I am so excited to finally reveal this post!
I’ve had this post written for about 3 weeks.
Since even before my photography trip to Mexico City
And even before I announced that we were moving
And before we moved into our new house this past week.
These cookies are long gone.
But they are such great little memories.
Must.make.more.
Step-by-step photos:
Combine everything in one bowl
Look at all that glorious peanut butter!
Stir to combine
The dough will be sticky but workable.
It seems like a sticky blob and I thought I was going to have peanut butter everywhere and it would be really hard to work with but all was well. Something about the oil in the peanut butter plus the sugar seemed to keep the dough from being un-workable or too messy.
If it really does seem too messy, I’d add a tablespoon or two extra of sugar to soak up the sticky + moisture factor.
Roll dough into balls or drop onto a cookie sheet with a spoon.
Or, if you want to refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes or so before you roll the balls, great. But I didn’t bother.
Lightly press the tops with a fork.
But don’t squeeze the Charmin too much and flatten them into little pancakes.
I like this picture. And I like raw dough balls.
Sprinkle with a pinch each of brown and white sugar.
Bake and allow to cool.
I had read on various websites with similar recipes that they don’t really spread much at all. Mine actually did spread a bit, so keep that in mind.
Impress everyone with how easy these are and how good they taste!
The active prep time on these is about 2 minutes to make the batter and about 8 minutes to roll into balls.
So 10 minutes of work
10 minutes to bake
And in 20 minutes you can be chomping away.
It’s the simple things in life like cookies that just make me so happy.
And bonus to the extremely minimal amount of cleanup and dishes. One bowl. Love it.
The taste is full of peanut butter flavor and full-bodied.
You definitely know you’re eating a peanut butter cookie and not a sugar cookie which is the problem with lots of peanut butter cookies, I find.
Most cookies are not peanut buttery enough for my liking but these are full-bodied peanut butter flavor for all PB fiends like me.
They are rich and satisfying. Not some little light airy cookie.
I can feel just a little oil from the peanut butter on my lips when I eat them. <– To me, that’s a turn on. Means they’re full of good.stuff. Like 1 cup of PB!
You can just see by looking at the center of the cookies that they are going to be moist. I always look at cookie centers to see if they are a touch under-baked and moist looking.
And because of all that PB, they’re not dry. I despise dry cookies and baked goods. Not worth my chew. These are anything but dry.
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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten Free, with Vegan Option)
3/4 c white sugar
1/4 c brown sugar, packed
1 c peanut butter
1 egg (replace real egg by combining 1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 tbsp warm water in a small bowl and stirring. Allow a “jelly” to form after a few minutes and use this as your “egg”)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in one bowl and stir by hand with a spoon.
Directions:
Form into 1 inch balls (I rolled mine with my hands but you could just drop them on a cookie sheet with a spoon) and place on cookie sheet (I used parchment-lined for easy cleanup).
Optional: Lightly press each ball with a fork to make criss-cross patterns
Dust each cookie with a pinch of white and brown sugar before baking
Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until barely browned. They can go from raw to burned in about 90 seconds so watch them.
Allow to cool well and they may not look very well done after 10 minutes, but that’s ok. Take them out of the oven anyway and allow them to cool.
Yields 18 cookies (mine were a bit thin and farily small. Reducing to 12-15 thicker/bigger cookies may work even better which I will try next time)
Edited to add January 2013: There is an updated (and even better) version of these cookies Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (gluten-free) – My new favorite Peanut Butter Cookie recipe
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Related Recipes:
Edited to add January 2013: There is an updated (and even better) version of these cookies Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (gluten-free) – My new favorite Peanut Butter Cookie recipe
If you love peanut butter as much as I do, you may want to check out my Peanut Butter Recipes compilation post
Including 2 Minute Peanut Sauce + Raw Vegan Spring Rolls
No Bake Nutella & Peanut Butter Graham Bars with Chocolate Frosting
Questions:
Do you like peanut butter cookies?
I have Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls
Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Flour (Vegan, GF)
And all the peanut butters recipes and ideas linked in one place.
Yes, I really love peanut butter cookies!
Edited to add January 2013: There is an updated (and even better) version of these cookies Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (gluten-free) – My new favorite Peanut Butter Cookie recipe
Sorry if someone already asked this… any idea if raw honey would sub for the sugar well? We are off sugar but love the simplicity of this. If you haven’t tried honey, I may need to just try a half-batch and let you know.
The issue is that because of the simplicity, the sugar plays a role to bind the dough and honey is going to be a soupy mess I fear in the oven. You could try it but I have a feeling the cookies will go flat and spread on you. You could trying using brown sugar rather than white if that’s better for your dietary needs…
Just made these cookies…Fantastic! My husband is a Vegan and PB nut so they were a big hit in my family! I have “pinned” several of your recipes and can’t wait to try.
So glad to hear they were a hit! Thanks for pinning my stuff, too!
Make these next if you want to tweak them up with chocolate :)
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/08/flourless-chocolate-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
These cookies are fantastic – I chose the vegan option – I have never been a huge fan of peanut butter cookies only because they always tasted more like peanut-flavored cookie – I could always taste the flour in them. I am newly vegan and also working my way toward gluten free – my bf is both already (it’s changed his life) – so I made these for him on his birthday. I didn’t have a lot of time and these were EXACTLY what I was looking for. Simple, sweet, crunchy, chewy, peanut buttery and just REALLY good. He loved them! I’m bringing some into work tonight – not even going to mention they are vegan/GF – people get all freaked out about it.
The only thing I did a little differently was I used organic white and brown sugar and I rolled and flattened them in the white sugar before baking – I also lowered the temp of the oven to 300 and baked for 12-15 minutes..I was afraid of hard cookies – but not sure it would have mattered.
Thanks for the glowing report and so glad they were a hit! :)
Averie I am OBSESSED with all your recipes and these cookies look amazing. I love your philosophy on dessert- simplicity rocks! I want your bod and I want your food, but I don’t think I could ever have both together :(
Anyway quick question, obviously peanut butter and the Vitamix are two staples in your kitchen but I’ve never heard of you making your own peanut (or any nut) butter with the Vitamix…why is that? I have yet to try making homemade peanut butter in my Vita and wanted to hear your opinion before doing so.
Have a great day and thanks for all the inspiration!! xxoo
Peanuts, like all nuts, can be expensive to buy ounce for ounce compared with regular peanut butter and the WORK involved in making it, cleanup, the noise..there are sometimes where although I am cheap and frugal, $2.99 on a jar of storebought PB is wayyyyy money and time ahead :)
these are cookies even a nervous maker like me could make (I think). They look great.
yes there is no way to screw up an egg, PB, and some sugar :) make ’em!
Do you think I could mix mini chocolate chips into the dough and bake these? I haven’t tried making these yet, but they look perfect for a GF friend of mine (and easy!)….I may just make them without chocolate :)
Yes, go for it!
These are absolutely gorgeous cookies. I am so glad you chose this recipe so I can make them for myself! :)