The Best Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Name: Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 3/4 cups gluten free flour blend (* see note); 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup brown sugar; 1/3 cup sugar; 13 tablespoons butter; 1 1/4 cup peanut butter; 2 eggs (large); 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional see note)

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If you are a peanut butter fanatic...I mean, eat peanut butter right out of the jar type of fanatic, you are going to LOVE my new homemade gluten free peanut butter cookies recipe. These cookies seem to melt in your mouth, and they are full of peanut butter flavor.

A stack of four peanut butter cookies next to a mug of coffee.

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Recipe At A Glance:
Why Make These Cookies:
Ingredient Notes:
Substitutions:
How To Make Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies:
Cookie Baking Tips:
Recipe FAQ:
More Yummy Gluten Free Cookie Recipes:
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💬 Comments

Recipe At A Glance:

This recipe was tested with King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob's Red Mill 1:1 flour blends.
This is a beginner-level recipe.
Make this gluten free peanut butter cookie recipe in 20 minutes.

My husband and son are die-hard peanut butter fanatics. They eat it with a spoonful by the jar. If I need peanut butter for a recipe, I must put a don't eat sign on the lid. Even then, they often slip up and eat my peanut butter!

If you are a cookie lover like me, you will want to check out ALL of my Gluten Free Cookie Recipes :-).

Why Make These Cookies:

Not only is my gluten free peanut butter cookie recipe easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.
These cookies freeze well, so you can have delicious cookies on hand anytime.
I include a dairy-free option and an egg-free option.

While you bake them, try these Gluten Free Chocolate Espresso Cookies and these Gluten Free Russian Tea Cookies as well!

I made these using Jiff Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter. I had several people taste test them and everyone loved them! My favorite comment was "these are the best peanut butter cookies I have EVER eaten.... Not the best GF peanut butter cookie - but the best peanut butter cookie - period!"
Janine M., Blog comment

A peanut butter cookie with bite taken out.

Top Pick

King Arthur, Measure for Measure Flour 3 lbs

This is one of my favorite gluten-free flour blends for cookies, cakes, pie crust, biscuits, and muffins! (Do not use this flour blend for yeast recipes.)

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Ingredient Notes:

Photos of the peanut butter cookie ingredients.

Gluten Free Flour Blend - I tested this recipe using Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur's Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn't mean others will not work; I have not tested other flours.
Xanthan Gum - If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon. A binder is essential because it holds the baked treat together. If you are gum-free, see the Substitutions section below for a gum-free option.
Brown Sugar and Cane Sugar
Baking Powder and Salt - Use aluminum-free baking powder.
Unsalted Butter - To make these yummy cookie recipes dairy-free, see my Substitutes section below.
Peanut Butter - I used creamy unsalted peanut butter. Check to be sure your peanut butter is gluten free.
Eggs - Use size large.
Peanuts - To add crunch, I added chopped peanuts to the cookies. You can use crunchy peanut butter to do the same thing, adding crunch.
Vanilla Extract

Substitutions:

To make this recipe dairy-free, use plant-based butter.
To make this recipe gum-free, use my DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend. It uses psyllium husk instead of xanthan or guar gum.

How To Make Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies:

The peanut butter cookies steps 1 and 2 photos.

Step 1: In a large bowl, add your dry ingredients and whisk to blend. Don't forget to add Xanthan Gum if your gluten free blend doesn't contain it.

I recommend using the spoon or leveling method to measure your gluten-free flour. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale.

Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the excess flour.

Step 2: Add your wet ingredients to a microwave-safe dish. Melt the butter, but not too hot. Remove the container from the microwave and add the peanut butter. This will help soften the peanut butter, making it easier to mix in.

🔑 Sandi says: We refrigerate our peanut butter so it won't mix in without softening! Add the eggs and vanilla next. The peanut butter will also cool the mixture down before adding the eggs.

NOTE: If your butter/peanut butter mixture is very hot, temper your eggs so they don't cook in the hot liquid. To temper the eggs, mix your eggs in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the hot mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat this twice, then pour the mixture into your butter mixture.

The peanut butter cookies steps 3 and 4 photos.

Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients; add in the chopped peanuts or any other mix-in you want. (A lot of people like to add chocolate chips, too!)

Step 4: Mix your ingredients to make a soft peanut butter cookie dough.

The peanut butter cookies steps 5 and 6 photos.

Step 5: Use a cookie scoop to drop even balls of cookie dough onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Use a fork to press down the cookie balls, as shown in the photo. Two presses of the fork are enough, one in each direction, to make tic tac toe-looking indents.

Step 6: Bake at 350º F for 10 minutes. Remove and slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a cooling rack.

Try to measure correctly. If you add in too much gluten free flour or other ingredients, it can mess with the cookies as they bake. If they don't have the proper ratios of ingredients, you may end up with a disaster.
Chill the dough when possible. I know you are probably ready to eat your cookies, but taking a few minutes to chill the batter makes them less likely to spread.
Use a cooled cookie sheet when baking. Don't take a hot cookie sheet and put the batter on it, or I promise the cookies won't turn out. They start baking immediately, and it messes with the shape of them. Use a couple of sheets and rotate them out when making large batches of cookies.
Don't let the cookies sit on the pan too long. After they have baked, only let them sit up to 5 minutes on the baking sheet. The pan will still be hot and continue baking them otherwise.

I also have a helpful Gluten Free Cookie Troubleshooting Guide to read if you want extra guidance.

Recipe FAQ:

Can you make these peanut butter cookies vegan?

You can make this recipe vegan by using dairy-free butter and using an egg replacer like Bob's Red Mill GF Egg Replacer in place of the eggs.

Can you make these peanut butter cookies nut-free?

You can use SunButter instead of peanut butter to make this nut-free.

Can you freeze these cookies?

I always make double batches and freeze the cookies. Allow your cookies to cool completely. Place 6-8 cookies in rows in a zipper freezer bag. Freeze, then add a piece of wax paper over them. Add another row and repeat until all of the cookies are frozen. The wax paper will help prevent them from sticking to each other.

How long will these cookies keep fresh?

These cookies will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.