I thought everyone had either made or tasted this recipe so I was hesitant to teach it to a recent class. But when I needed something quick and easy to fill in a time gap, I decided to go for it and make them. I was surprised that not one person was familiar with the recipe and they were all really excited to try them.
As with all cookies, the longer they bake, the drier they become. Please don’t overbake. Take them out when they are still a little underdone on top. They will firm up as they cool.
The variations you can add are limitless—-make them 4, 5 or even 8 ingredient cookies—the choice is yours. Here are some of my friend/assistant Kelly’s suggestions:
Variations
Mini-chocolate chips (they are small so you can still crisscross) or regular chocolate chips
M&M's or Reese's Pieces
Hershey's Kiss- like a peanut butter blossom (roll in granulated sugar & press a kiss in the middle)
Reese's Peanut Butter cup- press a mini peanut butter cup in the middle of your dough
Roll dough in brown sugar before crisscross marking- for a slight crunch
A slight sprinkling of sea salt- for a sweet & salty flavor
Add cinnamon or vanilla
To say they were a hit would be an understatement. Here are a few of my student’s comments:
Comments
Wow-Wow-Wow! The 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies are delicious. I would have never guessed those 3 simple ingredients most of us have on hand: peanut butter, sugar, & 1 egg would turn out such a flavorful good cookie.
I'm not even a big fan of peanut butter cookies, but these have changed my mind and opened up new variations to experiment with next time.
So very happy with the end results. Delicious cookie and baked perfectly where they have a bit of a chew and are easy to break in half.
It was nice mixing with a wooden spoon, I did not have to get out my big mixer and it mixed together very well. I was able to get 24 cookies using my 1-1/2" cookie scoop, when I crisscrossed using a fork I dipped my fork in sugar (a trick I've used before in making peanut butter cookies)
I used Skippy Super Chunk peanut butter. The added bonus for these cookies is that they are gluten free--they can also be vegan if you use an egg substitute. Maybe at one point I will try substituting the sugar for monk fruit or Splenda Baking Sweetener...so it would be sugar-free.
3-INGREDIENT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1 cup chunky-style peanut butter, Old fashioned such as Skippy preferred. If you use natural, you will need to add 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour to absorb the excess liquid.
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment.
2. In a medium-size bowl, mix all ingredients together with a wooden spoon until blended.
3. Roll into 1-inch balls. Arrange on baking sheet., spacing about 1-inch apart. Flatten each with a fork to make a criss-cross pattern.
4. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden. Immediately remove to a rack to cool.
Makes about 22 cookies.
To prepare ahead: Store airtight for several days or freeze.
