The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

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The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies — Soft, chewy and they’ll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free! Love it when something so easy tastes so amazing!!

The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies - Soft, chewy and they'll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free! Love it when something so easy tastes so amazing!!

No-Flour Peanut Butter Cookies

I have dozens of peanut butter cookie recipes on my blog. In my first cookbook there’s another dozen peanut butter cookies. But you can never have too many peanut butter cookies recipes and these flourless cookies are some of the best.

I couldn’t stop eating the cookies and they’re a spinoff of Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies but made even easier — and dare I say better?

One bowl, no mixer, and just four main ingredients: peanut butter, sugar, egg, vanilla. The previous recipe called for creaming the ingredients using a mixer but all you need is a spoon for these cookies.

What sets this recipe apart from many other peanut butter cookie recipes is that there’s no flour and no butter, making them naturally gluten-free and dairy-free. Since there’s no butter and no flour what you’re left with is a cookie that’s full of bold, robust peanut butter flavor.

These simple peanut butter cookies have a lovely chewiness around the edges and are perfectly soft and tender in the middle. Don’t be tempted to overbake them because they won’t taste nearly as good.

The other nice thing about the recipe is that it doesn’t make too many, just 11 or 12 cookies which for me is a good thing. The more I have around, the more I’m tempted to devour. I’ve always loved flourless peanut butter cookies and I fell in love with the concept, all over again.

The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies - Soft, chewy and they'll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free! Love it when something so easy tastes so amazing!!

What’s in Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies? 

To make these peanut butter cookies with no flour , you’ll need:

  • Egg
  • Creamy peanut butter
  • Light brown sugar
  • Granulated sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • Baking soda
  • Salt

Can I Use Natural Peanut Butter? 

No, a “traditional” peanut butter like Jif or Skippy is best in this flourless peanut butter cookie recipe. Homemade or natural peanut butters don’t always work in baked goods. 

Can I Use Crunchy Peanut Butter? 

I personally prefer using creamy peanut butter in my baked goods, but I bet crunchy would work just fine here. If you try this out, leave me a comment letting me know what you thought! 

The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies - Soft, chewy and they'll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free! Love it when something so easy tastes so amazing!!

How to Make Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Never made flourless cookies before? They’re easy! 

Here’s how these accidentally gluten-free peanut butter cookies are made: 

  1. Whisk together all of the ingredients.
  2. Scoop the dough into balls, then chill the dough for 3 hours.
  3. Once chilled, place the dough balls on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and bake until the edges are set and tops are barely set, even if slightly underbaked and glossy in the center. 

Seriously, that’s it! 

Can These Cookies Be Frozen? 

Yes, both the flourless cookie dough and the baked cookies freeze extremely well. If baking frozen cookie dough, add a minute or two to the total bake time. 

Can I Add Mix-Ins to the Dough? 

If you wanted to take these PB cookies to the next level, mix in some chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, or chopped nuts. You may add up to 1 cup of mix-ins. 

The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies - Soft, chewy and they'll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free! Love it when something so easy tastes so amazing!!

Can I Make This Recipe Sugar-Free? 

I’ve only made this recipe as written, so I can’t speak to what sugar substitutes you could use. However, a few readers have reported success using Splenda, but having never tested it myself I don’t know if it will yield the same results. 

Can I Use Another Nut Butter? 

Most likely, but just keep in mind that natural nut butters only sometimes work for me in baked goods. So use your best judgement and definitely chill the dough still! 

The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies — Soft, chewy and they'll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free! Love it when something so easy tastes so amazing!!

Tips for Making the Best Peanut Butter Cookies

If you want to switch up the flavor of these gluten-free peanut butter cookies a little bit, use honey roasted peanut butter instead of regular. Trust me, it’s so good! 

Note that you MUST chill the cookie dough before baking it. If you bake with warm dough, the cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter. 

Take the flourless peanut butter cookies out of the oven around the 8-minute mark, even if they still look glossy in the center. They’ll finish setting up as they cool on the baking sheet. 

The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies — Soft, chewy and they'll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free! Love it when something so easy tastes so amazing!!

What Readers Are Saying 

These no flour peanut butter cookies have been one of the top cookie recipes on my site for years! Here are a few 5-star reviews that readers have left on these flourless peanut butter cookies: 

These are by far the best peanut butter cookies.” — Kelly

Oh my!! These are the BEST peanut butter cookies ever!! I will literally need a whole jar of peanut butter just for these cookies! They are so delicious and easy to make! Thanks for this recipe!” — Brenda M. 

“This recipe is so good. It is better than traditional peanut butter cookies. I found it and my husband baked them at Thanksgiving for our grandson who is sensitive to gluten. The poor child only got one because the grownups loved them so much. We will definitely be making them again!” — Amy F. 

This recipe is so good. It is better than traditional peanut butter cookies. I found it and my husband baked them at Thanksgiving for our grandson who is sensitive to gluten. The poor child only got one because the grownups loved them so much. We will definitely be making them again!” — Emmy S. 

 

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4.50 from 172 votes

The Best Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

By Averie Sunshine
Soft, chewy and they'll be your new fave PB cookies!! One bowl, no mixer, no butter, naturally gluten-free! Love it when something so easy tastes so amazing!!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Chill Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 13 minutes
Servings: 12
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Ingredients  

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup creamy classic-style peanut butter or honey-roasted peanut butter*
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions 

  • To a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and stir to combine using a spoon. It takes some elbow grease and it’s okay for the dough to be slightly granular because the sugar absorbs into the dough over time as the dough chills.
  • Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form two-tablespoon mounds, place mounds on a large plate, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
  • Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet), flatten slightly using a fork to make a criss-cross pattern if desired.
  • Bake for 8 minutes, or until edges are set and tops are barely set, even if slightly underbaked and glossy in the center. Cookies firm up as they cool; don’t overbake.
  • Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.

Notes

  • *You want to use Jif, Skippy, or similar rather than natural or homemade peanut butter. Sometimes natural versions work fine but not always; classic peanut butter is more trustworthy. I use honey-roasted.
  • Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
  • Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 216kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Sodium: 266mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 17g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Originally published June 5, 2015 and republished July 8, 2022 with updated text.

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Do you have a recipe for the flourless PB cookies?I have a large family and they love that recipe but I don’t know how many times I could quadruple it…..lol .Definitely the best PB cookie I have ever had.

  2. 5 stars
    Do you have a recipe for the flourless PB cookies?I have a large family and they love that recipe but I don’t know how many times I could quadruple it…..lol .Definitely the best PB cookie I have ever had.

    1. Yes the recipe is listed in the recipe card section of this post for these cookies. I am glad your family loves them. You can easily double, triple or quadruple this recipe based on how many cookies you need to yield.

  3. Serving size 1? Hahaha! Only if the cookie is the size of a dinner plate! I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve never eaten just 1 cookie.