These 4 ingredient peanut butter cookies are soft, chewy, and full of mini chocolate chips! It's a delicious chocolate peanut butter dessert that everyone will love! This flourless cookie recipe is quick, easy, and fun to make.
If you love the flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter, this is the perfect cookie recipe for you! These flourless cookies are ridiculously simple to make. One bowl, no mixer needed, and they're naturally gluten-free.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Just 4 ingredients: Cookie recipes don't get much easier than this one, unless they're no-bake cookies.
- Freezer friendly. Save time by making a double (or triple!) batch of cookie dough at one time. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 4 months!
- Super quick to make. It only takes 20 minutes to make a batch, from start to finish, including baking time!
It might seem too good to be true to make delicious cookies with only 4 ingredients- but I'm here to tell you it's not!
These cookies are as yummy as they are simple- you have to try them!
Are you a fan of chocolate peanut butter desserts?! I have a lot of recipes for them! Make some Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies or Hershey Kiss Cookies. And if you're a brownie lover, Reese's brownies are the best!
Ingredients
See ingredient substitutions in the next section. ⬇️
Keep in mind that because this is a flourless cookie recipe, these peanut butter cookies will be flatter than you may be used to.
- creamy peanut butter: It's best to use a no-stir variety, like Jif or Skippy. The oils in natural peanut butter tend to separate, which can affect the texture of the cookies.
- white granulated sugar: This is where some of the sweetness comes from, and when the sugar caramelizes during baking, it gives the cookies their golden brown color.
- large egg: The egg adds stability and moisture to the dough.
- mini chocolate chips: I use mini chips to prevent the chocolate flavor from being the star of the show.
Substitutions and Recipe Variations
- peanut butter: Feel free to use crunchy peanut butter if you prefer it. Other nut butters like cashew butter and almond butter will also work.
- white granulated sugar: To reduce the calories, you can substitute the sugar with any cup-for-cup variety of granulated sugar substitute. Monk fruit sugar is a good option. If you'd like, you can substitute some or all of the white sugar with brown sugar.
- mini semi-sweet chocolate chips: Feel free to use dark, bittersweet, or milk chocolate chips. Or, omit the chips altogether if you'd like.
To change the flavor, you can use white chocolate chips or for more peanut butter flavor, use peanut butter chips. If you plan on making your cookie dough balls larger, feel free to use regular semi-sweet chocolate chips.
If you have mini chocolate chips left over, you can use them to make a delicious cannoli dip. - egg: The egg is important because egg yolks add structure to cookie dough. While a flax egg might work as an egg substitute, I haven't tested it with this recipe.
Optional Ingredients for 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- coarse salt: You can add ¼ teaspoon of sea or Kosher salt to the dough, or sprinkle a tiny bit of flaky sea salt over the unbaked cookies.
- baking soda: Unlike traditional cookie recipes, there isn't a leavener in this recipe. This means that the cookies may be a little flatter than you are used to. If you want them to rise a little bit, you can add ½ teaspoon of baking soda to the dough.
- vanilla extract: If you want to add a little bit of vanilla flavor, add ½ teaspoon of extract. I suggest stirring it in when you add the egg.
- nuts: Stir in some finely chopped nuts of your choice.
How to Make Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Summary only. The complete recipe instructions are in the card at the bottom of this post ⬇️
- Combine all ingredients in one bowl.
- Portion the dough and create crisscross pattern.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes.
- Let cookies cool on pan for 5 minutes.
Liz's Tips for the Best Cookies
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This prevents the cookies from sticking to the pan.
- Don't want a pattern on your cookies? If you don't want to make a crisscross pattern on the cookies, that's fine. However, you will then need to your fingertips to gently flatten the dough a little bit.
- Want larger cookies? It’s ok if you make the dough balls a little larger. The important thing is to keep them as close in size as possible. Otherwise, they won't bake evenly.
- Feel free to use a hand mixer or stand mixer if you want to. I just find it easiest to stir everything together.
- Use cooking spray to prevent sticking. The dough will be a little sticky when rolling it into balls. You can spritz your hands with nonstick spray and this will help in handling it. You can also spray the fork before making the crisscross pattern in the dough.
- Prefer a bar over a cookie? Try these No Bake Buckeye Bars! They're the perfect chocolate peanut butter combo!
Storing and Freezing
Storing: If you happen to have leftovers, you can keep these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They'll store longer in the refrigerator.
Freezing: Keep these tasty cookies frozen for up to 3 months.
Freezing Cookie Dough: You can freeze this cookie dough. Scoop into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet then transfer to a freezer bag once frozen. Check out this post for How to Freeze Cookie Dough for tips on saving cookie dough for later.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe FAQ
Peanut butter cookies have a denser dough than most cookies, which is why they must be pressed down before baking. If not, they won’t fully fall down from their ball form and make a half burnt and half raw cookie in a strange shape. In other words, the marks are a tradition more than a necessity. As long as the cookies are pressed down in some way, fork marks aren’t necessary unless you enjoy sentimental or traditional reasoning.
Flourless peanut butter cookie recipes, especially this one with only 4 ingredients, will not rise as much as those made with flour and a leavener like baking soda or baking powder.
Other Easy Cookie Recipes
- Monster Cookies
- Air Fryer Sugar Cookies from Scratch
- Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
- Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter no-stir variety
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 ℉. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden or silicone spoon to stir egg, sugar and peanut butte until well combined. Add chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.
- Using a 1-tablespoon scoop or small spoon, portion dough into 1-inch balls, placing them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Gently press the tines of a fork down on each dough ball, moving it in one direction, then the other direction, creating a crisscross pattern.
- Bake cookies in preheated oven for 8 minutes then remove them and let them sit on the pan for about 5 minutes before enjoying.
Helpful Notes and Tips From Liz
- Dough Ball Size - It’s ok if you make the dough balls a little smaller or a little larger, just keep them as close in size as possible. Otherwise, they won't cook evenly.
- Use cooking spray to prevent sticking. The dough will be a little sticky when rolling it into balls. You can spritz your hands with nonstick spray and this will help in handling it. You can also spray the fork before making the crisscross pattern in the dough.
- Flatten the dough if you aren't going to create a pattern. If you don’t flatten the balls of cookie dough a little bit before baking, they won't spread out evenly.
Lynne Falcigno
Chocolate meets peanut butter .. how can it go wrong? Five stars for this yummy cookie!
Sharon
I turned my oven down to 375 for first batch for 8 minutes. They burned. Second batch 350 for 6 minutes and they were much better