Making peanut butter cookies doesn’t get any easier than these 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies that are so soft & chewy. You better make a double batch!
I super love easy recipes and I really really love them when they make a delicious dessert that I can’t get enough of. So I’m swooning over these 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies that are literally ready in less than 30 minutes. You can’t beat that!
My friends, if you are a regular here then you know how much I love a good cookie. You probably also know that when I’m craving a cookie, I don’t want to wait.
Chill time drives me batty, which is why even my most popular recipes (which some do require chill time – links to those below) are not the ones I make the most often. Cookies like these 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies make my heart go pitter-patter.
Peanut Butter Cookies
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My daughter found this recipe in great-grandma’s old cookbook a while back and wanted to give it a try. You see, it’s only 3-ingredients, so it was simple enough for her to make on her own.
I have to admit, I was skeptical that just 3 ingredients could turn into something so delicious. But I was pleasantly surprised.
If you want easy, this is where it’s at. I mean, these cookies are as easy as mixing all the ingredients together in a large bowl and then rolling the dough into balls before baking.
No chill time is required, which is always a hit in my book. There’s nothing worse than wanting cookies only to find out that you have to wait up to 24 hours before you can bake and enjoy them.
Here are some commonly asked questions
Can I use crunchy peanut butter?
YES! Please do! We love to make a batch with creamy and a batch with crunchy to keep things interesting. Either way is delicious and I highly recommend both!
Can this recipe be doubled?
Yes and I actually recommend it because they really do go quickly. It is our favorite peanut butter cookie recipe. Besides, with as fast as it is to make these, it doesn’t hurt to make double.
HOW DO YOU MAKE 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Preheat oven.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Take tablespoon sized scoops of dough and roll them into balls.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2″ apart.
- Use the back of a fork in a cross pattern and press into the cookies to flatten them.
- Bake.
3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
We often make a double batch because once everyone has a couple as they come out of the oven and then they have a couple more after dinner there are hardly any left to enjoy with lunch the next day.
To make this recipe you will need…
These make great gifts for the neighbors this time of year. Of course, make sure there aren’t any nut allergies first before giving these away. But they are so easy that it makes it quick to whip them up and take them over while they are still warm right out of the oven.
Scroll to the bottom for the Printable Recipe
BEST PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE RECIPE
Looking for more cookie recipes?
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Take tablespoon sized scoops of dough and roll them into balls.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2″ apart.
- Use the back of a fork in a cross pattern and press into the cookies to flatten them.
- Bake 8 minutes.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
***If your dough is still too soft, this can be caused by not packing the brown sugar firmly enough or that some peanut butter brands can be oilier than others (making them softer/creamier), which might keep things from coagulating. Try using 1 cup of granulated sugar instead of the 1/2 cup of brown sugar or increasing your brown sugar to 3/4 cup or 1 cup depending on how much moisture you need to absorb. This should give you a thicker dough. You could also try chilling the peanut butter to make it a bit thicker before working with it.
Don’t miss these great ideas from these bloggers….
Boyfriend Cookies | Cookies & Cups
Lofthouse Cookies | Two Twenty One
Tamar A Strauss-Benjamin says
So easy and yummy!
Fool says
These were crap. Took 3o minutes to be able to even have a crumble texture. Wasted an egg and other 2 ingredients .
Gina Kleinworth says
This recipe has been made by literally thousands of people & there has never been an issue before – even with my neighbors 5 year old making them. If you had given more info as to what exactly you did when making the recipe I might have been able to identify where the problem occurred. Guess the name fits.
Diane says
Can you use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar?
Gina Kleinworth says
I’m not sure. I have not tried that yet, Diane. If you decide to make the substitution, can you let me know how it turns out?
Lori says
How do you get these to stick todether? Mine are mushy… 🙁
Gina Kleinworth says
Hmmm, sorry to hear that Lori. I have not had that problem before. Sounds like you need more of the dry ingredients. It could be that you didn’t get enough brown sugar, possibly not packed in enough. It could also be the peanut butter, as some brands can be oilier than others, which might keep things from coagulating. Try using 1 cup of granulated sugar instead of the 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Should give you a different ratio & a thicker dough. You could also try chilling the peanut butter to make it a bit thicker before working with it. Please let me know how it goes in case I run into anyone else with the same trouble.
Lori Anderson says
Thank you! I ended up almost burning the first pan of them just to get them solid enough.. the second sheet I cooked about 10 minutes and then let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to the wire rack to finish cooling. I made them this morning for my son’s road trip to his next base, so I hope they taste okay! LOL… I used Jif creamy… is that one of the peanut butters you find to be more oily?
I may buy a small jar of Skippy to see if that works better next time, but I have a WHOLE lot of Jif now, so need to make more cookies.. LOL
Gina Kleinworth says
Thanks for letting me know how that went. Yes, letting them cool on the baking sheet does help. Also, yes, Jif & Skippy I have found to be creamier – but also thinner/oilier when it comes to this sort of thing. I have been using the Great Value (Walmart brand) creamy which tends to be quite thick, which is probably why my daughter has the opposite result when mixing the dough. She always gets an arm workout getting it all mixed together. But once it is, they bake really nicely. I am almost to the end of my jar, so I will test with some other brands & see how that works & update with the results as I have them.