The Simplest Peanut Butter Cookies EVER – Theme With a Chocolate Chip and Bacon Variation

I learned this basic recipe for peanut butter cookies when I was about 10 years old. After reading the directions once, I never needed to see the recipe again – it was that simple. I have never forgotten the recipe. You can find it online (with minor variations) under a variety of names: flourless peanut butter cookies, easy peanut butter cookies, three-ingredient peanut butter cookies.

In its simplest form that anticipates variations, the recipe goes like this:

Three Ingredients:

Peanut Butter – 1 Cup (9 oz. – smooth or crunchy)
White Granulated Sugar – 1 Cup (7 oz. – or use half white and half light brown sugar)
Egg – 1 large

Optional Additional Ingredients:

Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp.
Baking Soda – 1 tsp. or less
Garnish – whatever you like within reason

Directions:

Line a half-sheet pan with parchment (optional). Mix ingredients until thoroughly combined. Using your hands, roll dough into balls that are 1″ to 1 1/2″ in diameter and coat with granulated sugar. Arrange the balls of dough on the baking sheet so that individual balls are about 2″ apart. Using a fork, flatten the dough and imprint with a crosshatch pattern. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 10 – 12 minutes. The cookies will be very soft while they are hot – they need to cool completely before they can be moved or handled.

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The basic elements I have always remembered are: 1 cup PB, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp. vanilla, roll-and-fork, 350°F, 10 minutes. The vanilla is optional, some people add a little baking soda for added puffiness, and traditional garnishes like chocolate chips and raisins taste great in these cookies.

This is definitely NOT a recipe to over-think.

Example 1 – Simple Peanut Butter Cookies (the Theme) – using the recipe I learned as a child: 1 cup PB, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp. vanilla, roll-and-fork, 350°F, 10 minutes. I used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract.

I used half white granulated sugar and half light brown sugar – my light brown sugar was lumpy so I spun the sugars in a food processor first.

This directions are as simple as dumping and mixing: 1 cup PB, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp. vanilla. You can see that I used crunchy peanut butter here.

Mix with a spatula or fork or spoon or whatever.

Here, I rolled the cookie dough into balls that were about 1″ in diameter then rolled them in granulated sugar.

All of your dough should fit on a single half-sheet pan.

Notes – I just space-out my dough as much as I can so that everything fits on a single pan. Also, I prefer to bake cookies on parchment – it isn’t necessary, but I like to use it (and with parchment, you can slide the whole tray of cookies off the pan onto a cooling rack without damaging the soft hot cookies).

Flatten each cookie gently with the tines of a fork in a crosshatch pattern.

Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes.

Note – Because the hot cookies are so soft, you really need to let them cool completely before handling them. The cookies usually need to bake for at least 10 minutes – I look for a little browning around the edges of the cookies. The longer you bake the cookies, the crisper they will be when they cool. Cookies that bake for about 10 minutes are a little crisp and a little chewy too. This batch came out of the oven after just under 11 minutes of baking.

The underside of the cookie should be darker than the top.

Example 2 – Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Bacon (the Variation) – 1 cup PB, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 3/4 cup crumbled bacon, 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, roll-and-fork, 350°F, 10 minutes. I decided to use a little baking soda for some lift – and I left out the vanilla because I didn’t think it would pair well with the bacon.

Hindsight – I used 7 strips of bacon to make one batch of cookies here – that gave me about 3/4 cup of crumbled bacon. The chocolate definitely overpowered the saltiness of the bacon. The next time I make a batch of these cookies, I will probably use a little less chocolate (like 1/2 cup) and a lot more bacon (possibly even doubling what I used here). Raisins might be good in the mix too.

So I’m just using more-or-less the same recipe as before – no vanilla this time – I added a little leavening – and a bunch of chocolate and bacon.

The secret weapons.

Mix and form as before.

I made larger cookies this time.

Note – This batch took a little longer to bake sufficiently – just over 12 minutes.