These soft and chewy gluten-free peanut butter cookies are rich in peanut butter flavor and so simple to whip up a batch when you want a sweet treat.
When it comes to gluten-free cookies, these gluten-free peanut butter cookies are some of the easiest ones to make. They are filled with so much delicious peanut butter flavor that will make any peanut butter lover happy.
My kids (and I) love peanut butter, and we love these cookies just as much as my homemade chocolate peanut butter cups. We also like to add peanut butter to Rice Krispie treats.
Jump to:
- Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut butter Cookies Without Peanut Butter
- How to Make GF Peanut Butter Cookies?
- Tips For the Best Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies FAQ
- Gluten-Free Cookie Add-Ins
- How to Serve?
- How to Store & Make Ahead?
- More Gluten-Free Cookies You'll Love
- 📖 Recipe
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
These gluten-free peanut butter cookies are made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.
- 1:1 Gluten-free Flour: I use King Arthur 1:1 blend that contains xanthan gum. These gluten-free peanut butter cookies work best with a light gluten-free flour blend. If your blend does not already contain xanthan gum, then you'll need to add half a teaspoon to the batter.
- Corn starch - You can also use arrowroot starch instead of corn starch if you prefer.
- Butter - You can use a dairy-free alternative like Earth Balance sticks to make these dairy-free peanut butter cookies.
- Peanut Butter - These cookies work best with a no-stir type of gluten-free peanut butter. You don't want to use a natural peanut butter that the oil separates from and sits on top of the jar. If you use this kind of peanut butter to make these, your cookie dough will be very greasy, and your peanut butter cookies will be very crumbly.
- White and Brown Sugar: The combination of white and brown sugar adds sweetness and depth of flavor to the cookies.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder
- Egg - Adds moisture to the dough and helps the ingredients stick together.
- Vanilla - It gives the cookies a subtle, sweet aroma. For the best taste, use a good quality pure vanilla extract.
- Salt - Adding a pinch of salt makes all the flavors stand out.
Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
To make these gluten-free peanut butter cookies without dairy, substitute the butter with a dairy-free alternative such as Earth Balance butter sticks.
Peanut butter Cookies Without Peanut Butter
I understand the need to want to make these gluten-free cookies completely nut-free. I've made these several times using alternatives to peanut butter.
You can actually make these peanut butter cookies without any peanut butter at all. This recipe works really well with no-stir almond butter and other nut and seed butter.
The only thing I would say when replacing the peanut butter in this recipe is that you make sure your substitution does not work great if the nut or seed butter is thin enough to drip off the spoon. These types of butter do not yield the best texture in these gluten-free cookies.
The only one I really don't suggest using as a substitute is Sunbutter. I find the final texture of the cookie not the best when using it. However, you could try using Sunbutter in a flourless peanut butter recipe.
How to Make GF Peanut Butter Cookies?
These cookies are super simple to make; you'll be enjoying fresh gluten-free cookies before you know it.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
- In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars.
- Add the peanut butter to the sugar and mix to combine.
- Then, add the egg and vanilla and mix until they are combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Combine them well.
- Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Scoop the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet.
- Press with a fork to create a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake the cookies. You want them to just barely be set in the middle when they are done.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before carefully transferring them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Tips For the Best Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
When baking gluten-free cookies, it's not hard, but a few tips help ensure they are perfect every time you bake them.
- Measure the flour by weight. - I know getting out that kitchen scale is not always ideal. However, when it comes to gluten-free baking, ingredients settle a lot, and weighing our gluten-free flour ensures that we get the exact amount of flour we want.
- Use room temperature ingredients. - When it comes to gluten-free baking, you want to ensure everything comes together smoothly. Having your butter, egg, and peanut butter at room temperature will help with that.
- No need to chill. - This gluten-free cookie dough doesn't need to be chilled.
- Do NOT over-bake peanut butter cookies. You want the bottoms to be slightly golden when they are removed from the oven.
- Note that baking times can vary depending on your oven and altitude.
- Let the cookies rest and chill on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack and storing them. These cookies are soft coming out of the oven and need time to cool.
Peanut Butter Cookies FAQ
Peanuts are naturally gluten-free. Peanut butter that is made with peanuts and salt is also naturally gluten-free. Store-bought peanut butter tends to add preservatives and additives like sugar and oil. This means not all commercially made peanut butter is gluten-free. Always check the labels to ensure you get and use gluten-free peanut butter.
Flourless peanut butter cookies have a different texture than gluten-free peanut butter cookies that use gluten-free flour. The added gluten-free flour gives the peanut butter cookies more texture and a slightly crispy outer edge. Flourless peanut butter cookies tend to be very soft.
Gluten-Free Cookie Add-Ins
These peanut butter cookies are delicious on their own, but sometimes, it's fun to take them over the top.
- Chocolate chips - Adding chocolate chips makes these delicious gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
- Reese's pieces - Like the chocolate chips, adding in some Reese's pieces candy gives more texture and peanut butter fun to these gluten-free cookies.
- Add fresh peanuts - If you really love peanuts, you can add some chopped peanuts to these peanut butter cookies for extra texture.
How to Serve?
These peanut butter cookies are delicious on their own. They can be served as soon as they are cool enough to handle coming out of the oven. In our house, Santa loves these delicious gluten-free Christmas cookies alongside a glass of cold milk.
How to Store & Make Ahead?
- Store cooled peanut butter cookies in an air-tight container for up to four days at room temperature.
- If you prefer cold peanut butter cookies, you can store them in the fridge for up to seven days.
- If you want to store cookies longer than that, you can freeze baked cookies for up to a month. Just let them sit at room temperature to soften when you want to eat them.
- You can also freeze balls of raw cookie dough and bake them off as you want, so you always have fresh peanut butter cookies when you want them.
More Gluten-Free Cookies You'll Love
When it comes to gluten-free baking, making gluten-free cookies is the easiest thing you can make. I love making gluten-free cookies, especially ones that rival their gluten-filled counterparts that no one can even tell are completely gluten-free, like my gluten-free crumbl sugar cookies and gluten-free ginger molasses cookies. Of course, I am also a little biased towards my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies as well.
📖 Recipe
Chewy Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ Cups 1:1 Gluten-free Flour 155 grams.
- ½ Teaspoon Xanthan Gum Omit if your blend already has it.
- 2 Tablespoon Corn Starch You can also use arrowroot starch.
- ¾ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Butter You can also use a dairy-free or vegan butter.
- ½ Cup Sugar
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- ⅔ Cup No-Stir Gluten-free Peanut Butter
- 1 Large Egg Or equivalent amount of an egg replacer.
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set it aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.1 ¼ Cups 1:1 Gluten-free Flour, ½ Teaspoon Xanthan Gum, 2 Tablespoon Corn Starch, ¾ Teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar.½ Cup Butter, ½ Cup Sugar, ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- Add the peanut butter to the butter and sugar bowl and mix to combine.⅔ Cup No-Stir Gluten-free Peanut Butter
- Once the peanut butter is mixed, add the egg and vanilla to combine.1 Large Egg, 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- Then add the bowl of dry ingredients to the bowl of the wet and mix just until combined and no dry ingredients remain visible.
- Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Scoop the cookie dough into about 1 tablespoon sized balls, and place them spread out on a baking sheet. These peanut butter cookies do spread some so be sure to give them some space while baking.
- Take a fork and gently press down into the cookie dough ball, creating a criss-cross pattern on top of the cookies.
- Bake the peanut butter cookies for 8-10 minutes, depending on your oven. You want them to just barely be set in the middle when they are done.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before carefully transferring them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Chocolate chips. - Adding chocolate chips makes these delicious gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
- Reese's pieces. - Like the chocolate chips adding in some Reese's pieces, candy gives these gluten-free cookies more texture and peanut butter fun.
- Add fresh peanuts. - If you love peanuts, add some chopped peanuts to these peanut butter cookies for extra texture.
Leave a comment.