When I first saw this video for Southern Living's four-ingredient peanut butter cookies, I couldn't conceal my skepticism. How could you possibly make cookies from peanut butter, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract alone?! It seemed suspiciously too easy, but I had to try it out! With so many friends and family members on gluten-free and dairy-free diets, I figured if the recipe did work, I could make a lot of people happy.
Unlike other fussier cookie recipes, all the ingredients are dumped and mixed together, and due to the high fat content in the peanut butter, the dough balls can be shaped in a hot second without sticking to your fingers (or a spring-form scooper). As promised, the cookies bake up in 15 minutes tops. Allow them to cool before attempting to eat, or else you may end up eating a bunch of crumbs. I sprinkled a few with flake salt and topped a few others with peanut butter cups . . . and people didn't hate it. I used all-natural, no-stir, no-sugar peanut butter, because I love the gritty texture, but any PB will work with this recipe. Next time, I plan to try it out with crunchy peanut butter and chocolate chips.
Easiest (Ever!) Peanut Butter Cookies
From Southern Living
Notes
Variations: Evenly press 1 cup of your desired addition, such as chocolate morsels, chocolate-coated toffee bits, or chopped peanuts, onto the top of prepared cookie dough on baking sheets; bake as directed.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies: Divide peanut butter cookie dough in half. Stir 2 melted semisweet chocolate baking squares into half of dough. Shape doughs into 30 (1-inch) half peanut butter, half chocolate-peanut butter balls. Flatten gently with a spoon. Proceed as directed.
Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter 1 cup sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extractDirections
Stir together 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a large bowl until combined; shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets, and flatten gently with tines of a fork. Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.Information Category Desserts, Cookies Yield About 24-30 cookies Cook Time 25 minutes Average ( votes):
