These gluten free peanut butter cookies are SO soft and chewy that you’ll never miss the gluten! With just a handful of simple pantry ingredients, they’re a perfect treat whether you’re gluten-sensitive or just love peanut butter (or both!).
Unlike many GF cookie recipes, these peanut butter cookies are delicious and chewy, not dry and crumbly. The first time I made them, I honestly had to double check that I used gluten free flour, not regular!
I was THAT blown away by how good they are—and you will be too!
This recipe is special to me for several reasons. Not only does it make a fantastic-tasting cookie, but this is actually a recipe my great, great-grandmother came up with. How’s that for a family recipe?
Of course, her version was not gluten-free. Converting it was easy, though! I took my great, great-grandmother’s original peanut butter cookie recipe and simply substituted my favorite 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend.
The cookies turned out PERFECT.
So I’ve decided to let you in on our family secret and share the recipe with you!
Note: These cookies are definitely chewy. If you want a crispy peanut butter cookie, this is not the recipe for you!
Quick Tips for the BEST Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Want soft, chewy, bakery-style cookies every time? Here are a few quick tips to make sure your gluten-free peanut butter cookies turn out amazing:
- Use the right peanut butter: Stick with classic, no-stir creamy peanut butter (like Justins, Jif or Skippy) for the best results. Natural peanut butters with oil separation can make the dough too dry or too oily.
- Don’t overmix the dough: Stir just until the ingredients are combined. Overmixing can make the cookies tough instead of tender.
- Scoop evenly: Use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to scoop the dough into even balls so they bake consistently.
- Flatten slightly before baking: Gently press each dough ball down with a fork to create that classic criss-cross pattern and help the cookies bake evenly.
- Watch the bake time: Gluten-free cookies can overbake quickly! They’re ready when the edges are set, but the centers still look soft — they’ll firm up as they cool.
- Customize with add-ins: Want to mix things up? Try stirring in mini chocolate chips, chopped peanuts, or even a sprinkle of sea salt on top before baking.
Let’s get to the recipe, shall we? Without further comment, here is the best gluten-free peanut butter cookie recipe!
Ingredients
- 1-to-1 Gluten-free flour blend*
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Butter, softened – make sure you check out my easy hack for how to soften butter fast!
- Cane sugar (or regular granulated sugar)
- Brown sugar
- Peanut butter
- Egg
*I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour. I haven’t used other gluten-free flour mixes for this, so your results may vary if you choose a different blend.
How to Make GF Peanut Butter Cookies
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, sift and stir together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, cream the stick of softened butter until fluffy.
You’ll need both brown sugar and regular granulated sugar (or cane sugar for this recipe). This is essential to keeping the cookies soft and chewy! Don’t skip this!
Note: While I normally try to stick with non-refined sugars, this recipe is so perfect as it is, I use regular sugars as Grandma called for it.
Add the sugars along with the peanut butter (I use a natural creamy peanut butter without added sugar) to the creamed butter in your mixing bowl and mix well.
Next, add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Add the flour mixture gradually, beating well after each addition.
Mix until smooth.
Now, it’s time to shape your cookies!
Roll or drop the dough into 1-2″ balls (depending on how large you want your cookies) and place about 2″ apart on a cookie sheet.
Dip a fork into gluten-free flour and criss-cross press the cookies.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies appear set and the edges just begin to brown. Do not overbake or the cookies will become crispier and less chewy.
Let cool for a few minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.
Indulge and enjoy!
FAQs
What’s the secret to getting chewy cookies?
If you’ve ever wondered what makes a cookie chewy, here’s the quick answer. Desserts like these gluten-free peanut butter cookies are chewier thanks to higher moisture content.
A lot of this is because of the brown sugar within the recipe. The molasses within brown sugar gives it a higher moisture content than white sugar. For that reason, the combination of brown and white sugar is crucial to this recipe!
Can I make these cookies dairy free?
If you’re looking for a dairy-free version of this cookie, all you need to do is make a simple swap. Instead of using butter, you can use the dairy-free “vegan butter” found in the butter section of the grocery store.
Just a heads up: while the cookies are still delicious, the texture is not as perfect as the gluten-free peanut butter cookies with dairy version.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Yes! Form the dough into balls and put them on a cookie sheet. Next, stick the pan in the freezer until the dough balls are firm. Then, you can transfer them to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container to store!
Tip: You can bake these cookies from frozen, just be sure to add an extra minute or two to the baking time.
How should I store these cookies?
Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4–5 days. For longer storage, you can freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes to Try
If you love these cookies (and I know you will!), you’ll be excited to try some of my other gluten free cookie recipes! I’ve experimented quite a bit, and these are my favorite recipes:
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Russian Tea Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
I hope you enjoy these delicious, chewy gluten-free peanut butter cookies as we do! (They never last long around my house. Good thing they’re so easy, my kids can make them!)
Want to give your kids another opportunity to make cookies? These no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies are SO easy to make and taste amazing!
Just pin it below to find the instructions later!
Chewy Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
This easy recipe uses common ingredients that make a peanut butter cookie so delicious, no one will guess it’s gluten-free!
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cane sugar (or regular granulated sugar)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg, beaten well
Instructions
Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and add the sugar, peanut butter, and brown sugar gradually creaming after each addition until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture gradually beating after each addition until smooth.
Drop mix 1 tsp at a time 2” apart onto greased cookie sheet. Dip fork in flour and press cookies criss-cross.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are just set and the edges are just barely beginning to brown. Don’t overbake or they won’t be as chewy.
Jan DeVries says
These cookies are delicious! I made the for my daughter-in-law who eats gluten free. You would never know if you weren’t told.
I did add 1/4 tsp of xanthun gum with the flour (Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour) that I used.
Erika says
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Jan. Thanks for the letting me know! 🙂
Josie says
I just made your recipe. 5 star .hubby likes his sweets and this was a winner. I used Namaste gf.flour and it worked fine.
Thanks for sharing
Josie Mac says
I just made your recipe. 5 star .hubby likes his sweets and this was a winner. I used Namaste gf.flour and it worked fine.
Thanks for sharing
Vickey says
Just wondering how many cookies in a serving, and how many cookies it makes?
Brenda Johnson says
These cookies are delicious! I tried the drop method too. Made some with Dark Chocolate Chips and Peanut butter chips.
Erika says
I’m so glad you loved them, Brenda! I love your tweaks – I will have to try both! 🙂
Henley says
Great recipe! I did a few things different and used the namaste GF flour. I used sunflower butter, flax egg and coconut oil instead of butter. I think the butter would taste better just didn’t have some out 😬 Thanks for the recipe!
Lee says
Is it possible to freeze some of the cookie dough ?
Erika says
Yes, you can. Try rolling them into balls first then freezing in an airtight container or plastic ziploc bag.
Erica Green says
This was really good. I have a canister mixed of brown sugar and coconut sugar so I used that instead. It turned out great but I didn’t really taste the peanut butter. Maybe the coconut sugar blend was the cause or maybe I should have added a bit more peanut butter. Will try again. Thank you!!
Erika says
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Erica! I have found made this recipe using coconut sugar before when I attempt to make it (a tiny bit) more healthy and I’ve noticed it tastes less-peanut buttery too. I do think the coconut sugar is a bit stronger flavor.
Susette says
Not sure what went wrong with my cookies, they turned out dry and crumbly. The taste was good, but crumbled quickly after taking a bite. Any ideas of why this happened?
Erika says
Hi Susette, that’s frustrating! Usually dry/crumbly cookies are the result of some combination of too much flour/not enough liquid and/or too long of baking time.
Assuming you followed the recipe exactly, I’d suggest checking your oven temperature to make sure it’s accurate. Then you might try lowering the oven temp and baking for less time. With gluten-free cookies, its’ very easy to overbake which eliminates that delicious chewiness we want!
Betty says
Absolutely delicious! Used Robin Hood all purpose gluten-free flour and natural crunchy peanut butter.
Followed recipe as written. Whole family loved them…those who eat gluten-free and those who don’t. I’ll definitely make these again!