If you are interested in making the 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies and you don’t know how perfect to make them, then this guide will teach you the easiest way to make this recipe in minutes.
Creamy natural peanut butter cookies are made of just peanuts and sometimes salt. However, it works great as a butter replacement because of its much fat content.
It’s also what gives these cookies a buttery shortbread texture even though there is no butter in the recipe.
So, are you ready to prepare yours?
Let’s discuss the ingredients and instructions on how you can make your 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies.
Also, gluten-free 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies will be analyzed.
Keep reading!
What Is In 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies?

This recipe contains a little bit of maple syrup which adds some sweetness and also thickens the peanut butter.
Natural peanut butter on its own is very liquidy; when you mix it with maple syrup, the peanut butter will thicken, and it thickens enough to be a workable cookie dough that you can shape into a ball, press into a disk and make the criss-cross pattern on top.
Also, the peanut butter cookie recipe is just peanut butter, sugar, and eggs, which is an absolute classic.
With a jar of peanut butter and some leftover powdered sugar from making my Pumpkin Tiramisu, you can make these cookies in minutes!
So, let’s talk about how to make them now.
How to Make 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
In this section, we will discuss the ingredients needed, allergy swap, and how to make the 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies.
Ingredients Needed
- 1 cup peanut butter
- ½ cup powdered sugar
The Ingredients Note and Variations
- Peanut Butter: You can use any nut butter, or non-nut butter, like sunflower seed butter.
However, you have to ensure that it’s creamy and mostly holds together without stirring.
- Powdered Sugar: Avoid the use of granulated sugar because powdered sugar contains a small amount of cornstarch.
The Cornstarch helps thicken and hold the dough together.
However, you can use ½ cup of pitted dates that you puree in the food processor in place of the sugar
Allergy Swaps
If you are allergic to some of the ingredients, here are some replacement ideas for you.
- Maple-Free: Use any liquid sweetener like coconut nectar, agave syrup, or date syrup. Sugar-free syrup might work as well, but the dough might be very dry due to the high amount of fiber in sugar-free syrup.
- Peanut-Free: Use fresh drippy almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
This is because if your nut butter jar is old or dry, the cookies won’t be as good.
Instructions on how to make the 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies.
- Stir the peanut butter and powdered sugar together in a large bowl until well-mixed and completely incorporated.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
- At this stage, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop out 1 tablespoon sized dough ball and roll it in your hands
Then space them evenly on a baking sheet.
- Using a spatula or glass, press the cookies flat, and use a fork to make a criss-cross shape in each cookie.
- Bake in the oven for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are dry on the surface and the edges turn golden brown.
- Your 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies is ready!
Cooking Information
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 10
- Total time: 20 minutes
Nutritional Information per serving
- Calories: 144
- Total Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Trans fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 102mv
- Carbohydrates: 10g
- Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 6g
- Protein: 5g
Expert Tips
You can preheat the oven before you even grab the ingredients from the pantry for this recipe, as it takes no time at all.
You can also use any kind of peanut butter works for this recipe. It could be creamy, smooth, chunky, homemade, freshly milled, or regular, super sweet stuff.
Gluten Free 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies
These type 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies are naturally gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar-free, and can easily be made vegan.
Ingredients Needed for Gluten Free 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies
- ¾ cup natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
Peanut butter: Use natural peanut butter that is just peanuts and salt, with no added sugar or oils. This is because an extra additive won’t allow the cookies to form a dough.
Honey: Use honey because if you want a little bit of sweetness but still keep the cookies low in added sugar
Ingredient substitutions
Peanut butter: You can use Almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter as a substitute as long as there are no additives
Honey: Use Maple syrup or date syrup as delicious vegan substitutes
Ingredient variations
You can add in 2 tablespoons of mini chocolate chips
You can also put 3 tablespoons chopped, toasted peanuts
You can then dip the cookies in chocolate or white chocolate once cooled.
Instruction on how to make Gluten Free 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a medium size bowl, combine the peanut butter and honey.
- Mix them with a wooden spoon until it forms a soft cookie-dough texture
- Use a small cookie scoop to portion out 12 dough balls onto the baking sheet
- Use the back of a fork to make a criss-cross pattern on the top of the cookies
- Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 5-6 minutes, or until the edges are slightly turning golden brown
- Carefully pull the baking sheet out of the oven.
Let the cookies cool on it for at least 8 minutes to firm up before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely
Cooking Information
- Prep Time: 2 Minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 7 minutes
Expert Tips
Use natural peanut butter without any additives or oils
With a highly runny, oily peanut butter, the recipe will not work.
You can substitute the honey for maple syrup to make them vegan if you want a creamier recipe.
Serving Information
The cookies are very powdery when lukewarm or just baked.
As such, the best way to enjoy them is to pop them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
You can also dip the peanut butter cookies in dark chocolate.
Dipping Into the recipe into Chocolate
To make the chocolate, melt 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.
Then Dip the bottom of the cookie in the melted chocolate. Then place them upside down.
Pop them in the freezer for 10 to 12 minutes to set the chocolate layer.
Storage Information
You can keep any leftovers of these 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
You can also keep them on the counter at room temperature because putting them in the fridge can suck some of the moisture out.
You can also place thoroughly cooled cookies into a freezer-safe bag, use a straw to suck as much of the air out as you can, then place them into the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you want a cookie, just take one (or two) out, let it defrost, and enjoy.
You could also pop it into the oven at 350 F for 2-3 minutes to warm up.
Healthy Cookie Texture
These cookies should have a firm exterior, but when you bite in, and will almost melt in your mouth, like shortbread.
The cookies are more delicate because of the minimal ingredients.
Though they will hold a cookie shape, you can expect a few more crumbs than normal when you bite into them, and they do break apart more easily.
Conclusion
The 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies are made of just peanut butter and powdered sugar. However, the gluten free 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies are made of natural peanut butter and honey.
To make this recipe, we have analyzed the ingredients and instructions on how to make them.
However, you can substitute any of the ingredients with some recommendations above if you are allergic to the main ingredients.
This recipe only takes 20 minutes to be prepared.
You can store leftover cookies in the fridge for up to 5 days. And can be frozen for up to 3 months.
We hope you have fun trying this recipe
Thanks for reading!
FAQS
Is the 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies recipe made without eggs?
Yes, this recipe really doesn’t contain eggs. It has just peanut butter and powdered sugar.
Can I use dates instead of sugar?
Yes, you can use the same amount of dates as sugar.
However, you must make them into a paste in the food processor. Then add ½ cup of pitted dates in a food processor and puree until a paste forms.
Will the peanut butter cookies harden as they cool?
Yes, the cookies will firm up as they cool.
Let them stay on the baking sheet for a few minutes because if you try and move them right out of the oven, they’re too soft and will break apart.
Is the criss-cross pattern on cookies necessary?
It is not necessary at all, and you can skip that.
Why can’t I use natural peanut butter in other cookies?
Natural peanut butter requires a serious stir.
What makes a cookie moist and chewy?
Use more brown sugar than white sugar to help result in a moister, softer cookie.
Also, Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.