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Rich gluten-free peanut butter cookies to elevate your gluten-free baking. These classic cross-hatch peanut butter cookies are made with gluten-free flour and are bursting with tons of peanut butter flavor—the perfect balance of sweet and salty in a chewy gluten-free cookie.
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
I’ll file these cookies under easy gluten-free baking because they’re made with a handful of simple ingredients and take just 10 minutes to bake. I love making these and my family loves the chewy peanut butter texture. These delicious cookies were the inspiration behind my gluten-free peanut butter oatmeal cookies along with my other favorite cookies gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and gluten-free oatmeal cookies. What can I say? I like cookies!
The texture of these gluten-free cookies is more like traditional peanut butter cookie versus the crispy texture and the soft center of flourless peanut butter cookies. These homemade cookies are a guaranteed crowd pleaser perfect for your holiday parties. I like making these just to have around the house for a sweet treat, though they never last long!
Ingredients
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter: The star ingredient in this cookie recipe.
- Granulated Sugar & Brown Sugar: I use a mix here to sweeten and soften the cookie texture.
- Unsalted butter: Butter adds to the rich flavor and helps support the soft texture. Use vegan butter for a dairy-free recipe.
- Molasses: Enhances the richness of the cookie and adds caramel-like depth.
- Egg: Used as a binder for this cookie recipe. Use an egg replacement if necessary.
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour with Xanthan Gum: The base and structure of these gluten-free cookies. I like Pillsbury Gluten-Free All-Purpose flour.
- Baking soda: Helps the cookies rise and become lighter and fluffier.
- Baking powder: Puffs the cookies up for a soft and thick texture.
Tips and Suggestions
- I don’t usually use natural peanut butter for this recipe, but if you prefer it, make sure it doesn’t have any added oils. The extra oil will hinder this recipe.
- Take the butter out of the refrigerator, cut it into small cubes, and spread it on a plate to soften an hour before baking. Otherwise, you can microwave it in short intervals of 15-30 seconds on low. Be careful not to melt the butter.
- Don’t skip the step of chilling the gluten-free cookie dough. If you do, the cookies will spread too much.
- Once you add the dry ingredients, mix just until combined. Over mixing can lead to dense, tough cookies.
- Always use a cookie scoop for uniform cookies. I use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop. I also like to use Reynolds Kitchens Cookie Baking Sheets. It has a smart grid that makes it super easy to line up your cookies on your baking sheet.
Serving Suggestions
I like to add flaky sea salt or a drizzle of melted chocolate to the top of my gluten-free peanut butter cookies for some added flavor. I also enjoy a cookie with afternoon tea or as a late-night snack.
Storage Instructions
I like to store my leftover gluten-free peanut butter cookies on the counter in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
I also like to make my dough ahead of time for gatherings and holiday parties. Simply prepare the dough and cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Scoop it into balls as if ready to bake, then place the tray in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer the cookie balls to a freezer-safe plastic bag. When baking from frozen, add 1-2 extra minutes to the baking time.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
- Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Monster Cookies
- Banana Oatmeal Cookies
- Gluten-Free Molasses Cookies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
- 1 hand or stand mixer
- 1 baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup gluten-free peanut butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum, I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, (optional)
Instructions
- Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, and peanut butter to a large bowl and mix with your mixer until fully combined and creamy.
- Mix in the egg (or egg replacer) and the molasses. Mix until fully combined.
- In a medium bowl add the gluten-free flour, baking soda and baking powder and stir to blend ingredients.
- Add the flour mixture into the batter and mix until fully combined. The cookie dough will be like soft playdough.
- Cover cookie dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart. (I used a greased 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop.)
- Add the tablespoon of gluten-free flour into a small bowl. Dip the bottom of your fork into the gluten-free flour and then press down on the tops of the cookies to make a crisscross “x” shape.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with granulated sugar. (optional)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light brown on the edges. (Please watch your cookies because every oven is different.)
- Allow the cookies to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Notes
- I don’t usually use natural peanut butter for this recipe, but if you prefer it, make sure it doesn’t have any added oils. The extra oil will hinder this recipe.
- Take the butter out of the refrigerator, cut it into small cubes, and spread it on a plate to soften an hour before baking. Otherwise, you can microwave it in short intervals of 15-30 seconds on low. Be careful not to melt the butter.
- Don’t skip the step of chilling the gluten-free cookie dough. If you do, the cookies will spread too much.
- Once you add the dry ingredients, mix just until combined. Over mixing can lead to dense, tough cookies.
- Always use a cookie scoop for uniform cookies. I use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop. I also like to use Reynolds Kitchens Cookie Baking Sheets. It has a smart grid that makes it super easy to line up your cookies on your baking sheet.
- I like to store my leftover gluten-free peanut butter cookies on the counter in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
- I also like to make my dough ahead of time for gatherings and holiday parties. Simply prepare the dough and cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- For longer storage, freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Scoop it into balls as if ready to bake, then place the tray in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer the cookie balls to a freezer-safe plastic bag. When baking from frozen, add 1-2 extra minutes to the baking time.
- Check your ingredient label to ensure everything is gluten-free.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to make Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies Step-by-Step
Grab a large bowl and add ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup packed brown sugar, ½ cup softened unsalted butter, and ½ cup gluten-free peanut butter. Mix the ingredients together on low using your stand mixer or hand mixer. Mix until combined and creamy.
Add in 1 large egg (or egg alternative) and 1 tsp of molasses. Mix and fully combine.
Combine 1 ¼ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum, ¾ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp baking powder in another bowl. Stir to blend all the ingredients.
Add the dry ingredient mixture to the mixing bowl and mix until fully combined. The cookie dough should resemble a soft playdough. Cover and chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375°F.
Using a greased 1 ½ tbsp cookie scoop, scoop out the dough balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.
Place 1 tbsp of gluten-free flour into a small bowl. Dip the bottom of your fork into the flour and press a cross-hatch pattern (crisscross “x” shape) into the top of each cookie. Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of granulated sugar or flaky salt (optional).
Place the cookie sheets into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are light brown.
Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack. Serve and enjoy!
This recipe was originally published 12/10/23 and has been updated on 12/31/24.
My cookies came out of the oven nice and puffy but went flat as they cooled. They also were not very flavorful…very little peanut butter flavor. I brushed the tops with butter and sprinkled on cinnamon/sugar and then they were tasty. Any idea what went wrong? I followed the recipe – no substitutions. I also made the oatmeal cookies last night and they over spread and went completely flat in the oven. I don’t know what went wrong with both of these cookie recipes. I did follow the recipe. I used GFJules flour, which has xanthum in it. I’d appreciate any trouble shooting you can do for me. I really wanted to love your recipes. You have so many wonderful reviews, but things did not go so well for me. I’m making these to serve at church for the GF people in the congregation. I wanted them to be delicious, not just “good for gluten free”. Thanks!
Hi Pamela, I answered your questions about the oatmeal cookies in response to your original comment 🙂 As for the peanut butter cookies, we recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt to help boost the peanut butter flavor.
banana bread recipe excellent
Since you mention not to use natural peanut butter, is there anything else I can use as a substitute to regular peanut butter if I don’t want to use refined sugar in the cookies?
We would recommend using a “no sugar added” no-stir peanut butter.
Forgive me for a silly question, but can I mix this by hand without a mixer?
While you certainly can make this without a hand mixer, it will require quite a bit of muscle to get the butter/sugar/peanut butter mixture creamed together.
What is meant by “granulated sugar”? Can this be coconut sugar?
When we say granulated sugar, we are always referring to granulated cane sugar. Coconut sugar should work, but it does often have a coarser grain size, so you may want to blitz it in a food processor first.
Thanks for all your replies! And for responding so quickly!
At first I tried to cut the sugar as I do with most other recipes but I found that the sugar adds to the spread ability and texture, which make these cookies Soooo good! I sprinkle sea salt instead of sugar before baking and it comes out like gourmet cookies!! Excellent recipe!
Great cookies! Would never know they are gf!
My daughter had some of the cookie dough and commented that there was zero difference in the texture! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!❤️
Seriously so good! I add chocolate chips and then put in the fridge for a few hours or over night. The best ever!
Audrey was correct when she said ‘the best gf peanut butter cookies”. These were so delicious. Gluten free and non-gluten free family members LOVED them. We have decided to make another batch for an upcoming church event. I’m sure they will be a hit. Thank you Audrey!!!
wonderful recipe. excellent and clear directions. my family loves them!
Wonderful in so many ways. Sorry to say I’m not a peanut butter fan, but these had the perfect amount in them. I’ll try some other recipes soon. So happy I found this site. Thank you!
These cookies are delicious! You can’t eat just one…😊
Absolutely love this recipe. Made them and froze them so I wouldn’t eat them all in one sitting! I love your recipes!
Excellent cookie recipe!
I have yet to be “skunked.” So far I’ve made pancakes, banana bread, pb n oatmeal cookies, n biscuits. My non-celiac husband can’t get enough!
Great recipe – easy and delicious. We added vegan chocolate chunks and that was a great addition. When using Smart Balance the cookies spread out more than with butter. Two options to fix this problem is to refrigerate the dough for 30-minutes or add a tablespoon of vegetable shortening in place of a tablespoon of margarine.
I love, love these cookies. Even my husband who eats glutenful cookies likes them.
And they’re pretty easy to make.
Thank you so much Lourae for the wonderful recipe review, it really made my night! I am so happy that you love the peanut butter cookies and your husband enjoys them as well. Thank you again!
awesome recipe!
Shes done it again!!!! Sheesh! These are amazing. I used earth balance butter and Bob’s red mill GF flour. A++ SO YUMMY.
Thank you so much Taylor for the awesome 5-star recipe review, it really made my day! I am so happy that you enjoyed the peanut butter cookies and that they were amazing. Thank you for sharing which brand of dairy-free butter and gluten-free flour you used, as I know it will help others. Thank you again!
In me and my Family’s opinion, these are the BEST peanut butter cookies ever!!! I have tried the 3 or 4 ingredient PBC recipes and they taste good but are lacking something … FLOUR! Again it’s just our opinion but the cookies came out fantastic and weren’t any trouble to make at all. They are exactly how I like them which is a bit on the crispy side instead of chewy. Thanks so much for the recipe and btw I bought your cookbook recently for myself and one for my daughter as we’re both gluten free and should be Dairy free (my Grandson is both) ?. We both love the cookbook and have made a few of your recipes. I look forward to trying more! Have a blessed day ?
Thank you so much Kim for the awesome 5-star recipe review, it really made my day! I am so happy that you and your family think that these are the BEST peanut butter cookies. Thank you so much for buying my cookbook, I hope you enjoy all of the recipes. You are so welcome, I love sharing the recipes that I make for my family. Thank you again for your kind words and encouragement, they really blessed me.
These are the best PB cookies and hard to believe they are GF !!
Thank you so much Betty for the awesome 5-star recipe review, it really made my night! I am so happy that these are the best peanut butter cookies and it’s hard to believe that they are gluten-free. Thank you again!
So delicious! Would never know it was not made with regular flour. The family can’t stop eating them.
Thank you.
Thank you so much Bev for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your family enjoyed the peanut butter cookies. You are so welcome I love sharing what I make for my family. Thank you again!
The most delicious PB cookies ever !. Thanks so much for making GF baking so easy & successful Audrey !
Thank you so much Betty for the awesome 5-star recipe review, this really made my day! I am so happy that you enjoyed the peanut butter cookies and they are the most delicious peanut butter cookies ever. You are so welcome Betty, I love sharing what I make for my family. Thank you again!
The perfect cookie!!
Thank you Linda for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the peanut butter cookies. They are one of my family’s favorites. Thank you again!