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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies: Improbable as it seems, you can make an extremely delicious peanut butter cookie without any flour. With 5 simple ingredients, a gluten-free snack or dessert is only 20 minutes away.
Rediscovering an old recipe is like running into a long-lost friend, isn’t it? You’re so happy to meet up unexpectedly, and you wonder why you let the friendship lapse.
It was that way when I ran across this old recipe for a flourless peanut butter cookie. Some 30 years ago, back in the early ‘90s when I first heard about it, I made it as a lark, thinking a cookie without flour couldn’t possibly work as well or taste as good as one with.
Wrong and wrong. I recall making them numerous times back then, but of course, there are lots of recipes to try, and so little time, so I kept moving on to the next new thing.
So a decade ago when I ran across this recipe from my past, and immediately turned on the oven to make a batch, it struck me that in today’s world, this isn’t just a whimsical recipe, but one that might delight those who can’t eat flour, or those following a gluten-free diet.
It also might appeal to people who just plain don’t have any flour in the house, due to supply-line shortages or they simply ran out.
Today, the important factor in this recipe is what is missing from it.
How to make Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
It’s easy!
Stir the ingredients up in a mixing bowl. You can do this by hand, or very briefly with an electric mixer, your choice.
Line a cookie sheet or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner, for easy cleanup. Portion the dough out using a cookie scoop. I like to make them on the smallish side.
Flatten the cookies by pressing the top with the tines of a fork. This flattens and gives them a pattern. A crosshatch from fork tines is traditional, and signals to people that these are, in fact, peanut butter cookies!
You could also use other kitchen implements to make patterns on the top. For example, a perforated spatula worked well for me!
Don’t they kind of look like the tops of Lego blocks?
Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar crystals before baking.
Voila…I present 5-Ingredient Gluten-Free Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies!
Whatever you call them, put a batch in the oven now. I challenge you to detect the missing flour.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies: Improbable as it seems, you can make an extremely delicious peanut butter cookie without any flour. With 5 simple ingredients, a gluten-free dessert is only 20 minutes away. Ingredients Directions Notes Recipe source: Dorothy Reinhold | Shockingly Delicious
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This recipe was originally published April 10, 2012 and has been refreshed and republished today.
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At ShockD, you’ll find scrumptious, tried & true, "scary good" recipes, tips and coaching to make YOU a fabulous home cook! Don't blame me if you need a 12-step program to wean yourself away!
E-mail me: Dorothy.Reinhold@gmail.com
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Oh my goodness! This is my first attempt at a gluten free cookie and I think I actually like it better than “normal” peanut butter cookies. DELISH! Thank you for sharing!
Oh my. I lost my recipe for gluten free pub cookies, so I googled it and found yours at the top. I am making them now, and perusing your site while they are in the oven. Great stuff on here! Time to bookmark you. Right after I have another cookie.
Gwen,
Welcome! Although I don’t specialize in gluten-free recipes, I think you will find lots here that suits a GF kitchen!
These are awesome!!! The only thing wrong with them, was I doubled the recipe expecting a double batch and it only made 45 cookies total. I even measured them out using a tsp to make sure I would have enough.
Just wanted to give everyone a FYI just in case they were planning on a certain amount.
Laurie,
So glad you love them!
My cookie scoop must be smaller than yours. I get exactly 32 cookies from a single batch, but I am making them small. I would rather eat 2 small cookies than 1 big cookie (it’s mental!).
I made these with Sunbutter because we have a peanut allergy in our family, and it worked out great. My peanut free kid won’t eat anything that smells or looks anything like peanut butter, but my other children loved these.
Kelly,
Great to know it works with Sunbutter!
I used ALMOND BUTTER and added a 1/2 cup finely chopped PECANS <3 soooooo yummy! thank you for the recipe!
Holly,
Great to know it works with almond butter! Love your tweak!
The extra egg and leaving out the baking powder worked for me, and I used oil on the paper rather than marg so good for my dairy free Mother-in-law too.
Mel,
Sounds perfect!
Hi – thanks for the advice to check my oven temp- found out its at least 80degrees above what I set to! Our appliance repair guy will be making a visit ASAP so I can bake for the holidays without anxiety 😉 enjoy the season!
try adding 1 more egg to make it not be crumbly! 🙂
I tried my first batch – oven temp 350 cooking time 11 min – and they were all burnt! My 2nd batch I only let cook for 7:25 and they seem ok. Did I miss an instruction to lower temp somewhere?
Thanks
Christienne,
Sorry you burned your first batch. I have been told that oven calibration can vary by 25 degrees and still be considered correct (so, for example, your oven might run at 375 degrees and it would still be considered correctly calibrated for 350 degrees). If yours are correctly baked at roughly half the time of mine, obviously your oven is quite a bit hotter than mine! (Or perhaps it is a convection oven?). Hope you enjoyed the cookies once you got your timing adjusted.
Is it 350 degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius?
Confused,
350 degrees Fahrenheit.
just baked these for my bosses birthday, she’s always claiming how bland and dry gluten free baked goods are so i think these cookies are really going to hit the spot for her. thanks!
Amber,
So glad you thought of these as the solution!
Just tried these – the taste is great, but they are very crumbly, even after thorough cooling. I’m not sure what can be done about that absent flour though.
Rob,
Hmmmmm…did you cool them completely before taking off the baking sheet? Also, did you make them large or small? You might be able to see the smallish size I made mine, in context to the fork tines in the photo. I didn’t have a terrible crumbly problem, so I’m not sure what the issue might be for you. Hmmm…
The one thing I would wonder is if normal peanut butter was used when Rob made them. If some sort of natural pb or low fat pb is used, perhaps that accounts for a crumbly texture. Just a thought.
A number of years ago, I pulled a similar recipe from a Kraft magazine. The cookie part is only three ingredients: pb, sugar, and egg. Then a half dip in melted chocolate and chopped nuts. I’ve made them several times and they always go fast.
Jenna,
You might be right!
Love your blog! Nice variation on the older GF peanut butter cookies, will try it with the vanilla and cornstarch, thanks!
I’ve been in the mood for peanut butter cookies this week! These look yummy!
Sounds incredibly taste-worthy!
Liz,
Oh yes, you must try these! You won’t miss the flour.
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