Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
This I Used To Believe
I believed that if I wore a stretched out paperclip across my front teeth I would be one of the cool kids with a retainer. It turns our that retainers only seem cool when you don’t actually have to wear one.
I believed that if I sunk down in my chair low enough in Honors Algebra, I wouldn’t be called on the answer questions that I didn’t have answers to. I didn’t have answers to any… aaany of the questions. In reality, that posture was like a giant, neon, blinking arrow pointed right in my direction.
I believed that if I stayed up all night chewing gum, I was bound to get the part of Violet Beauregarde in the sixth grade performance of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. That part went to my best friend Lindsay. What does it say about me if I still think about that from time to time?
I believed that Dylan would never leave Brenda on Beverly Hills, 90210. Um… remember what happened in the pool? With Kelly!? Brenda’s best friend!? Yea… so that didn’t work out.
I believed that really good cookies simply had to have at least a few cups of all-purpose flour flour in them. These Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies changed my mind. Seriously. I know you’re thinking They’re better than you think. Way way better. These are great!
This post was inspired by last weeks episode of This American Life which, in turn, was inspired by the international essay project, This I Believe. Yaaaaay for public radio!
Believe me when I say that these cookies will surprise you. They’re exactly everything I wanted from a peanut butter cookie, without the flour. With only four ingredients (5 if you add the chocolate) I had perfectly chewy and flavorful peanut butter cookies on my table. With a glass of cold milk… my goodness… swoon! Trust me. Try them!
These cookies aren’t the type that you throw in your purse for an afternoon snack. Because they don’t have flour, they’re just a bit more delicate. If you use all-natural peanut butter, you’re cookies will hold up a bit better than if you use the fake stuff. K?
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
The Gourmet Cookbook
makes about two dozen cookies
1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter
1 cup sugar (1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar)
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with butter and set aside. In a mixer combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes. Roll into walnut sized balls and create a cris-cross pattern with a fork. If you’d like, add a few chocolate pieces to the top of the cookies. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to… your mouth.
261 Comments Add A Comment
Just made these today for a bake sale and they turned out amazing! Peanut butter cookies are not usually my favorite, but I couldn’t pass up a recipe for cookies with only 4 ingredients! Surprisingly (to me) I really like them a lot :) They have such a wonderful peanut butter flavor. I will definitely be making these again!
I was thinking about adding dried cherries and white chocolate chips to this recipe. Would they still turn out?
sounds delicious!
I have just made a batch of these, I didn’t expect them to be so amazing! I stuck a chunk of dark chocolate on each one…
They are amazing! Thanks…
Good morning! First I hav to guess your age because I feel like you were my best friend growing up. I remember making paperclip retainers, even putting almers glue in the pencil tray in the old school desks and when they were dry, peeled them out and tried to use them as long longer nails. 90210! Well I was class of 93 too so I am guess you are around 36:)
Use to have Wednesday night pizza night with all my girl friends! That was an end to a great erra, and the beginning to a whole new one.
I have gotten into the culinary world about 6 years ago, and love to experiment with food.
Even though it’s suppose to get to 91 and humid today, I think I have to turn the oven on to try out these cookies. You mentioned they will hold up better used all Natural PB. I have some traders joes in the frig, that is taking up space. My fiancé did not care for the all natural. I am trying to convert him. Slowly but surely, but we still always have the Jiff on hand.(( I am going to try these out today. I never post anything on peoples sights but you had me at “paperclip retainer”:)
Love it!
Thanks for a great post!
Janell
Ha! Janelle!!! Me too with the paperclip retainers; I couldn’t believe it when I read both of your posts, Joy and Janelle~ Love it… Love the cookies too.
I just made these today but added in some organic dark chocolate chunks. They were absolutely fantastic. Thanks so much!
These turned out so well! In the oven in under 10 minutes, and in my mouth in less than 20. Awesome. A little crumbly, but it’s ok if you’re just eating them at home. I rolled them in sugar since I didn’t have any chocolate on hand, and they’re great.
Hi Joy!
I made these cookies last night for my boyfriend. He loved them so much. I put a chocolate chip in the center of each for a little chocolate flavor. Delicious! Thank you!
Gosh, I don’t believe this is really a recipe! Like, where are the ingredients??!! It’s past midnight here but I’m so tempted to go and put the oven on! I won’t be crazy baker and do them tonight, I will most certainly be making them tomorrow though! I can always count on Joy the Baker for a recipe or two! xx
These are seriously good cookies! I have toiled endlessly over so very many different pb cookie recipes, and yet they NEVER get the elusive texture I have firmly set in my mind. These, however, and as easy as they are to create, have the “it” factor! So peanut buttery, soft, dense…..not to mention, pretty!
Thanks for sharing!
I made a batch of peanut butter cookies for my Grandparents and they didn’t really like those. So I made these and these cookies are perfect! In fact they were all gone in like 12 hours. I’m going to make them again. A bunch more times.
any idea how many Weight Watchers points a cookie would be? Thanks for the recipe, I am looking forward to trying it.
Would sunbutter work????
Would it be possible to substitute the sugar with either stevia or applesauce?
This recipe is like a gods sent gift to me!
How many calories would each cookie be if I used Splenda? Should I just add together the calories of the peanut butter, egg, and baking soda?
Sorry but “fake” peanut butter is the best! Skippy!!!
At 10 PM, I decided to make these! I wanted something simple and quick yet delicious and these did the trick. My dad loved them. I told him I’ll make them on his birthday and he said fine by me, just make sure I get one for each year!! :)
Thanks Joy. I love everything I’ve tried so far!
Super. I used half almond butter, half peanut butter, and added 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
That sounds delicious!
p.s. I just made them again with half a cup of chopped toasted hazelnuts stirred in… and I’m going to drizzle them with dark chocolate :) winner.
I would recognize that Whole Foods melting chocolate anywhere. Good stuff. This is a wonderful basic peanut butter cookies recipe. They came out perfect.