You only need two tools to put these cookies together: a bowl and a fork. The peanut butter base is simply married with eggs, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Once combined, chocolate chips are folded in and the cookies are ready for the oven. You can have cookies ready in less than a half hour, with almost no dishes. The texture of these peanut butter cookies are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The cookies are delicate when first removed from the oven, but they firm up once cooled and can be handheld from that point on. They have just the right amount of sweetness, chocolate chips, and rich peanut butter taste. Whether you’re a baked goods traditionalist or have eating restrictions, you’ll love this incredibly easy chocolate chip cookie.

The Best Peanut Butter

Because peanut butter is the basis of these cookies, the type you choose matters more than any other ingredient in this recipe. Our preferred brand is Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter followed by Santa Cruz as a close second. I’ve had the best success with no-stir natural peanut butter that is minimally processed. The Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods nut butters are also good choices for this recipe. Here is a guide to natural peanut butter, if it is your first time working with this ingredient. If you can’t find no-stir peanut butter below are some swaps and tips so you can make the best cookie.

If you’re using a brand of peanut butter that has palm oil (or has other oils added) you should leave a half inch of extra space between each cookie because they will be prone to spread more.If only sweetened peanut butter is available, reduce the sugar content by two tablespoons.Crunchy or creamy peanut butter is purely based on your preference. I prefer the crunchy kind because it adds texture to the cookie, but I have had equal luck making them with smooth peanut butter.

Alternative Nut Butters

There are countless alternative nut butters on the market now. Of all the variations I’ve tried, the only butter that has given me equally good results is sunflower butter, following the same guidelines of choosing a minimally processed option. You can also make your own sunflower butter if you feel like trying it out.

The Sweetener

Both brown and white sugar are used here for texture, but you can use all white, all brown, or all evaporated cane juice. You can reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup if you prefer a less sweet cookie—reducing it any more than that would affect the texture so that is something to keep in mind.  

This recipe is versatile and there are so many variations and swaps you could try. The only thing that will change if you decide to leave out the chocolate chips or any other mix in is the yield. The chocolate chip quantity is substantial, so you’d be left with about one dozen fewer cookies. For the chocolate chips, you can use:

Full sizedMiniWhiteSugar freeMilkBittersweet

I find the presentation of mixing mini bittersweet chips with full sized white chocolate chips to be particularly fun. Instead of chocolate chips, try an equal swapped amount of:

RaisinsDried cranberriesDried blueberries

Alternately, for added crunch add 1 scant cup of:

Pumpkin seedsSunflower seedsSesame seeds

It is also worth noting because the cookies are chock full of nut butter, adding more nuts to these cookies would be overwhelming and wouldn’t provide much additional flavor. For a mix in combo, try:

Dried cranberries and white chocolateRaisins and pumpkin seedsPretzel pieces and bacon bits

Use a total combination of two cups here.

Scooping the Dough

This is not a recipe where an ice cream scoop will work, even though it will create the perfect cookie shape. This recipe works best when you pick up a section of dough with a spoon or your fingers and roll it by hand into a ball. Before you roll it in your hand, you’ll want to compress it slightly. It’s hard to over-squish these cookies, so don’t be fearful of handling them. They hold together best when they have been formed in a firm manner. The ball should be at least one inch tall once rolled.

How to Store Them

A tightly sealed container is your best bet to keep these cookies fresh, but they’re pretty versatile. In a pinch, a zip top bag will do and of course, a cookie jar is always a decent option. If you’re looking for some new versatile container sets for cookies and more, we have a few recommendations for you. They keep well for days at room temp once baked even though I’ve never seen them last that long. You can either freeze the dough or the finished cookies and they will thaw perfectly. These cookies will be chewy when they emerge from the oven and will gradually get crunchier over the course of several days.

More Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Gluten-Free Monster Cookie Bars How to Make Crème Brûlée Hetty McKinnon’s Flourless Soy Sauce Brownies

Place about 15 cookies on each lined baking sheet, leaving one inch of space around each cookie. They will spread significantly while baking.