GLUTEN-FREE
Flourless Salted Peanut Butter Cookies. AKA Instant Gratification Cookies. They’re gluten-free, but don’t taste like it (at all). The batter has five ingredients, is whipped up in a few minutes, and each batch takes about fifteen minutes to bake. Warm cookies in my mouth in less than twenty minutes? OKAY.
Let me say it again: FIVE ingredients. With equal parts creamy peanut butter and caramel-ly brown sugar, plus a couple eggs, a dash of vanilla, and a generous sprinkle of sea salt, these cookies could not be easier. Or more delicious. I stumbled upon this recipe online (it’s from the Brooklyn bakery Ovenly) and people were raving, including one opinion that they tasted like “the inside of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.” Um, OK. Sold.
Given the lack of flour and leavening coming solely from eggs, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from my first test batch, but was thrilled to discover the recipe needs no adjustments for high altitude. Zero! That’s a first. My only change was to make the cookies smaller. The original recipe makes twelve giant cookies (!), but by reducing the size to tablespoonfuls, I eked out nearly three dozen. The cookies don’t spread much, so you can fit 15+ per sheet.
The texture came out perfectly: fluffy but dense, with a satisfying chewy bite and the perfect hit of sea salt. I tried reducing the sugar a little bit (for, you know, health), but they weren’t as moist and chewy. Full sugar it is.
You will want to use a commercial emulsified peanut butter (such as Skippy or Jif) for this recipe. I tried a batch with “natural” peanut butter and the oil separated a bit, resulting in greasy cookies with burned bottoms.
This is such an interesting dough. It starts out quite loose, and gets incredibly thick as you continue to mix. Like, really thick – to the point that it feels like an arm workout. The original recipe states it’s ready when it reaches the consistency of play dough, but I found it didn’t need to be quite that stiff. Just firm enough to scoop and plop and keep its shape. Don’t skimp on this mixing step, as it’s key to the cookies’ luxuriously chewy texture. When you bake them, err on the side of underdone. I found 15 minutes to be the sweet spot in my oven.
These are one of the rare cookies that I actually think tastes better cooled rather than hot out of the oven. As they cool, the texture becomes rich and dense and the flavors concentrate. They’re luscious.
What are you waiting for? You can be tasting these in the next half hour. Go get you some.
Want some chocolate with your peanut butter? Try my High Altitude Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies!
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Flourless Salted Peanut Butter Cookies
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 30–35 cookies 1x
Description
With only five ingredients, these Flourless Salted Peanut Butter Cookies are moist, rich, densely peanut-buttery, and bake up beautifully at high altitude.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1 3/4 cups commercial peanut butter, such as Skippy (avoid “natural” peanut butters where the oil may separate)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (not imitation)
flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla and whisk to combine.
3. Add peanut butter and mix until incorporated. Continue to mix until the dough is very, very thick and holds its shape when scooped.
4. Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop, drop tablespoons of round dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving an inch or so between each (they don’t spread much). Sprinkle each dough ball with a generous pinch of flaky sea salt.
5. Bake cookies, one batch at a time, for 14-17 minutes, until they are just barely beginning to brown around the edges. Err on the side of underdone to ensure a moist, chewy center.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes until they’re set, then transfer to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
… if your kitchen is very warm or your dough not quite thick enough, refrigerate it for 15-30 minutes before scooping.
Thank you for making gluten free and dairy free recipes for those of us at altitude! (9200 ft)
Joan
Divide, CO
I hope to have more in the future (please feel free to reach out to me directly with specific recipe requests!)
Have you tried this with almond butter by any chance?
I have not but please report back if you do and I’ll add a note to the recipe!
So easy and turned out perfect- about the only thing that I have been able to bake successfully up here. 8400 and worked great