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! (Don’t miss my tips for making these low-carb, sugar-free, Keto.)
I super love easy recipes and I really really love them when they make a delicious dessert that I can’t get enough of.
Gina’s Recipe Rundown:
Texture: They’re a great combination of satisfying chewiness and a bit of crunch from the peanut butter’s natural texture!
Taste: The combination of peanut butter, sugar, and egg creates a perfectly balanced flavor that’s both sweet and nutty.
Ease: They’re quick to prepare, requiring just a few ingredients you likely already have in your pantry.
Why I love it: It’s a perfect cookie for when you’re craving something sweet but don’t want to spend a lot of time baking!
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.
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- Gina’s Recipe Rundown:
- Here are some commonly asked questions
- Can I use crunchy peanut butter?
- Can this recipe be doubled?
- 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies recipe
- HOW DO YOU MAKE 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Can I Use Natural Peanut Butter?
- Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
- Can these be made with another type of nut butter?
- Can these be made nut-free?
- Can this recipe be cut in half?
- Can we use confectioner’s sugar instead of brown?
- Ingredients for peanut butter cookies…
- Can you add rolled oats as a dry ingredient?
- Is chilling necessary?
- My dough is too thin, what do I do?
- Making Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
- What is the best Keto peanut butter?
- More Great Goodies to Try
- BEST PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE RECIPE
- More Awesome Peanut Butter Recipes
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 I use natural peanut butter?
Yes, you can use natural peanut butter, but keep in mind that it may make the cookies a little more crumbly since it doesn’t contain added oils. You might need to adjust the texture slightly by adding a bit more sugar or an extra egg.
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.
Can I make these cookies without eggs?
Yes! You can substitute the egg with a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 2.5 tablespoons water) or a chia egg (1 tablespoon chia seeds + 2.5 tablespoons water) for a vegan version.
How do I make the cookies crunchy?
For crunchier cookies, flatten the dough balls more with a fork and bake a little longer. You can also add chopped peanuts to the dough for extra crunch.
Can I add other flavors to the cookies?
Yes! You can easily add mix-ins like chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or a pinch of vanilla extract for extra flavor.
Can these be made with another type of nut butter?
Yes – if you would like to use almond or cashew butter – these cookies will work with either of those varieties.
Can these be made nut-free?
Yes – these cookies can be made nut-free if you swap out the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter – often called SunButter.
How long should I bake these cookies?
Bake the cookies at 350°F (175°C) for about 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden around the edges. Keep an eye on them to avoid over-baking.
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.
Can this recipe be cut in half?
Since this recipe only calls for one egg – you will need to whisk the egg until the yolk is blended with the white and then portion out half of that. Or you can use a pasteurized egg product to measure out half of an egg to cut this recipe in half.
Can we use confectioner’s sugar instead of brown?
Please do not use confectioner’s sugar/powdered sugar. That is not the right consistency and will alter the flavor as well.
Ingredients for peanut butter cookies…
- creamy peanut butter
- egg
- brown sugar
Can you add rolled oats as a dry ingredient?
Do you mean in place of the sugar? I would think that would turn these into more of a granola breakfast biscuit. I’m not sure how adding the oat would work along with the sugar.
Definitely make the dough thicker, the chewiness of the cookies, and might change the baking time too.
Why are my cookies too crumbly?
f the cookies are too crumbly, try adding a little more peanut butter to the dough or ensure that you’ve mixed the ingredients well enough to form a cohesive dough.
Should I use light or dark brown sugar?
Since I make my own brown sugar, I use light brown sugar for almost all of my recipes. But light or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe.
Want to know how to make your own brown sugar – visit my Homemade Brown Sugar post here.
Is chilling necessary?
Chilling isn’t necessary unless you wish to make the dough thicker as mentioned in the notes of the recipe.
My dough is too thin, what do I do?
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 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 thicker dough. You could also try chilling the peanut butter to make it a bit thicker before working with it.
This works ESPECIALLY WELL when using the sugar-free peanut butter that needs to be stirred first. I like to give it a really good stir and then refrigerate it so it stays nice and thick for when I plan on using it.
Making Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
The key to making these Keto, low-carb, or sugar-free is to first start with a sugar substitute. I have tried quite a few because I want it to be as close to what I am used to when having the real thing.
So my personal preference for brown sugar and granulated sugar substitute are the ones from Purecane Sugar Substitute. They are THE CLOSEST to taste and performance when it comes to making these cookies!
Find the Purecane Sugar Substitute Brown Sweetener on Amazon or at the Purecane online store.
What is the best Keto peanut butter?
When we first went to Keto I searched high and low for the lowest carb peanut butter. Everything has sugar in it and I was so frustrated. OR it was insanely expensive and I wasn’t willing to shell out $20 for peanut butter that wasn’t loaded with a bunch of stuff.
Fortunately, I came across Thrive Market. Not only is it made with just peanuts and salt – no sugar, no oil, or anything else added to it. But it is really affordable – like I just picked some up on sale for $2 per jar – regularly just under $4.
I have found that with these cookies, the peanut butter will perform as expected while at room temperature if it is properly stirred using 1 cup of granulated sugar substitute.
It was a bit grittier in texture and far sweeter than my personal preference when compared to the original recipe. However, I did try it again with the same peanut butter chilled and just the 1/2 cup of the brown sugar substitute and they came out EXACTLY like the original recipe.
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.
More Great Goodies to Try
If you love this easy Peanut Butter Cookie recipe, you’re going to love these other cookies too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Santa’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
More Awesome Peanut Butter Recipes
Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Cups
Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
Standard
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar **see notes below
Keto / Sugar-Free / Low Carb
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter choose one that is just peanuts or peanuts and salt – with the lowest net carb count you can find.
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup brown sugar alternative I prefer Purecane Sugar Substitute Brown Sweetener
Instructions
For Both Versions – Process is the Same
- Preheat the 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 for 8 minutes.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
So easy and yummy!
These were crap. Took 3o minutes to be able to even have a crumble texture. Wasted an egg and other 2 ingredients .
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.
Gina – I just want to say that you are my hero. That’s all. As long as you are not a moron, these cookies are super easy to make and delicious. I added a touch of vanilla and a little bit of powdered sugar to thicken up my runny peanut butter and then let the cool on the cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes before transferring them to the wire rack. Not that hard people.
I love you to pieces Bethany – thank you so much!!!!!!! You have no idea how much that means to me.
Can you use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar?
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?
So I made a half batch with coconut sugar. Turned out well as long as you like coconut sugar.
How do you get these to stick todether? Mine are mushy… 🙁
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.
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
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.
These are easy and TASTY. I tripled the recipe, added a whole bag semisweet chocolate chips…using chunky peanut butter. So good!!!
Thanks for the recipe! Its a great tasting treat! Had trouble getting the peanut butter in the bowl.
Perfect and easy!
Superb! So easy and so delicious. Doubled recipe. Got 33 cookies. Yrs I have been searching for such a truly peanut butter cookie recipe.
This recipe is so easy and delicious. I’d love cooking them all the time or until I run out of ingredients.
I have made them with Jiff and Skippy but also tried light and dark brown sd sugar. The dark brown sugar works better for me.
So easy So good! I used regular granulated sugar baked 10 mins. They’re delicious!
This is one of the worst Peanut Butter cookies I’ve tried making. It’s all mushy. Obviously you need more sry ingredients. You need to rewrite this recipe. Very disappointed.
I’m sorry to hear that. I’m guessing that either your peanut butter was one of the oilier brands. Please check the notes where I mention how to make the dough thicker.
I added oatmeal and chocolate chips:) great outcome
Just made the cookies use brow super . Gave them ten minutes looking good thank you
I just made these.. baked 10 min… I think 1 secret is to let them partially cool before moving them. I made them Keto with Sugarfree Peanutbutter and monk fruit… put 3 sugar free chocolate chips on top and shaped them like hearts for Valentine’s Day ❤️ Pretty good … only 2. Something carbs each.. it made 24 cookies… I think what ever brand of peanut butter really matters 🤭
I was going to make a double batch of these but had exactly 1 cup of PB so made another batch with Almond Butter and added a tsp of Almond extract, all I can say is YUMMMY. The almonds ones are nice as they aren’t as sweet as the PB ones and it’s the same ingredients but the almond butter doesn’t have added sugar. It’s nice to have two different flavour but same recipe. This is a keeper recipe.
That’s great to know – I will have to give that a try! Thank you!
Stupid easy and totally yummy. Used dark brown sugar, well packed. Also moved aside the Jif and used the “emergency” store brand jar of creamy from the back of the pantry. I had the biggest craving for a soft and chewy peanut butter cookie and didn’t want to wait until tomorrow or go buy a packaged one. This recipe was the perfect fit. I’ll be saving this gem for the next time!
Just made these and they are delicious! My kids love them!
Simple and yummy! I used Jif, which has already been acknowledged as one of the oilier brands of peanut butter; and I ran a little shy of brown sugar. So, yes, at this point the dough was too soft. I simply added a couple tbsps of granulated sugar, mixed, and then added another tbsp to arrive at a good consistency for rolling into balls. Couldn’t have been any easier! This is a winner recipe!
Never had to scroll through so many ads to get to a recipe in my life,
Yummiest and oh so easy!
Worst pb cookie recipe ever! Only reason I’m writing is so folks don’t waste their expensive PB!
Can I use honey instead of sugar? I’m looking for healthier alternatives.
I understand your desire & reasoning for wanting to do that. However the sugar is the only dry ingredient & not only sweetened the cookies, but helps to bind the ingredients together. I think if you used honey you would just have a bowl of goup.