Platter Talk › Desserts › Cookies › 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
4.72 from 60 votes
Posted by Dan from Platter Talk
on Aug 11, 2019, Updated May 13, 2023
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3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies are perfect for young and not-so-young alike. If you’re learning how to bake, these classic peanut butter cookies are an ideal place to start.
Or maybe you’re just learning how to dunk cookies, which comes more naturally to some than others. Remember: Practice makes perfect. Either way, this is one of our most popular peanut butter recipes!
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About these
I’m declaring this easy peanut butter cookie recipe to be a miracle. They are filled with peanut butter flavor and simple enough for a kid to make. And you only need three ingredients! No wonder these flourless peanut butter cookies are Peter Pan’s favorite cookie for dunking. He’s a smart guy!
New to baking? Learn how to make cookies from our own in-house professional chef, CIA-trained Chef Kat.
Make these simple dessert treat in just 20 minutes!
Ingredients and notes
For the Peanut Butter – Use your favorite commercial peanut butter. Creamy or crunchy peanut butter both work for this easy cookie recipe. It’s a matter of personal preference and for me; I like a little crunch!
For best results, do not use natural peanut butter for this recipe. This makes the cookies crumbly and they won’t turn out well.
For the Sugar Use white or turbinado sugar like we do in this version. Many readers have reported using 1/2 the sugar the recipe with great results.
For the Egg: Use an extra-large egg for this recipe, if you have some.
Expert Baking Tip: When baking cookies, it is always best to use a room temperature egg. This will allow the cookies to bake more evenly. Follow this link to learn how to quickly get eggs to room temperature!
How to make them
(Full directions in the recipe card below.)
The best peanut butter cookies are also the easiest to make. These great cookies will prove my point!
1. Start by mixing all three ingredients in a large bowl. Use a stand mixer or an electric mixer if you have one for less work.
- Stir until smooth.
2. Use a cookie scoop to place 1-inch cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
3. Use a drinking glass to flatten the cookies a bit and then make a hash mark (cross-hatch pattern)with the tines of afork.
4. Bake at 350°F in a pre-heated oven for 12 minutes.
5. After 12 minutes, remove the cookies from the oven and allow to rest on baking sheet for at least two more minutes.
6. Transfer the cookies to acooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
Variations and Substitutions
To Make These Crispy – Follow the directions and baking times as shown in the recipe below.
To Make Them Soft – Reduce baking time to 9 or 10 minutes. Press them only lightly with the drinking glass, before marking them with a fork (they will be thicker).
To Make Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies – Press them a little thinner with the drinking glass before marking them with the fork.
This peanut butter cookie recipe can make crispy, chewy, or soft peanut butter cookies.
As with all recipes, add some extra ingredients to these homemade peanut butter cookies and make these your own!
- Add some chocolate chips to the mix.
- Frost these with some decadent Nutella.
- Take a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and make a sandwich cookie.
- Substitute chunky peanut butter for the creamy type. (I like the extra crunch in every bite!)
- We like to add a little vanilla, as shown in the recipe video.
You can use brown sugar to give these an extra golden brown finish!
An easy cookie recipe for kids
With just three ingredients, these peanut butter cookies are a good way to teach kids how to bake.
We’ve featured our boys in many recipes for kids in the past. Some of them include:
- Supernatural Fudge Brownies
- Easy Calzones using Biscuit Dough
- Lemon Crunch Buddies
They are great cooks and bakers, and two of our six boys are thinking they want to go into the culinary field. No big surprise here.
This is such an easy peanut butter cookie recipe for kids; it seems like a natural choice for whenever they are in the mood to bake, which is pretty often!
Similar recipes
Here are a few of our other favorite easy cookies recipes that our kids love:
- Cherry Chocolate Kiss Cookies
- Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Common recipe questions
Can I make these ahead of time?
Yes, these are great make-ahead cookies. Keeping in line with the “3” theme going on here, you can put make this recipe up to 3 days ahead of time and store in an airtight container until ready to dunk.
Can I freeze these cookies?
You can freeze these cookies for up to 3 months. Just thaw them out to room temperature before serving.
Make This Irresistible Quick Dessert
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3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
4.72 from 60 votes
These 3-ingredient cookies are ideal for teaching kids how to bake. Featuring simple ingredients, this awesome recipe is pure heaven for peanut butter lovers, young and old!
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 15 minutes mins
Total: 20 minutes mins
Yield: 12 servings
By: Dan from Platter Talk
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, optional
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Stir the ingredients together until smooth.
Scoop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. (Roll into 1″ balls with your hands, if you do not have a scoop.)
Press down with the back of a fork and then press again from the opposite direction, to form the criss-cross pattern on top
Bake for 12 minutes and allow to rest on baking sheet, 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
Video
Notes
To Make Them Crispy
- Follow the directions and baking times as we outline above.
To Make Them Soft
- Reduce baking time to 9 or 10 minutes.
- Press them only lightly with the drinking glass, before marking them with a fork (they will be thicker).
To Make Them Chewy
- Press them a little thinner with the drinking glass, before marking them with the fork.
Nutrition
Calories: 196kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 13mg, Sodium: 104mg, Potassium: 144mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 20IU, Calcium: 11mg, Iron: 0.5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @plattertalk or tag #plattertalk!
Updated from the Original post created on February 9, 2016.
Categorized as:
Cookies Desserts Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Recipes Top Recipes
Meet the Platter Talk Guys
Dan & Scott split their time between Wisconsin and Southwest Florida and are dads to six boys. Good food runs through their veins, and they love showing others how to cook easy recipes.
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