These Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies are soft and chewy with the perfect sweet and salty balance. An American Classic packed with peanut butter flavor and easy to make. And don't forget the iconic criss-cross marks.
My gluten free peanut butter cookies are made not only with peanut butter but also contain ground-up peanuts - for that extra little crunch. I use salted cocktail peanuts for this.
Jump to:
- Recipe Ingredient Notes
- How to make Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
- How to bake Peanut Butter Cookies
- Storage & Freezing
- Why do you put fork marks on peanut butter cookies?
- FAQ about Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- Join my Gluten Free Community!
- Note about Salt in my Recipes
- Baking in grams
- Note about Ovens and Oven Temperatures
- Substitutions and Modifications
- More Gluten Free Peanut Butter Recipes to try
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Recipe Ingredient Notes
Gluten Free Flour: I tested this recipe for gluten-free peanut butter cookies with my own gluten free flour blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1 – to 1 and King Arthur Measure for Measure. While each gluten-free flour blend worked perfectly fine in this recipe, I noticed the cookies made with the King Arthur Gluten-Free flour did spread less than the others. If you plan on using a different brand, I highly recommend one containing several different flours as well as a binder like a xanthan gum. A single flour such as almond flour or coconut flour will not work in this (or any) of my recipes.
Peanut Butter: I use Jif Creamy Peanut Butter in this recipe. I prefer using the conventional style over the organic style for baking. Organic nut butter varieties with only one ingredient tend to create very dry and crumbly peanut butter cookies. I have not tried this recipe with different kinds of nut butter or seed butter. If you prefer chunky peanut butter, feel free to use it to make this gluten free peanut butter cookie recipe.
Peanuts: I use salted Cocktail Peanuts in this recipe which gives the cookies a wonderful texture. Please make sure whatever peanuts you use are gluten-free and do not contain any random seasonings. This is often the case with Dry Roasted Peanuts.
How to make Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
The dough for this recipe for Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies is very straight forward but it is important to mention that the dough will be on the softer side. Therefore you should not skip the 30-45 minutes of chilling before scooping and baking the cookies.
Step 1: Combine gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
Step 2: Place the salted peanuts in your food processor or blender and pulse them until they resemble very coarse breadcrumbs. You still want to see bits and pieces of peanuts.
Step 3: Combine the room temperature butter, brown sugar, and white sugar into the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape down the sides halfway through the creaming process.
Step 4: Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated. Mix in the egg and egg yolk.
Step 5: Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a flexible spatula before adding the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients at a low speed into the wet ingredients until a dough forms. Lastly, mix in the ground-up peanuts. The dough will be soft.
Step 6: Transfer the peanut butter cookie dough to an airtight container (or cover your mixing bowl with plastic wrap) and refrigerate for at least 30-45 minutes. You may chill the cookie dough for up to 3 days before baking cookies.
How to bake Peanut Butter Cookies
Step 1: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper. Set aside.
Step 2: Using a 2 Tablespoon Cookie Scoop portion out the peanut butter cookie dough and divide between the two sheet trays. This recipe should give you 10-12 cookies. Roll each cookie dough portion into a ball and with a dinner fork make a cross-hatch design (criss-cross) on top of the cookie dough ball. This will press the cookies down and give them their signature look.
Step 3: Bake the gluten-free cookies one pan at a time at 350F for 12-14 minutes (make sure the oven is preheated!). The cookies will look pale and underbaked and should not be golden brown but they will continue to bake while cooling. Repeat with the 2nd tray.
Step 4: Remove the cookies from the oven. If desired, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to scoot them into a perfectly round shape. Sprinkle with some flaky sea salt if you like. Allow the gluten-free peanut cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Storage & Freezing
The best way to store these gluten-free peanut cookies is in an airtight container at room temperature. These cookies should stay soft and chewy for 3-4 days.
The dough for these cookies freezes beautifully. I recommend making the dough, allowing it to chill for at least 2 hours (it will be easier to scoop that way), and form into balls. Place them on a small sheet tray that’s lined with parchment paper in a single layer and give them their crisscross pattern. Once the dough is frozen you can transfer it to a freezer bag and store it in your freezer for up to 3 months.
To bake peanut butter cookies from frozen, preheat the oven to 350F as directed in the recipe. I bake my cookie dough straight from the freezer and add an additional 2-3 minutes of baking time IF needed. Please be aware that cookies baked from frozen sometimes do not spread as much.
Why do you put fork marks on peanut butter cookies?
Peanut Butter Cookie dough is a lot denser than other cookie dough. The fork mark or criss-cross actually presses down the dough and helps the cookies to bake more evenly.
To be honest, I always assumed the fork marks meant "hey this is peanut butter, don't eat it you are allergic" and after some digging around the internet, it IS indeed a warning signal.
FAQ about Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
This happens when you use natural peanut butter or over-measure the gluten-free flour. Using natural peanut butter results in dry and crumble cookies.
Please substitute the butter used in the recipe for your favorite dairy-free butter substitute. I like to use Miyoko’s and ForA Vegan Butter.
To get perfectly round cookies, I like to use a round cutter or bowl that’s slightly larger than my cookies and “scoot them” into a perfectly round shape when they come from the oven. This is not a must but people sure are impressed with perfect round cookies.
Join my Gluten Free Community!
Note about Salt in my Recipes
I use Diamond Kosher Crystal Salt in all of my recipes unless otherwise stated. If use use a different brand or kind of salt in your kitchen please adjust accordingly since some salts can be saltier. If you use Morton’s Kosher Salt please be aware that their salt granules are smaller in size, denser, and crunchier and twice as salty.
Baking in grams
I share my recipes in grams and by weight since baking by weight is the most accurate way to bake. Digital Scales are very affordable and easy to use. You can purchase them on Amazon for less than a set of measuring cups. For small amounts under 10 grams, I like to use this Precision Pocket Scale. Measuring cups are very inaccurate which can cause significant errors when it comes to gluten-free baking or baking in general. Especially since I bake with gluten-free flours which weigh differently than “regular” flours. I do provide some ingredients like spices and leavening agents in measuring spoons. To learn more about Baking with a digital scale, make sure to check out my post about Baking by weight.
Note about Ovens and Oven Temperatures
All my recipes are tested and developed with a conventional oven. I always bake my baked goods on the rack placed in the MIDDLE of my oven. This way the heat coming from the bottom will not burn my baked goods.
If you are baking with convection (fan-forced), please adjust the recipes accordingly. Convection oven can cause baked goods to dry out quickly and still be raw inside. Since takes at least 15-20 minutes for a standard American Oven to be fully preheated. I highly recommend investing in an Oven Thermometer.
Substitutions and Modifications
Any dietary or ingredient modifications/substitutions to this recipe may alter the end result in appearance and taste. I test my recipes several times as published in this post and The Gluten Free Austrian Blog is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe you find on our website.
More Gluten Free Peanut Butter Recipes to try
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
These Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies will become your new favorites - soft and chewy with the perfect sweet and salty balance. This American Classic is packed with peanut butter flavor and easy to make.
Ingredients
- 100 grams roasted, salted peanuts
- 180 grams gluten free multipurpose flour blend
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 113 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 150 grams light brown sugar
- 50 grams granulated white sugar
- 125 grams smooth or chunky peanut butter
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
How to make Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
- Place peanuts in a food processor or blender and pulse them until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. You still want to see bits and pieces of peanuts. Set aside
- Combine gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine room temperature butter and both sugars beat at medium speed for 5 minutes until fluffy and pale. Halfway through, pause to scrape the bowl and beater with a flexible spatula.
- Add the peanut butter and mix until incorporated.
- With the mixer running on low, add the egg, the egg yolk, and vanilla, letting it fully incorporate. Pause your mixer to scrape down the sides.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until just combined.
- Add your ground-up peanuts at a low speed just to combine
- Place the dough in a Tupperware container and let the dough rest in your refrigerator for at least 30-45 minutes, better even if you can let it sit for 12hrs or longer. During this process the flour hydrates and develops flavor.
Baking Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough use a 2 Tablespoon Cookie Scoop and portion the cookie dough (10-12 cookies) Use the tines of dinner fork and make a crosshatch design (criss-cross) on top of the cookie dough.
- Optional: Sprinkle the cookies with some flaky sea salt and top them with some chocolate before baking if you like.
- Arrange 6 cookie dough balls on a baking sheet. Make sure you leave some room for spreading. Place the remainder of the cookie dough in the fridge (or freezer for future use)
- Bake Cookies for 12-14 minutes until lightly golden and beginning to set. The baking time depends on personal preference (and your oven).
- Remove from the oven, and if desired, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to scoot them into a perfectly round shape.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking pan before moving to a cooling rack.
- Repeat with the remaining dough if you would like.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 309
Calories are a guestimate and randomly generated.
Sylvia says
Saw this recipe first thing this morning and just baked some. OMG - they are amazing! Thank you so much for those delicious gluten free peanut butter cookies!
Megan Levonyak says
These are delicious! Per usual, the recipe was simple and easy to follow. Try not to get stuck eating all the cookie dough like I did!!
jean Drummond says
Awesome! Made two batches all turned out. Yummy. I have put into freezer bags, otherwise I would eat all too quick. Thxs. Jean Drummond
Daniela says
Love hearing this! I know how addictive those peanut butter cookies are
Vicki says
Best PB cookies I have tasted and so easy to make. Even better with a chocolate kiss on top!