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These chewy, dense, peanut butter cookies are an unforgettable memory from my childhood. Made with just an egg, a cup of peanut butter, and a cup of sugar, 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies are an old-fashioned cookie that everyone loves.
Peanut Butter Cookies
After you’ve tasted them, these old-fashioned chewy peanut butter cookies will be forever in your memory, too. And if you scan the comments at the bottom of this post, you’ll see a whole lot of people calling these the Best Peanut Butter Cookies Ever.
While the origin of these peanut butter cookies is sometimes debated, the recipe has certainly been around longer than I have. I can remember seeing the instructions on the side of Jif, Skippy, and Peter Pan peanut butter jars throughout my childhood.
So quick easy and delicious! Always have the ingredients so it is really perfect for a spur of the moment sweet tooth 😋 👍
Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
I remember stirring a batch of these cookies together with a friend in the middle of the night when I was in junior high or high school. I was a bit skeptical that it would work, but I loved them from the first bite.
There is nothing like being able to satisfy a sweet tooth craving at a moment’s notice! We sat and nibbled on the warm cookies and talked half the night.
In less time than it takes to preheat the oven, you can have these ready and waiting to bake on a tray. There are plenty of variations of peanut butter cookies on the internet and in countless cookbooks, and I’ve played with plenty of them in the past.
1 Cup Peanut Butter + 1 Cup Sugar + 1 Egg
In the end, I keep going back to the original peanut butter cookie. I love it for its simplicity. 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 egg: there really isn’t anything easier that tastes this good.
Truly the BEST!
As much as I love the original recipe, I often change things up just a tiny bit when I make these cookies. I like to remove about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter from the “cup” listed in this recipe. This results in a slightly less dense cookie that we love even more than the original. Happy baking!
One of my favorite things about this very easy peanut butter cookie recipe is that kids can usually make these cookies without any help at all. This was the first cookie recipe that each of my boys learned to make, and they were probably about 5 years old when they made them for the first time on their own.
Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
While the main ingredients for these 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies are simply peanut butter, sugar, and an egg, feel free to adapt the recipe however you like best! Add a teaspoon of vanilla, an additional egg (for a gooier cookie – see note below), a pinch of sea salt, or a handful of chocolate chips. The cookies are delicious both as written and with the extra ingredients.
As much as I love the original recipe, I often change things up just a tiny bit when I make these cookies. I like to remove about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter from the “cup” listed in this recipe. This results in a slightly less dense cookie that we love even more than the original.
Please note: I do not recommend using a natural peanut butter for this recipe. I’ve found that a commercial peanut butter, i.e. Jiff or Skippy will work best for these cookies. While some readers have commented that their all-natural peanut butter works well, that is not universally true with all natural peanut butters.
Recipe Tip
Many readers have mentioned that they like to add an extra egg to this recipe. If you choose to add an extra egg, simply scoop the finished cookie dough onto the baking tray. The dough will not be firm enough to roll into balls or press with a criss-cross pattern.
The cookies will be puffier straight out of the oven and then will settle a bit as they cool. I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest fan of this particular variation, as the cookies are a bit more delicate this way, and I really like the chewy texture of the original version.
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
It really doesn’t get any easier than these cookies. Stir together the peanut butter, sugar, and egg. Scoop the cookie dough onto a baking sheet and then use the back of a fork to press down on each cookie. Press again from the opposite direction to form the criss-cross pattern on top.
These cookies will not spread much at all. You can bake the full batch on a single tray if you like. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container, either on the counter until they all disappear, or in the freezer, for up to 2 months.
Easy Cookie Recipes
For more easy dessert recipes, check out these easy cookie recipes! {5 Ingredient} Coconut Lovers Oatmeal Cookies and these {5 Ingredient} Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies.
For the easiest and most memorable cake you’ll ever make, try the {6 Ingredient} Cranberry Christmas Cake. You’re going to love it from the first bite. I’m willing to bet on that. Do you have a favorite super easy cookie recipe? If so, I’d love to hear about it!
I’m always looking for more simple dessert recipes to try. These Easy Double Chocolate Nutella Cookies and these Easy Shortbread Cookies (made with a cookie press) are both on my to-bake list now.
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar * see note below
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the peanut butter, sugar, and egg in a bowl. Stir together until well combined.
- Scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Roll into 1" balls with your hands, if you do not have a scoop.) Press down with the back of a fork, and then press again from the opposite direction, to form the criss-cross pattern on top.
- These cookies will not spread much at all. You can bake the full recipe on a single tray if you like. Bake for 12 minutes and then cool on the tray for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 08/14/2013 – photos and recipe notes updated 09/25/25}
This has been a very popular recipe here on the website for almost as long as I’ve been sharing recipes online. I’m updating the photos and resharing the recipe today; however, I’m including the original photos here for those who may already be familiar with these cookies.
I've made these a dozen times since you first posted the recipe!
I make these alot too!..hahaha..make sure you have milk BEFORE biting into the first one!
Debbie
I've made these and are delicious my Family loved them.
These are my very FAVORITE peanut butter cookie!
These were VERY oily as they baked and they definitely spread, so I'm glad I baked them on two sheets. Maybe the brand of peanut butter affects the result, but they were delicious, so I'm not too worried about it 🙂
So I made these cookies n last night in I love peanut butter I'm a very good cook but when it comes to baking that's out the door lol but I made them I let them stay in the oven for 15 mins in when I took them out they were very soft in falling apart so I'm wondering if I did anything wrong.
That's very strange, I've never experienced anything like that and we've made these dozens of times over the years. Did you let them cool a few minutes before trying to move them off the baking sheet?
Would powder sugar work in place of the sugar?
I don't know if the cookies will work the same with powdered sugar. It will definitely affect the texture. If you try it, let me know how it works for you!
They are amazing I made them tonight and my family couldn't get enough
Hey there! I was wondering if i could replace the peanut butter with nutella, would it still turn out fine?
For a nutella version, you should be able to use 1 cup nutella, 1 egg, 1 cup flour. Enjoy!
With Nutella you replace rhetoric sugar with flour???
We love making these cookies!
Cookies DO spread. They taste fine but look awful so I now I have to bake something else to give. Will use another recipe in the future.
That is very strange. I've made these cookies dozens of times and I have never once had them spread. Were you by any chance using a natural peanut butter? I haven't tried that myself, but I've heard that it can cause them not to work the same way.
Well, I followed that recepie and this is what I got:
http://ge.tt/api/1/files/49oniI12/0/blob/x675
Any idea what could went wrong?
Without being in your kitchen with you, I really can't say. 1 cup of sugar, plus 1 egg, plus 1 cup of regular peanut butter has never resulted in anything like that for me. I'm very sorry for the hassle, but unfortunately, it's such a simple recipe, there's really nothing to troubleshoot. My guess would be that you used a natural peanut butter and not a plain old Jiff or Skippy peanut butter. I've heard that some natural peanut butters work fine while others do not.
I just made these and they are absolutely amazing!!! However, it is a tad too sweet for my taste. I was looking around online, and if you want to make them prettier/neater, dip them in sugar before baking to shape.
A co-worker wanted Peanut Butter Cookies, so after I got back from work at 7:45PM, I went online and searched through a bunch of recipes until I came upon yours. When I first saw it, I was kind of skeptical about it having just 3 ingredients, but I was tired, and didn't want to make something that was too complicated, so I gave it a try… Turns out, I was wrong to be a skeptic.
These are the cutiest cookies ever, and they taste so delicious. The ones I made look so dainty, I'm charmed so much by them. Q_Q I just can't get over their cuteness.
The recipe was so simple, and it took round about an hour in total to get everything mixed/cooked/cooled and packed. Now I'll have them for tomorrow morning! I'm so happy.
Thank you for this perfect recipe.
I noticed a few reviews stating that their cookies spread out too much, but I don't understand how anyone could have a problem with the consistency when they make them. I used aluminum foil to cover the cookie sheets, and sprayed them with oil. When I pulled one batch out, they seemed a bit underdone than the previous batch because they still looked a bit greasy. I popped the cookies back in the oven for a few more minutes and they lost their greasy look, crisped up a bit and were as close to perfection as anyone could get.
😀 Here's a picture!
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f195/Asheth/PBCookiescute.jpg
They really are cute cookies, aren't they? Yours turned out perfectly!
Oh my goodness, these taste so amaing!! I just made these and I love them 😀
I used coconut palm sugar which gave it more of a toffee taste and they spread just a tad, but definitely nothing worth complaining about!! These are awesome. Took me 25 minutes total. Just prepped while the oven heated, popped two trays in there, and made a touch of chocolate icing to put on top while they were baking. They came off the tray seamlessly after 2 minutes of cooling. I actually didn't use any liner for my trays. I just greased them with some butter to keep them from sticking; worked like a charm.
I find them perfect the way they are though, so I'll save the chocolate icing for my honey when he gets home to have a taste 😉 (I suspect the brown coconut sugar might have made mine a bit more sweet than other alternative sweeteners might have, but I'm happy :D)
Thank you so much for sharing!!! 😀
These are so good. Hubby loves these.
As someone with very little cooking and baking experience, I am amazed at the ease of this recipe. I'm even more amazed by the taste of them! They looked a bit soft after 12 minutes, so I kept them in for another minute, let them sit on the sheet for 2 minutes and they firmed up. I waited an excruciating 30 minutes as they cooled with the great smell in the air before tasting one. Delicious! Outside is crisp, but not hard, inside is soft, but not mushy. I will be making these regularly. Mmm, mmm, mmmm.
I have the same recipe, I also add chocolate chips been fixing them for years. The more choc. chips the more it tastes like Reese Cups
love this recipe:) 🙂 🙂 🙂 would you have a super easy recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies??? I make them every year for hubby but they are such a pain and so much work and many ingredients!!!! any simplier recipe would greatly be appreciated!!!!!! don't like to buy the ones in the store that you pop in the oven, especially when I always have almost any ingredient I need in my pantry for baking or cooking anything!!!!! thanks for all your wonderful recipes and have a very happy and safe christmas
I'm thrilled that you like the recipe so much, Patricia. This is a classic oatmeal cookie recipe and I've been making it for years:
https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/2012/01/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-made-by-my-man.html
If you are looking for another recipe with only a handful of ingredients, this one is a favorite, especially if you also love coconut:
https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/2014/05/coconut-lovers-oatmeal-cookies-recipe.html
I hope that helps!
just made these on a whim and I actually had these ingredients around the house. Wasn't expecting much, plus I am not that big of a fan of peanut butter cookies. THESE CAME OUT AMAZING. Only thing, I have an electric oven so I lowered the time to 10 mins, no burnt bottoms!
I have an egg allergy. I substituted Ener-G egg replacer for the egg and it turned out great!
Nice, I never heard of this before. But always looking for shelfable foods for those times when you’re out of items and money tight.
Thanks for sharing.