3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

From the kitchen of Carly

Just three ingredients transform into chewy, nutty cookies with crispy edges and a fudgy center. A whisked egg binds peanut butter and sugar into pure simplicity. Top with flaky salt to cut the richness and let the peanut flavor sing.

3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Just three ingredients and a whisk pull off what tastes like you fussed. Peanut butter, sugar, and an egg create a dense, almost fudgy center with crisp edges that crack slightly when you bite through. The fork crosshatch isn't decoration, it's functional, helping them bake evenly and develop that gorgeous golden color. A crack of sea salt lifts the whole thing from simple to craveable.

Prep
n/a
Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 1 largeegg
  • 1 cupcreamy peanut butter
  • 1 cupsugar
  • 1Flaky sea salt

Instructions

  1. Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds, then preheat to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Crack the egg into a medium bowl and whisk it lightly, then add the peanut butter and sugar. Keep whisking until the mixture is completely smooth and uniform. Scoop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each mound. Press the top of each cookie gently with fork tines in a crosshatch pattern, then scatter over a pinch of flaky sea salt if you like. Slide both sheets into the oven and bake 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown. Lift them onto a wire rack to cool slightly before eating.

  3. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the cookies keep well for up to 3 days.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Whisking the dough thoroughly dissolves the sugar and ensures even baking, because the peanut butter is naturally dense and needs real incorporation. Rushing this step leads to dry, cakey cookies.
  • Space the mounds generously on the sheet, because they spread a bit and you want distinct cookies, not a sheet pan of peanut butter cake.
  • Rotate the baking sheets halfway through so they brown evenly, since most ovens have hot spots. Check them at 10 minutes, then go another minute or two if they still look pale.
  • These cookies firm up as they cool, so pull them from the oven when they look slightly underdone on top. They'll set on the rack and stay tender inside.

Variations

  • Almond butter cookies: Use almond butter in place of peanut and omit salt for a milder, nuttier flavor.
  • Brown sugar swap: Replace half the white sugar with packed brown sugar for deeper molasses notes and chewier centers.
  • Chocolate chunk: Fold in 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate into the dough before baking for richness without changing the ratio.
  • Peanut butter and jelly: Drop a small dollop of jam in the center of each mound before baking for a twist that nods to the classic sandwich.

Make ahead and storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They don't freeze well because the texture becomes too hard when thawed.