3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies (2024)

These 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies are soft, chewy & filled with big peanut butter flavor. They taste just as delicious as classic peanut butter cookies – only they take way less effort to make.

***This recipe was originally posted in 2018 and updated August 27, 2020 with new photos and recipe tips.***

Did you know you can make extra soft, super addictive peanut butter cookies with only 3 ingredients? It’s true. All you need is peanut butter, sugar & 1 egg – and you end up with delicious peanut butter cookies every time. They’re chewy, never greasy, and have a delicious salty-sweet flavor. These 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies are pretty magical.

I’ve definitely made my fair share of peanut butter cookies here on Just So Tasty –peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, no-bake peanut butter cookies, oatmeal peanut butter cookies…. But sometimes I’m craving peanut butter cookies and I can’t be bothered to use much effort. And when you’re short on time or short on ingredients – then this is the perfect recipe.

How to Make 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies seriously could not be easier to make. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg

You can experiment a little with the amount of sugar if you like. Feel free to use up to 1 cup of sugar, but I wouldn’t recommend using less than 3/4 cup. If you use less than 3/4 cup sugar – I find the cookies can get too thin.

Place all the ingredients in a bowl, then stir them together. You can easily do this by hand using a spoon, whisk, or spatula – or beat it with an electric mixer. The batter will look a little grainy, but don’t worry. You won’t have grainy cookies.

Then form the dough into balls about 1 tablespoon each, place on a lined cookie sheet, and press down the tops using a lightly greased fork. Here’s what mine looked like:

Then the cookies are ready to bake. They’ll take about 8 minutes at 350F, or until the tops look set. You can roll them in sugar before baking if you like, or even sprinkle a little coarse salt or chopped peanuts right on the top right after they get out of the oven. If you prefer thicker cookies, feel free to place the dough balls in the fridge for 15-30 minutes before baking.

Note: When I made these cookies in Canada, they were a little thinner. Since moving to Australia, I find the peanut butter is a little thicker and the cookies, therefore, end up thicker. Peanut butter varieties and brands can differ and therefore lead to a slightly different consistency with your cookies.

Questions, Tips & Substitutions

• I recommend using smooth, classic peanut butter – such as Skippy, Jiff or Kraft. Natural peanut butter is a little more temperamental. I typically don’t use it in baking. If you only have natural peanut butter on hand, be sure to give it a very good stir first before measuring.
• Can you use crunchy peanut butter?Absolutely.
• This recipe also works with most varieties of nut butter – almond and sun butter work well. I recommend using a nut butter that is stabilized – ie it shouldn’t have oil at the top. Make sure to give it a good stir before measuring.
• For the sugar, it can be substituted with brown sugar or palm sugar. Do not substitute the sugar with honey, agave or maple syrup – your cookies will be too thin.
• Feel free to use anywhere between 3/4 and 1 cup of sugar for sweeter cookies.
• My cookies spread thin – what went wrong? If your cookies were too thin, next time form the dough into balls, press them down using a fork, and then place them in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. Different brands and varieties of peanut butter (especially in different countries) can have slightly different consistencies and therefore lead to cookies that are a little thinner or a little thicker.

These 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies are such a delicious treat that couldn’t be easier to make. No mixer, 3 ingredients, under 30 minutes, and zero fuss. You’re sooooo close to extra soft & chewy peanut butter cookies. Plus, they’re the perfect easy recipe if you’re baking for someone who’s gluten-free.

For more peanut butter cookies, try these other favorites:

• No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
• Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies