These healthy, homemade 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies are as easy as it gets! Serve these favorites alongside a glass of ice-cold milk to crush your cravings for sweets. This recipe makes over a dozen cookies, so share them with friends, coworkers, and family.
Peanut Butter Cookie Ingredients
These peanut butter cookies are pantry friendly, requiring only two ingredients!
Natural Peanut Butter, Creamy
Using natural peanut butter makes this easier and healthier. It’s the ideal consistency. Make sure to opt for a jar of natural creamy peanut butter that only has two ingredients: peanuts and salt. When I made this recipe, I used Smucker’s® Creamy Natural Peanut Butter.
Some peanut butters state that they are natural, but they use added sweeteners (such as sugar or molasses) and oils. These will not be ideal for this recipe, as the dough will not be firm enough.
Honey or Maple Syrup
Use pure maple syrup or raw honey in this recipe as these were the healthier sweeteners tested. Surprisingly, maple syrup had a lighter flavor, while honey’s flavor was a bit deeper and slightly less sweet. See below for the test results, if you use honey, I would cut a couple minutes off of the bake time as it tended to bake faster.
How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies (With Only 2 Ingredients!)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the peanut butter and honey together. Continue stirring until thicker (this won’t be as thick as the normal cookie dough you’re used to but will be firm enough to form the cookies).
Scoop cookie dough into balls about one rounded tablespoon in size. (If you have an issue forming the cookies, you can chill the dough in the refrigerator for half a hour first). Space the cookie dough rounds out on the parchment paper and press them flat with the palm of your hand (or spatula). Press each with a fork to leave an indent. Repeat again to make a crisscross pattern.
Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes or until the edges are slightly dry and a light golden brown. Allow the cookies to set/cool fully on the baking sheet prior to removing/serving.
Tips & Tricks
Separation will occur in a jar of natural peanut butter. Mix it until the consistency is the same in the jar to ensure the cookies have the right proportion of natural oils.
If you’re having issues getting the dough to form/stay together in rounded tablespoons, chill the dough for about half an hour. This will allow the dough to be more easily formed for baking.
For appeal, dip the top of the cookies in coconut sugar prior to pressing flat, this will add a sugary crunchy coating. Another optional garnish is to sprinkle freshly baked cookies with flake sea salt (sprinkle this on after removing them from the oven, but prior to them cooling so it will stick).
Allow your cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet, prior to removal or consumption. If you take them off sooner, they are more likely to crumble.
Serve these cookies with a delicious glass of ice-cold milk, making dessert perfection. If keeping things healthy, you can opt for organic milk, or a non-dairy option such as rice milk, coconut milk, or almond milk.
How to Store 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Once they are fully cooled, store cookies at room temperature in an air-tight plastic container for 2-3 days.
FAQ
Cookies that require only two ingredients to make them! Types of recipes that list “2-ingredient” or “3-ingredients” make quick, easy, and typically healthier options. They also often use items that may already be in your pantry and typically require less than one trip to the grocery store.
These cookies are soft, crumbly, and melt in your mouth.
These cookies are naturally gluten and dairy free. They are vegan if you use the maple syrup option (verses the honey option). They are not considered low carb or keto due to the sweetener used.
This recipe is considered tree nut free. The “nuts” used are peanuts which grow under the ground and are classified as a separate allergen group as well as a legume.
This recipe does not use eggs. When you use natural peanut butter (as opposed to regular peanut butter which has added oils), its thickness helps hold the recipe together.
Natural peanut butter is typically considered peanut butter made from nothing more than the peanuts + sometimes a hint of salt. Please read the jar to confirm the ingredients prior to making this recipe, as some are called natural peanut butter but contain additional undesired ingredients. I used Smucker’s® Creamy Natural Peanut Butter for this recipe, it was the cheapest natural option at my local grocery store.
I have not tried a different butter in this recipe. I have, however, read that sunflower and almond butter may work if the consistency is similar to natural peanut butter.
This recipe was tested and approved with maple syrup and honey. I prefer to use natural sweeteners whenever possible, so the only other I’d recommend is coconut sugar, this however has not been tested so please plan accordingly. Regular and powdered sugar may also work, but I have not tested these.
Once they are fully cooled, these cookies can be stored at room temperature in an air-tight plastic container for 2-3 days.
More Easy (& Heathier) Peanut Butter Recipes
Love peanut butter? So do I. Especially when it’s THIS easy to use. Try these healthier, homemade options to expand your peanut butter horizons and keep things guilt-free:
- Healthy Peanut Butter Cups
- Natural No-Bake Cookies
- Easy Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies
- And many more coming soon to my healthier gluten free desserts page
Here’s to easy desserts, loving peanut butter, and regaining our sparkle together,
✧❈✯✦Jenn✦✯❈✧
2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1½ cups natural* peanut butter, creamy
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix together peanut butter and honey. Continue stirring until thicker (the batter won’t be as thick as a normal cookie dough but will be firm enough to form the cookies).
- Scoop cookie dough into balls about one rounded tablespoon in size.
- Space them out on the parchment paper and press flat with the palm of your hand (or spatula).
- Press each with a fork to leave an indent. Repeat again to make a crisscross pattern.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or until edges are slightly dry and a light golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to set/cool fully on the baking sheet.
Notes
*If you use honey, bake for 8-9 minutes instead of the 10-11 minutes listed.
I like how simple this recipe is and I love that it uses natural sugars. I prefer the syrup. Very delicious!
Thank you! The maple syrup was my preference too, though the honey was still good 🙂