A soft, nostalgic flourless peanut butter cookie made without gluten or dairy ingredients.
A flourless peanut butter cookie can be wonderfully soft and chewy, but it asks you to pay attention to a different set of cues than a cookie made with flour. The dough is naturally tender, the edges set before the center looks finished, and cooling time is part of the bake.
This small-batch recipe is made without gluten or dairy ingredients and is written for home kitchens. It is inspired by the simple, nostalgic peanut butter cookies we love, while the bakery version we prepare for Baked & Bouquets remains its own recipe.
Use a smooth, well-stirred peanut butter for the most consistent dough. Chilling the scooped cookies briefly helps them hold their shape, and leaving them on the warm pan after baking gives the soft centers time to settle.
Soft Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes 12 cookies. Prep: 15 minutes. Bake: 10–12 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (256 g) smooth organic peanut butter, well stirred
- 1/2 cup (110 g) packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) organic cane sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Method
- Prepare the pan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Make room in the refrigerator for the filled pan.
- Mix the dough. In a medium bowl, stir the peanut butter, brown sugar, cane sugar, egg, vanilla, and baking soda until smooth and evenly combined.
- Scoop and shape. Portion the dough into 12 rounded tablespoons. Roll gently, arrange on the prepared pan, and press each cookie twice with a fork to make a crisscross pattern.
- Chill. Refrigerate the shaped cookies for 20 minutes. While they chill, heat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges look set and the centers appear slightly soft. The cookies should not become deeply browned.
- Let them settle. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a rack. They are delicate while hot and firm as they cool.