Quick, easy and delicious 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies. They take just minutes to throw together and are so easy the kids can make them!
I’m all about simple cookie recipes—simple ingredients and simple instructions! Believe it or not, these cookies are even easier than no bake cookies or gooey butter cookies made with cake mix!!
only 3 ingredients!
One of my pet peeves is when I start a recipe and realize half way through that I’m missing an ingredient. The worst! It would be easy to just come up with a quick replacement, but baking is a science. You can’t simply swap out ingredients and expect your finished product to be perfect and taste exactly right.
So, when we saw this recipe for Easy PB Cookies, that only require 3 ingredients, we just HAD to give it them a try!
We’ve been long-time fans of regular Peanut Butter Cookies, and although we were doubtful that these would taste good having only 3 ingredients, we were completely wrong! These PB Cookies were surprisingly tasty, and you don’t have to worry about missing any of the ingredients. All you need is:
- Peanut Butter
- sugar
- one egg
how to make 3 ingredient pb cookies
Making these cookies is a cinch!
Just combine these ingredients together, roll into balls, press down in a criss cross pattern on top with a fork and bake for 10 minutes. It honestly only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish, and is so easy the kids could do it by themselves without messing it up too much. 😉
Recipe Notes:
- You can substitute the white sugar with brown sugar, or do half and half.
- For a lighter texture, add an extra egg. It will make the dough stickier so you won’t be able to roll it. Just use a cookie scoop to plop dough on a cookie sheet.
- Chill for 15-20 minutes before scooping and baking—this will help keep them from spreading as much.
Variations: Top with chocolate chips, or chocolate frosting. You can also make them into a sandwich with vanilla frosting or vanilla ice cream in the middle.
What is the best peanut butter to use? Natural Peanut butter is not recommended as the texture is quite different and the cookies don’t turn out as well. Your best bet is to stick with something smooth and creamy like JIF, Skippy or even a generic store brand.
NOTE: Higher elevations may require a different bake time. Watch carefully so they don’t burn.
storage tips
How to store dough: Cover the bowl and store dough in the fridge for about 2 days. You can also shape the dough into cookies then flash freeze on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, place the cookies, separating the layers with parchment paper, in a freezer safe airtight container. Freeze for 3-4 months.
How to store baked cookies: Store baked cookies in an airtight container for about 3-5 days. You can also freeze baked cookies. Place cookies in an airtight freezer safe container, separating the layers with parchment paper. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Who wouldn’t want a simple and tasty PB cookie that took just 15 minutes to make from start to finish? Yeah, that’s what I thought. 😉 Let us know they go if you give them a try.
For more peanut butter cookie recipes, check out:
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
- Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
- Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Using an electric mixer, beat together the peanut butter, sugar, and egg until smooth and creamy. Roll mixture into small balls and place on a baking sheet. Using a fork, flatten each ball, making a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Adapted from allrecipes.com
hey girl- these cookies look oh so good!
They really are!! Hope you try them!
Tried the 3 ingredient p.b. Cookies ???? best p.b. Cookie. I have ever tried.me and my wife love them!!!
Yay!! Thank you so much for letting me know & I am so glad you both liked them!
I can’t believe how easy & tasty these cookies are!! I love recipes with few ingredients! Peanut butter cookies are so yum!!
My 11 year old has been interested in learning to bake. this was an easy recipe for her to try out. They turned out perfectly and her siblings ate them right up.
These cookies are so easy to make and yet they taste super delicious! My family and I love them!
Easiest cookie recipe I’ve ever tried! And they taste good 🙂 I love me a good peanut butter cookie and THis recipe is a keeper!
Hi Kristyn! I live in Aurora , Co,and the atmosphere here is different. I just baked these cookies, they smell awesome, but they kind of scorched a little bit. what would be a good oven temperature to use? thanks, emma clark
Thank you for trying them. You could try shortening the time to maybe 7-8 minutes. I haven’t tried lessening the oven temp, but you could try 325 degrees.
Haven’t tried yet … but wondered if these are Gluten Free. I have a friend I would like to make these for if they are GF.
None of these ingredients have gluten, so she should be able to eat them 🙂
We made these tonight and they were YUMMY! I did one tray plain and one with chocolate chips and both were a hit. 🙂 Thanks!!
These would be great with chocolate chips!! Glad they were a hit!!
Very easy to do. You can make several batches in no time at all.
That’s why I love it! Glad you did too. Thank you!
Dumb question, but can i mix by hand? will i get the right consistency?
I haven’t used my hands, but you sure could 🙂 Enjoy!!
Amazing and super easy to make!! 🙂
Well, it can’t get much easier than 3 ingredients. HOw great is that? This is a recipe I can hand my kiddos and not worry about them making it. Thanks!
So easy to make and so delicious! I love that they are naturally gluten free!
could you add Oatmeal to this recipe??
You sure could 😉 Hope you like them!
Can I use raw cane sugar instead?
I personally haven’t, but I don’t see why not 🙂
I don’t have any eggs, can i substitute 1/4 of applesauce instead?
You sure could 🙂 Enjoy!!
Being a baker myself, I was quite skeptical about this 3 ingredient recipe. However, I have a sweet tooth and only have a few ingredients on hand where I am staying. I tried these cookies and much to my surprise they are delicious and quick to make!
I put a small chopped up piece of dark chocolate candy bar on each cookie and baked for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. The batch made 17 cookies ( I used a small cookie dough scooper). I also put in fridge for about 10 mins or so before I baked them. Thanks for sharing this simple recipe.
You are so welcome!! Adding the chocolate is a great day! Thank you!
I made these. I only had 1 egg. Lol!! They are soft and yummy!!
Yay! Glad to hear that you enjoyed the cookies!
These were actually really terrible.
Took twice the time to bake and had a terrible texture
Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try!
Great recipe for an old classic. Soft and chewy just out of the oven! And only 3 ingredients!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the cookies. And yes, the three ingredients makes them so easy to just whip up when you have a craving for cookies. 😉
These are on a monthly rotation in our house.
My son in laws ask for them all the time!
LOVE LOVE LOVE
Oh I love to hear that!!! So glad the cookies are a hit!
Love recipe. Different from my traditional but tasty. Will use BROWN sugar next time
Thank you so much for sharing that!