5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
I don’t usually hop on baking trends, but these 5 ingredient peanut butter cookies were too difficult to resist!!
After seeing this recipe in a ton of videos on TikTok I finally decided to try my hand at them.
I have no clue who came up with the original recipe, but if you know please share in the comments section below so I can credit them.
The fact that they’re made with only 5 ingredients AND require no chill time made me think they’d be too good to be true.
They also are technically gluten free because this recipe uses no flour! I was skeptical to say the least, but I gathered my ingredients and went to work.
I’m happy to report they’re just as incredible as all the videos make them seem!!
My First Batch
I whipped up my first batch in literally a few minutes and popped them into my oven once it was warm enough.
The batter came together so quickly I had to wait for my oven to fully preheat before I could bake them!
I used my favorite creamy peanut butter, which worked great! You can also use a crunchy peanut butter if you want these cookies to have a bit more texture.
For the chocolate chips, I used a mix of jumbo and mini chocolate chips. I love using big pieces of chocolate because they create massive pools of melted chocolate in each cookie.
Chocolate chunks would also work great, or you can also use regular chocolate chips.
Substitutions & Swaps in this Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
While I love this recipe just the way it is, I know some of you might not have all these ingredients on hand!
Below are some swaps and substitutions that can be made in this recipe.
- Brown Sugar – I prefer using light brown sugar in this recipe, but you can use dark brown sugar too!
- Egg – If you don’t have an egg on hand or can’t eat eggs, you can try using a flaxseed egg.
- Peanut Butter – Creamy peanut butter works best in this recipe, but crunchy would work too. You can also use alternative nut butters like almond or sunflower. Just be sure to give them a good stir to make sure they’re not separated and oily before adding them into the batter.
- Chocolate Chips – You can use dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate in this recipe.
How Long Should I Bake These PB Cookies?
The bake time for these cookies can vary a bit based on the type of peanut butter you use, how large of cookie dough balls you roll, and your oven.
I found my cookies were done after about 9 minutes but bake time can vary between 9-11 minutes. Keep an eye on them!
I also prefer my cookies soft and chewy, but if you like yours crispy you can leave them in the oven a couple minutes longer.
Making These 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies Even Prettier
While taste is always my top priority, I really do believe we eat with our eyes first!
To make these cookies even prettier, I like to press a few additional chocolate chips on top of my cookies as soon as I take them out of the oven.
It makes giant pools of chocolate on top of each cookie that look so gorgeous.
I also like to jazz these cookies up with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. It really emphasizes the salty sweet contrast in these cookies, and it looks great too!
How Many Cookies Does this Recipe Make?
T?his recipe makes about 12 cookies using 1 1/2 Tbsp of cookie dough per cookie. You can double this recipe if needed.
If you want to make smaller cookies or use a smaller cookie scoop, decrease the bake time based on the size of the cookie.
Making These Peanut Butter Cookies in Advance
Baked cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
If you want to make the dough in advance, it can be scooped and chilled in the fridge for up to a week or kept in the freezer for up to a month.
The dough can be baked straight from the fridge or freezer, just add a couple extra minutes to the bake time.
Tips for Making the Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- Really aggressively whisk together the brown sugar and egg at the start of this recipe. It helps give these cookies a delicious, chewy texture.
- Use a peanut butter or nut butter that doesn’t separate easily! Some natural peanut butters can cause the cookies to spread more and not bake up as well.
- Use a cookie scoop to make sure each cookie is the same size.
- Ingredients at room temperature mix together better! Make sure the egg isn’t cold before you add it. I like to place my egg in a cup of warm water for about 5 minutes to quickly bring it to room temperature.
- Don’t over-bake your cookies! They don’t really brown much. Even if they seem a bit soft coming out of the oven, they will continue to bake and set on the tray once they’re out of the oven.
- Press a few additional chocolate chips onto the top of your cookies when they’re fresh out of the oven.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this 5 ingredient peanut butter cookies recipe, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.
Other Recipes You Might Like:
5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1 cup packed dark or light brown sugar 200g
- 1 large egg, room temperature 56g
- 1 cup peanut butter 250g
- 1 tsp baking soda 6g
- 1/2 cup milk or dark chocolate chips 90g
Additional Decorations (optional)
- 1/4 cup chocolate chunks
- flakey sea salt – garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F / 175 C and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Set aside.
- Whisk together 1 cup brown sugar and 1 egg for a minute, until the mixture becomes lighter in color.
- Add in 1 cup peanut butter, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Whisk together until fully combined.
- Scoop or roll 12 cookie dough balls (about 1 1/2 tablespoons each) and place on the prepared pan.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes then remove from the oven. Press a few additional chocolate chips on top of the cookies and add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
- Let the cookies fully cool on the baking sheet, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
So good!!!! And so easy! I will definitely be making these frequently
So happy to hear that Jennifer 🙂
thank you so much
Np Kathleen! So happy you liked this recipe 🙂
This was an amazing recipe! My whole family loved it ?
So happy to hear that Amrit!! 🙂 That’s wonderful!!
I just made a batch and they are amazing! A little crumbly at first like you said but once they cool down a bit they hold together well. My family has some gluten allergies and they’re perfect seeing as there isn’t any flour. Thanks for sharing!!! 🙂
Aw I’m so happy to hear that!! That is wonderful, thanks for sharing Hailey!!! 🙂
Can you also her chocolate paste instead of peanut butter ?
Hi Megan,
does your chocolate paste have a similar consistency to nutella or a chocolate spread? If so, you can definitely use it in place of the peanut butter in this recipe!
These were honestly the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tasted, and so quick to put together! After my first batch became one with my cooling rack, I left the second batch on the pan until they were completely cooled and they didn’t crumble at all!
What are your thoughts on reducing the sugar by 1/4 cup? My hubby thought they were a little grainy today (made them last night)
So happy to hear that kiara! I haven’t played around with reducing the amount of sugar, but I think they should still bake up just fine if you reduce the sugar a bit. I’d love to hear how they turn out if you try that, please let me know 🙂
Works with almond butter too, fyi! I used one with a similar consistentency as peanut butter (MaraNatha) and it was great, although maybe a bit sweet.
That’s great to know Marisa, thank you for sharing!!
They are are so yummy. I made them worth my 9 yr old son. A little crumbly but my family couldn’t wait for them to come.
I love hearing that Elat!! Haha a few cookie crumbles didn’t stop me from devouring these either 😛
Hello, I was just wondering about the nutrition numbers …how did you come to get the totals per cookie. These were really good!
Hi Rachel,
My recipe card plugin totals the entire calories used in the recipe, then divides it by the number of servings. Hope that helps, happy baking!
Baked these with my daughter today. So easy and fast to make. Luckily we had all the ingredients! Thanks for sharing during this hard time ?
So happy to hear that!! Hope they helped brighten your day 🙂
Have you tried it without the chocolate chips? I have all the ingredients except for those.
Hi Michelle,
No worries! You can omit the chocolate chips and bake them without them! They’ll still be delicious!!
Is it normal for the batter to look somewhat liquidy before you bake them?
Hi Jessie,
The cookie dough should be quite thick! What type of peanut butter did you use?? It will probably turn up fine, but my dough was quite thick (you can see it in the video). Did they end up baking up ok??
Hey there!! I baked these yesterday and they are some of my favorite peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made. I cant wait to make more already lol. They did come out a bit grainy from the brown sugar (which I actually enjoyed) I’m just wondering if you think this happened because I used a fork to mix up the batter instead of a spatula?
Hey there! I made these yesterday and they were incredible. Best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made! Cant wait to make them again lol. They did come out a bit grainy from the brown sugar (which I actually enjoyed) but I’m wondering if that happened because I mixed up the batter with a fork instead of a spatula?
Hi Kayla,
So happy to hear that! My husband actually said the same thing about these cookies, and I felt the same way you did (I liked it!). That’s just the nature of this recipe (there’s not a ton of liquid to dissolve / break down the sugar). It shouldn’t really be affected by what you use to mix!
If you want them to be less grainy, you can try adding just the egg and brown sugar into the bowl first, giving them a really good whisk, then mixing in the other ingredients. Hope that helps, happy baking!
what could i use as a substitute for peanut butter? my sister is allergic to it and i want her to be able to eat some too if possible
Hi Sydney,
You can use any alternative nut butter in place of the peanut butter in this recipe <3
great recipe delisious ?
thank you
Thanks Lola!! 🙂
Hi there! Thank you for the recipe! Cookies were delicious but came out extremely flat and spread out, how do I fix that?
Hi Alyeska,
The thickness can vary based on the peanut butter you use! I find a thick, stable PB like JIF or Skippy works best, and that some natural peanut butters that separate can cause the cookies to spread more.
You can also chill your cookies in the fridge for 20 minutes before baking them to reduce spreading. Hope that helps, happy baking!
These cookies are amazing! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made mine with semi sweet chocolate chunks and they were delicious!
So happy to hear that Erin!! Those sound delish! 🙂
my son is allergic to peanut butter so is it possible to make these without peanut butter?
Hi Sophia,
You can use a different type of nut butter in place of the peanut butter. I bet they’d taste great with almond butter 🙂
I am happy to report that reducing the sugar worked! I did 3/4 cup, and they turned out beautifully. Still a nice firm dough, and the baked product is not grainy at all.
Worth noting though, that I only got 10 cookies from this batch instead of 12.
Good to know, thanks for sharing Kiara!!
The cookies are definitely not grainy when the egg and sugar are mixed together first. I used a hand mixer to do so.
That’s great to know, thank you for sharing Cherina!!
Great recipe. They turned out amazing, very soft. Hubby loved them. I will definitely be making these cookies again, they took no time to put together and bake. Nice warm dessert. Thank you for sharing.
So happy to hear that Lennet!!
I made these and I think I left them in the oven too long because they were very dry. I’m going to try this again with cookie butter!
Hi Matt,
Omg that would be delicious! The bake time can vary based on your oven, the size of your cookies, and even the pb you use, so if you find they’re baking quickly you can definitely take them out of the oven earlier!!
These cookies are so amazing. I’m recommending them to all of my friends. The best part is that they always stay soft! I don’t even know how that works, but it’s amazing.
That’s wonderful to hear Sabrina!! 🙂
So delicious! My whole family loved them!
So happy to hear that Nicole 🙂
For me, they were either falling apart or burned. Maybe next time.
So sorry to hear that Kendra! What type of peanut butter did you use?? did you change the recipe at all? Hopefully we’ll be able to figure out what went wrong!
Just tried out this recipe! The cookies are amazing! Very yummy too! I adjusted by using 3/4 cup of white sugar and also chunky peanut butter! Hehe! Adding on to the crunch! Thank you so much for the recipe and video guidance! Much appreciated!! ??
That’s awesome Candice! I bet they were delicious with crunchy PB 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
I have been making these for 15 years but without the baking soda – just pb, egg, and sugar; sometimes I toss in some chocolate chips. I place a small thumbprint in the center, and I know they’re done when the center has puffed up (10-12 minutes). Also, if you hate cleaning pb out of measuring cups, double the recipe: one 14-18 ounce jar of pb, two eggs, and two cups of sugar. It’s so quick and easy, and it’s less cleanup! The plain dough makes great Kiss Cookies – just plop a chocolate Kiss in the center once they come out if the oven, and cool them as usual.
Are these dairy free if you make them without chocolate chips?
Yup! You can also use vegan chocolate bits in place of the chocolate chips 🙂
Can I add a banana to this recipe?
Hi Jodi,
I haven’t tried it, but you can probably add 1/4 cup of mashed banana in place of the egg in this recipe! That’d be the best way to incorporate it without making the cookies too soft! <3
My peanut butter is very greasy used peanut butter with honey… It turned raw and tried to bake it longer so it was burnt. When its greasy do you recommend chilling it first?
Hey! I baked these tonight & they were really easy to make and came out perfect!
I made some changes to the recipe though, I added in 3/4 cup of sugar & added in a bit more peanut butter. The crunchy peanut butter added a lovely texture to the cookies, it went really well with the dark chocolate chips.
I baked these in the oven at 350 F and for 12 minutes, the bottoms came out slightly burnt.
Wowza but these truly do spread into the perfect flat cookies. I would say they resemble Tim Hortons cookies (in terms of flatness and size). I created 9 cookies from this batter, but I would definitely use a smaller scoop next time and would space it out more since the batter does spread quite a bit.
These came out a bit flatter than I expected, so if you want a more thicker cookie I would recommend putting the batter into the fridge for a bit. That’ll prevent too much spreading.
To summarize what I’d do for my next batch:
-less sugar (1/2 cup)
-mix egg and sugar first to prevent graininess
-continue using crunchy peanut butter
-refrigerate batter for 30 mins to prevent too much spreading
-bake at lower heat for longer -> 330 F for 15 mins?
I’m going to try to bake these again with the changes I’ve highlighted above, will let you all know how they turn out!
this just makes things soooo much quicker! Thank you so much!
These were so delicious! They tasted like snickers. I had to put mine in the oven for another 5 minutes as they were still quite soft.
these cookies turned out:
Awesooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooome.
One of my favorites.
most times when cookies come out of the oven they are still not done, that’s because they keep baking after you take them out. : ).
These are sooooo good. I first saw your post on this recipe on TikTok, and gave them a try. So glad I did! I’m a huge fan!
So good and so fast, great recipe
Hi from germany,
This recipe is so good and delicious, but my first try making them was a fail because the dough turned out to be crummbly. And i dont know why, could it be because of the peanutbutter?
WARNING: RECIPE IS DANGEROUS!
It allows for satisfying a hard core sweet tooth with an absolutely delicious cookie in like 12 minutes (plus whatever time you can stand to let them rest). Because I subbed applesauce for the egg, I was able to cut the recipe in half – to preventing overindulging! Good thing I did, because these were awesome! I’ve never subbed applesauce before… it was great! I didn’t even miss the egg! Nice and soft and not gritty at all… Possibly due to moisture from the applesauce more adequately dissolving the sugar?
I probably could have left them in the oven a bit longer because they wanted to fall apart when handled. I never got to see how they behaved once they COMPLETELY cooled, though… they just didn’t last that long!! Will definitely make this recipe again and again (and again and again). I think these were in the oven within five minutes, and I used a whisk to hand mix the brown sugar and unsweetened applesauce. This one is dangerously simple. Thank you!
I have to say, I was skeptical about making these. But I’m happy I did. I doubled the recipe and added nuts. Very yummy. Thank you!! I will be making these again!!
I love that this is one bowl and very tasty!!
GREAT recipe! I love it! Thanks so much
Absolutely delicious! Thanks so much.
These are delicious!! I used mini semisweet chocolate chips in the batter and had Ghirardelli’s milk chocolate melting chips that I chopped on top! So good! Best part they were ready to eat and dishes cleaned within 30 minutes.
I am so happy to hear that! That sounds absolutely delicious 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!
Hi
Can I use baking powder instead of baking soda
Hi Tahmina,
Great question! Sadly you can’t use baking powder in place of baking soda in this recipe Baking powder will prevent these cookies from spreading properly as they bake and will make them too thick / ruin their texture. So sorry!
Our family has been making these since the 1970’s and swapping all sorts of addins; peanut butter chips, m&ms, pecans, etc. We dont add the baking soda and see no difference in quality and we make a smaller size. Some of our family like white sugar instead of brown and add vanilla extract. In other words one of the most adaptable cookie recipes to suit everyone’s taste.
I’ve made these so many times. So easy and a family favorite. Brother asks for them every holiday! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so happy to hear that Hallie 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!