for rolling optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Beat peanut butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Mix for about a minute. Add chocolate and/or oats, if using.
- Shape into balls, and roll in sugar if desired. Flatten with a crisscross pattern with a fork, or simply flatten with the bottom of a glass.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. Don't over-bake. Let them sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Makes 18-20 cookies.
Notes
- Nutrition information was calculated without the optional chocolate, oats, and granulated sugar.
- Store finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- Cooled cookies can be frozen, transferred to an airtight, freezer-safe container or zip-top bag, and frozen for up to two months. They thaw quickly on the countertop.
Questions & Reviews
Made these last night and they were great. I used some store brand peanut butter and they were delicious! So fast and easy. I’m excited to have a go to treat when my GF bestie is in town!!
Stupid nut allergy of mine, all nuts, peanut butter, no more Reeses for over 15 years.
Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to trying these especially since my kids love peanuts and cookies.
I recently made gluten-free cookies–with chick peas, of all things! And they were so good! No egg or white sugar, no flour of any kind. Just peanut butter, chick peas, honey, baking powder, vanilla and chocolate chips. It’s my new go-to cookie but I will try your recipe and see if we have a contender.
Loving this for all those gluten free friends I never know what treat to take … Check!!
Thanks for sharing all the goodness 🙂
I was so intrigued by these I had to make them. I have now made 3 batches because the kids gobbled them up! I like them better than regular PB cookies.
Ahhh, thanks so much for this recipe! I’ve been looking for a good pb cookie recipe for over a year and they’ve all been lacking. These taste great – I love how much flavor they have. This recipe was so simple and fun to make with my girls.
thanks for sharing this I’m going to try this with sunflower butter spread since we have peanut allergies in our home!
These are great as thumbprints with jam…PBJ!!
I have a friend who eats a gluten-free diet. I can’t wait to make these for her as a surprise. I found out that Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips are gluten-free so now I’ll be added these to her cookies.
Have you tried freezing them? Do they still come out yummy after thawing?
Oh yeah, baby, these are definitely a “thing.” I’ve been making ’em for years now, and everyone swears they’re the best thing ever. I also roll mine in sugar before flattening, BUT…..I’ve seasoned the sugar with a few shakes of the cinnamon jar…just saying…SNICKERDOOLES!
OH my word aren’t these the greatest!! We make them with pretty much any nut butter I can get my hands on. I can’t make them too often or I am tempted to eat them ALL in one sitting… not a good idea! 🙂
I generally don’t even like peanut butter cookies, but thought about making these for my hubby who likes them. HOWEVER, I decided they will actually be for *me*…well, not all of them, just most of them…when I saw you put chocolate chunks in them. Well played.
i don’t know if someone already said this, but you need to adjust the recipe a little if you use all natural peanut butter. i’ve been using this recipe for years and they always turn out better with jif or skippy rather than Adams natural. no one in our family is gluten free, we just LOVE this recipe!
All we have is natural peanut butter, what are your suggestions for adjustments?
Yes, please let us know any adjustments if using Adams.
Love these! It’s been a while since I’ve made them … Now I need to make a batch ASAP!
I’ve successfully made these vegan by substituting a scant 1/8c of unsweetened applesauce for the egg – they need a little extra cooking time, and crumble a little bit more, but are the perfect treat for the non-dairy/no-egg people who love peanut butter in your life.
I imagine half a banana for the egg would be lovely!
I wonder if Coconut Palm Sugar would work?
Looks like a great recipe! Will you be posting your nutrition/weight loss series anytime soon?
Yes! I’m writing them up right now. I’m going to post a few installments on The Scoop on Thursdays (started out with my Fit Gear Faves last week) and then a big ol’ post on the front page coming soon 🙂
Great! I’m so excited. I’ve been checking and waiting…and waiting for this post. I need you to motivate me!
Do you need good expensive peanut butter for these to work, or does cheap crappy store brand peanut butter also deliver amazing results?
No expensive peanut butter needed, Lesley. I use Skippy and they’re perfect!
OMG, these look fantastic. Can’t wait to try them. Just a funny (well I think it’s funny) aside. When I was in college my roommates and I had a friend who had a gluten allergy. This was about 10 years ago, before the word was really on the street and there weren’t many gluten-free options. We decided to try to make him some gluten free peanut butter cookies. We used chickpea flour…and the cookies tasted like a mixture of peanut butter and green peas. He was nice and acted like he liked them, but they were the weirdest tasting cookies I’ve ever had. Who knew that leaving the flour out would have made a cookie that was actually edible (and delicious to boot)!
Haha, ew! See, that’s why I worry about associating things with the term “gluten free,” because it sometimes gives the impression there’s something weird in there to replace the flour! Lol
I know what I’ll be making for my gluten free son this week! And I’ll make sure he knows in advance that he has to share…especially if they involve chocolate. Thanks!!
Natural PB works just fine but almond butter, Biscoff, or Nutella do not. I was going to try the almond butter ones with some almond flour to see if they would have more structural integrity.
I tried the cookies tonight with almond butter since I’m allergic to peanuts. They turned out great.
These are seriously my favorite PB cookie in the world! The peanut butter flavor is amped because of no flour.
Try this recipe with a tsp of ground cinnamon in… sounds weird but is super delicious!
I love peanut butter and cinnamon- I bet it’s fantastic, thanks for the tip!
I’m bringing cookies for teacher conference dinner this week…I’ll have to make a batch tomorrow to test these first 😉
Any idea if natural peanut butter would work for this recipe? Natural PB makes me feel better about feeding it to my kids twice a day, every day!
I’ve made them with skippy brand natural pb before. I bet they’d be fine with other brands too.
Thanks, Megan!
These were the first cookies I made when I was diagnosed with celiac disease nine years ago. Wonderful comfort food when it felt like I couldn’t have anything normal anymore. Hadn’t ever thought of putting chocolate chips in them. Now I’ve got to try it!
These look good. Do you know if Jif peanut butter is gluten free?
I’ve heard that Jif doesn’t label their products as Gluten Free, but that they are. Skippy on the other hand, I believe labels all of the products in their line Gluten Free.
I read this, then got right up off the couch and made them. And I don’t have pregnancy to blame.
Lol, I love this. Hope you enjoyed them Janet!
…I already have them in the oven. I blame the pregnancy.
Haha, babies need cookies!