Five-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Soft, chewy, and packed with peanut butter flavor—these 5-ingredient peanut butter cookies are so easy to make and they are naturally gluten-free! All you need is granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and peanut butter.

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Have you ever tried 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies? It’s a magical recipe that only requires three ingredients total. I’ve modified it slightly to become 5-ingredient peanut butter cookies and it’s still just as easy!

The recipe only requires granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and peanut butter. So easy! I changed it to include both granulated sugar and brown sugar for the perfect combination of spread and chewiness.

You may have noticed two surprising ingredients missing from that list! Butter and flour! With the high fat content of peanut butter, we don’t need butter. Then, the other ingredients work together in a surprising fashion to form stable cookies without the use of flour.

So yes, this recipe is naturally gluten-free! This is one of my favorites to make as a gluten-free option (providing there are no allergies to peanut butter of course!) because they possibly taste even better than a typical pb cookie. No dry crumbly cookies here!

I originally made this recipe following Deb’s post over at Smitten Kitchen. Now I tend to make this slightly adapted version (with the mix of sugars) that I’m sharing today when I want to bake these cookies.

Three Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

• With only five ingredients, this recipe is SO quick!
• You mix up the whole recipe with just a whisk–no mixer needed.
• No flour! A delicious naturally gluten-free recipe.

Ingredients You Will Need

Light Brown Sugar – Use the weight measurement listed for accuracy, or if measuring using a cup measure, be sure to pack the brown sugar!

Granulated Sugar – The balance of using both granulated and brown sugar means these cookies both spread appropriately and remain perfectly chewy.

Eggs – Two large eggs. Usually room temperature is ideal, but I don’t find it to be essential for the success of this recipe.

Vanilla Extract – Use your favorite.

Peanut Butter – I use standard conventional peanut butter here–like Skippy. No organic or natural varieties. According to the original recipe from the Ovenly cookbook you can use these if desired, but the results will be different and I cannot personally attest to the success of the recipe if the peanut butter is substituted.

Flaky Sea Salt – a totally optional ingredient! Sprinkle cookies with a bit for a little something extra.

Pro Tip: How in the world do you measure sticky peanut butter? I like to weigh it! It’s the easiest method by far. If you don’t yet own a food scale, grab one! This affordable tool will totally change your baking game.

How to Make Soft Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

This is just an overview! Find the complete printable recipe at the end of the post.

One of the most unusual aspects of this recipe might be that the dough is mixed with a just a whisk! Use a sturdy whisk and a little extra muscle at the end and you’ll be set. No mixer required!

Combine: In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla. Whisk in the peanut butter until totally combined.

Chill: Chill dough briefly in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Scoop: Scoop dough with a #40 scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) onto baking trays. I like these color-coded scoops from Vollrath so I can grab the scoop I’m looking for quickly.

Bake: Careful not to overbake these. They need to stay really soft and chewy!

Optional: Immediately after removing from the oven, sprinkle the cookies lightly with a little flaky sea salt (like Maldon).

Cool: These cookies are best if allowed to cool completely or nearly completely before indulging.

Tips for Success

• Definitely chill the dough–it makes it easier to scoop!
• Avoid overbaking–if you aren’t sure, then try baking a couple of tester cookies and allowing them to cool for 15-20 minutes before sampling (rest the remaining dough in the fridge while you do this after the initial chill)
• The cookies will be really gooey even after baking the appropriate amount of time–if you bake them until they are dry, they will be burnt! I’ve totally done this before.
• Allow the cookies to cool for 15-20 minutes or so before eating–they have the best texture after cooling! They are too gooey to eat right away.
• Want more? Add chocolate chips for even more indulgence!

How to Store the Cookies

Store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to five days. They are the best texture on the first two days and then (like all cookies) they will begin to slowly dry out. Still very tasty though! Freeze completely cool cookies for up to 1-2 months to keep them longer.

Can’t get enough cookies? Don’t forget to check out my growing list of gigantic Crumbl Copycat Recipes.

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