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These flourless peanut butter cookies are made simply with just 5 regular pantry ingredients, and have that crispy outside and soft and chewy inside. Use a sugar substitute and they're an amazing low-carb cookie!
Why you'll love this flourless peanut butter cookie recipe
The most classic recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies is simply 1 egg + 1 cup peanut butter + 1 cup granulated sugar. But that makes a cookie that's much more fragile, more crunchy than chewy and has those jagged, cracked edges.
When I first made flourless peanut butter cookies, I was only satisfied with a chocolate flourless PB cookie. It was the only way I could make them soft and chewy.
I finally decided to revisit the classic “3-ingredient” peanut butter cookie version—and make it right. By cutting back on the sugar and adding a bit of baking powder, the cookie held together so much better. I was even able to create the classic crosshatch pattern in a flourless cookie without getting those broken edges.
Is peanut butter gluten free?
Yes, in its pure form, peanut butter is made of peanuts and salt and is naturally gluten free. If you place peanuts (roasted or raw) in a high-speed blender and add salt to taste, eventually you will have peanut butter.
I rarely make my own peanut butter, though, and typically don't bake with truly natural peanut butter. You'll know that your peanut butter is entirely natural when it has only those two basic ingredients, and when it separates as it stands at room temperature into a ring of liquid oil on top and a solid below.
The original ingredients (peanuts, salt) are naturally gluten free, as are all of the potential additives we've mentioned. Make sure you're using a gluten free peanut butter in this recipe or just in a sandwich, you have to read labels—and know your brands.
What brands of peanut butter are reliably gluten free
Some brands, like Jif, will label its peanut butter (and other products) “gluten free” if it fit the U.S. definition of “gluten free,” but may have been prepared on manufacturing equipment that has been shared with gluten-containing products.
Most types of Skippy peanut butter are gluten free, except for those that contain other ingredients. The safest peanut butter brands only make gluten free varieties, like Peanut Butter & Co. Most often, I purchase Skippy peanut butter for my family, but you have to do what makes you most comfortable—and fits in your budget.
Tips on baking flourless peanut butter cookies
Use a “no stir” peanut butter
A nut butter is “no stir” if, when you open the jar, the liquid oil hasn't separated from the solid nut butter. It's all integrated (and not drippy). It usually has palm oil added to it to keep the peanut butter stable and fully emulsified.
Beat that peanut butter cookie batter
It's mostly the balance of ingredients that creates the proper texture in the cookie that's crispy outside and chewy inside. But beating the batter a bit extra helps, too.
In a traditional cookie made with flour, creaming butter (or other fat) with sugar creates a bond between the two that allows the heat of the oven to cause them to rise and crisp. If you want crispy-chewy flourless peanut butter cookies, try beating the batter a bit more.
Use a mixer
This recipe can be made with a bowl and spoon, by hand. But making it with a stand mixer or hand mixer makes cookies with the best smooth texture and the most tender cookie.
The granulated sugar on the outside of the cookies is absolutely optional. But it does help create a bit of a crust on the outside. And you really don't need much granulated sugar to make that sort of magic happen. ✨
FAQs about ingredient substitutions
These flourless peanut butter cookies are already dairy-free and gluten free naturally, with only a few ingredients. The secret to their crispy and chewy success is in the balance of ingredients. So keep that in mind as you consider whether to make changes to the recipe.
Since these are peanut butter cookies, if you don't like nut butter, I suggest you stay away! These are really for peanut butter lovers.
If you're allergic to peanuts, you can try replacing it with a no-stir variety of almond butter (Barney Butter is a good (if expensive) option). Either way, you'll need a “no-stir” variety.
Cashew butter might also work, as long as it's no-stir. I don't think that any of the other, more alternative nut-replacement butters would work. Nutella is just a different ingredient entirely, so it won't work here.
Maybe. You could try replacing the egg in this recipe with a “chia egg” each (1 tablespoon ground chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). The egg really does help to hold this recipe together and make it puffy and chewy rather than crunchy.
I've made this exact recipe with a granulated sugar substitute and although the texture wasn't spot on, it worked. I used Lankato brand monkfruit granulated sweetener, but you could also try Swerve brand. Made with a sugar alternative, the cookies are low carb, high protein, and really satisfying.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons (125 g) granulated sugar, plus more for topping
- 1 cup (256 g) smooth no-stir peanut butter, See Recipe Notes
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg, at room temperature, beaten
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the granulated sugar, peanut butter, and egg, and mix to combine very well. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer) will help get the perfect cookie texture, but it’s not necessary. Add the baking powder, and salt, and mix again to combine.
- Divide the dough into portions of 1 1/2 tablespoons each (a #50 ice cream scoop works great), and place about 1 1/2-inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet. Roll each piece of dough between clean palms, and return to the baking sheet.
- For thicker cookies, place the baking sheet in the freezer to chill for about 10 minutes.
- Wet the tines of a salad fork, press into the extra granulated sugar, and then press into a crosshatch pattern on each piece of cookie dough. Wet the fork as often as necessary to prevent it from sticking to the cookie dough. You can just use the wet tines without the sugar if you prefer.
- Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and the dough no longer glistens on top (although the granulated sugar will glisten where it has clumped).
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet or until firm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What’s the nutrition information on these?
I don’t provide nutrition information, Amy. Feel free to plug the ingredients into your favorite online calculator!
They do look delicious! Is it possible to substitute PB2 powdered peanut butter for the peanut butter to help bring the calories down? If so, how would you recommend doing that?
It’s worth a shot, Rita! I haven’t tried it, so I can’t really say, but my best guess is that you should replace the cocoa powder with PB2 gram for gram (not by volume).
Any suggestions for a gal who insists on using the natural peanut butter? What were the results? Sorry I just can’t put hydronated oils and chemicals in my food. Chocolate and peanut butter is a near perfect combo!
I’m afraid this recipe simply won’t work with fully natural peanut butter, Maggie.
these look amazing and I would love these for breakfast too–I never would have thought to put cocoa in these looks delicous
These look great!! Could you add some oats to this recipe? Would I just need to add more liquid?
You can’t just add oats to this recipe, Melissa. Please use the search function if you’d like recipes for oatmeal cookies.
What brand cocoa powder do you use? Sorry if you’ve mentioned this somewhere else and I missed it!
No worries, Rachael. I believe I responded to you on Facebook about this, but here it is again in case that wasn’t you (or anyone else wants to know!): My favorite brand of cocoa powder is Rodelle, Rachael.
Hi Nicole
Super excited to try making these. Any chance you know if they will work with Xylithol instead of sugar? Trying to go the sugar-free route, but not everything obviously works that well.
Love your website and newsletters all the way from South Africa!
Hi, Monique,
I’m afraid I’m not very optimistic about that. It’s such an incredibly simple recipe, and it relies upon the sugar not only for sweetness, but for texture and structure. Sorry!
I made these just a day or two after you posted the recipe. They’re long gone by now, lol. I thought they were delicious. Since I don’t have a kitchen scale, I had to use volume measurements, and mine baked up with more cracks (which you noted happened to you when you used slightly more cocoa powder), and fell apart when I tried to move them off the cookie sheet. At first I tried to move them after the recommended ten minute cooling period, but they were still much too warm and crumbly, so I waited until they cooled completely and that helped, although I had to be very careful. I stored them in the fridge in an airtight container and that also helped them sturdy up a bit, but they were still pretty delicate. Anyway, no matter, because they were melt-in-your-mouth good (but I didn’t eat them for breakfast)! Thank you!
Hi, Candace, I really can’t recommend purchasing the $15 or $20 for a basic digital kitchen scale enough. Volume measurements are just very, very unreliable, as you found out! And if you ever want to make a flour blend, even my basic gum-free blend, you simply can’t do it without a scale. Glad the cookies were tasty, anyway, but imagine how good they’d be if they didn’t fall apart! ;)
I will definitely be adding a kitchen scale (probably the one you recommend) to my list of wants/needs for my kitchen. Thanks again! I love baking gluten free and it’s much more encouraging when my recipes, and others’, turn out how they’re supposed to. :) Sooner or later I’m going to try some recipes from your Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread cookbook, because I really miss my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
I love you, Nicole Hunn! This is just what my breakfast needs!
I’m not going to lie these look ah-mazing! Can’t wait to have these babies in the freezer for my breakfast adverse children….. I don’t know what’s wrong with them. I love breakfast!