Sometimes you need cookies. Or maybe that’s just me. Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, but sometimes those aren’t fast enough, or somebody has eaten all of the chocolate chips. You know who you are. Peanut butter cookies are a close second, and this three ingredient recipe is dangerously fast and easy.
Because it is a flourless recipe, it is perfect for people following a gluten-free diet.
I’ve only made this recipe with peanut butter, but it should work with other nut butters or nut butter substitutes. Typing that, I got the strong urge to try it with Nutella. Maybe some other time.
Fast, easy peanut butter cookies. Great for anytime you need a little something sweet. The recipe calls for three basic ingredients. Because it doesn't call for flour, this is a great gluten free recipe. I usually add a bit of salt and vanilla just because, but they are totally optional.
Prep Time10mins
Cook Time6mins
Total Time16mins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: dairy free, easy, gluten free, one bowl, simple
Servings: 25cookies
Equipment
Baking sheets either lined with parchment or silpat mats or greased.
Ingredients
1cupsugar
1cup peanut butterI usually use smooth because that's what I have on hand. Crunchy would work, too.
1largeegg
1tspvanilla extractTotally optional
1 dashsaltTotally optional
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until smooth.
Drop by spoonfuls on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 6-8 minutes. You want them to just start turning golden at the edges.
Let cool to fully set before eating.
I don’t have a photo of the finished cookies because we tend to devour them. I just drop by spoonfuls on the prepared baking sheets, but you can do the crisscross pressing with a fork for a traditional peanut butter cookie look.
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A few days ago, I thought it would be fun to make Christmas cookies. Then I remembered that my Christmas cookie cutters had disappeared, we were out of any sort of sprinkles for the cookies and I really didn’t want to make decorator frosting or go to the store for supplies. My solution? DIY sugar sprinkles!
Ingredients
Granulated sugar
Food coloring
Supplies
Jars, plastic containers or sandwich bags, one per color. (Ideally something with a shaker top, which I didn’t have)
Spoons or shakers
How to make the sugar sprinkles
Measure about 1/4 cup of sugar into each container.
Add 2-3 drops of food coloring to the sugar.
Shake or stir until the color is evenly distributed.
Let air dry. I just left the lids off the jars and set them on the stove while the cookies baked, stirring occasionally. If you use bags or plan to store it for a longer period of time, you may want to spread it on parchment or a cookie sheet to make sure it is super dry.
Mom tip: If your cookie decorating skills are not Pinterest-worthy, just let your kiddos do the decorating.
The recipe I used for the cookies was the sugar cookie cutout recipe from my trusty red and white Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. To make them gluten free, I substituted Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour. If you are new to gluten free baking, it is a great flour to start with. I have had lots of success making all my old recipes gluten free with just that simple substitution.
My solution for not having cookie cutters was to use a round glass to cut out “ornaments”. We dusted some of the cookies with the sprinkles prior to baking. For the rest, I made a simple icing that got dusted or caked with sprinkles, depending on who was doing the decorating.
At least from what I’ve tasted, most store bought gluten free chocolate chip cookies are very dry and either too sweet or lacking in flavor. Chocolate chip cookies are practically a staple food, so I hacked my grandma’s cookies recipe. The results are definitely not dry, lacking in flavor or too sweet.
The biggest change I made, of course, is using gluten free flour. My preferred flour is Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour. Others will work, but if it’s not one that is blended to be a direct substitute for wheat flour, you will probably want to add about one half teaspoon of xanthan gum.
Even with the 1 to 1 blends, sometimes the cookies spread more than I like. The original recipe calls for one cup and two tablespoons of flour. If I have it on hand, I’ll replace the two tablespoons of flour with a generous one tablespoon of coconut flour. That prevents them from spreading too much. Chilling the dough for a few hours or overnight helps, too, but who has time for that? Besides, the sooner they go in the oven, the less cookie dough I’ll eat.
The original recipe calls for shortening. I would much rather use butter, but one of my boys is lactose intolerant. Straight coconut oil adds to the spreading problem, so I compromise and use half shortening and half coconut oil. The small amount of milk in most chocolate chips isn’t a problem for my son, but using for dairy-free chips would make these completely dairy-free, too! If dairy isn’t a problem, feel free to swap all the fats with butter.
The final change happened after staying up late watching Martha Stewart bake cookies. She mentioned that brown sugar helps make the cookies be moist. The original recipe calls for more white sugar than brown. I tried a few different ratios before settling on using equal amounts of brown and white sugars.
The final result is a yummy, gluten free cookie that isn’t dry and crumbly.
Gluten free chocolate chip cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 well beaten eggs
2 cups 1 to 1 gluten free flour plus 2 generous tablespoons of coconut flour (or 2 cups plus 4 tablespoons 1 to 1 gluten free flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 generous cup of chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Cream together the shortening, coconut oil, sugars and vanilla. I usually use a mixer for everything, but you can do it by hand, too.
Fold in the eggs and mix well.
In another bowl, sift (or just mix really well) the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients a little at a time to the wet ingredients and mix well.
Stir in the chocolate chips. If you are patient, chill the dough for a few hours or overnight.
Otherwise, grease your cookie sheets or line with parchment paper or silicone liners. Greasing is what the original recipe calls for, but I prefer the results from lining the sheets.
Form your cookies (I use a 2 tablespoon sized scoop, but you can make them bigger or smaller) and place them two inches apart on the sheets.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes, keeping a close eye on them during the last few minutes. You want them to be golden and not doughy in the middle.
Cool for a few minutes on the sheets before removing them.
A few notes on the recipe: My recipe is actually double the original. I almost never made a single batch because it’s not really any more effort. If you want, you can save some of the dough in the fridge for a few days.
I also don’t have an accurate cookie count, mainly because cookie dough is delicious. I think I can usually get about 36 cookies with my 2 tablespoon scoop, but that is a a very rough guess.
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