You can make peanut butter cookies with no eggs by letting the peanut butter and sugar do the binding. For the quickest version, beat 1 cup of creamy peanut butter with 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, a little vanilla and a pinch of salt, roll the dough into 12 balls, press each one flat with a fork, and bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes. Let them cool on the pan for 10 minutes and they firm up into soft, chewy cookies. Below you will find that flourless recipe, a flour-based eggless version for bigger batches, which peanut butter to use, exact bake times for chewy or crisp results, and fixes for crumbly dough.
Recipe at a glance
| Detail | Flourless version | Flour-based version |
|---|---|---|
| Active time | 10 minutes | 15 minutes |
| Chill time | None | 30 minutes |
| Bake | 350°F, 9 to 13 minutes | 350°F, 10 to 12 minutes |
| Yield | About 12 cookies | About 20 cookies |
| Egg replaced by | Powdered sugar syrup plus the fat and protein in peanut butter | Milk, butter and flour |
| Keeps | 5 days sealed, 3 months frozen | 5 days sealed, 3 months frozen |
What replaces the egg, and why it works
An egg does three jobs in a cookie. It adds water, it adds protein that sets in the oven and holds the crumb together, and the yolk emulsifies fat into the dough so it does not turn greasy.
Peanut butter already covers a lot of that. A typical 2-tablespoon serving carries roughly 7 to 8 grams of protein and around 16 grams of fat, so the structure and richness are in the bowl before you add anything else. What is missing is a little water and something to glue the peanut solids together.
That glue is sugar dissolved in a small amount of liquid. As the cookies bake and cool, the syrup sets and holds everything in place. Powdered (confectioners’) sugar works better than granulated here because it dissolves almost instantly and contains a little cornstarch, which soaks up loose oil. Granulated crystals do not dissolve well in such a dry dough, which leaves a sandy texture and encourages spreading.
Ingredients
Flourless eggless peanut butter cookies (12 cookies)
- 1 cup (about 9 to 9 1/2 ounces, 260 g) creamy stabilized peanut butter
- 3/4 cup (about 3 ounces, 90 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk (or oat or almond milk)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt, skipped if your peanut butter is salted
Flour-based eggless peanut butter cookies (about 20 cookies)
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113 g) softened butter
- 1/2 cup (about 4 1/2 ounces, 130 g) peanut butter
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 1/4 cups (about 5 1/4 ounces, 150 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt
If you own a kitchen scale, weigh the peanut butter. A cup scooped loosely from a soft jar and a cup packed from a cold jar can differ by more than an ounce, and in a three-ingredient dough that is enough to make it greasy or crumbly. Equipment is simple: a sturdy bowl, a wooden spoon, a fork, a sheet pan and parchment paper.
How to make peanut butter cookies with no eggs, step by step
- Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle. Line a sheet pan with parchment.
- Stir the peanut butter until smooth. If it is cold from the fridge, warm it for 15 to 20 seconds in the microwave.
- Add the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt. Beat firmly for about a minute until the dough turns from loose to stiff and pulls away from the bowl.
- Roll 12 balls of roughly 1 1/2 tablespoons each. Slightly damp hands stop the dough sticking.
- Press each ball with a fork in a criss-cross pattern until it is about 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges just start to color and the centers still look soft.
- Leave them on the pan for 10 minutes. Eggless cookies are fragile when hot and set as they cool.
For the flour-based dough, cream the butter with both sugars until fluffy, beat in the peanut butter and milk, then mix in the flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Chill for 30 minutes, roll into balls, fork-press and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes.
Why the fork press matters more without eggs
In a regular cookie, egg helps the dough puff and then spread in the oven. Without egg, a ball of peanut butter dough barely spreads at all. Left round, the outside browns while the middle stays pasty. Pressing the dough to an even 1/2 inch lets the center cook at the same rate as the edge, and a fork does it faster and more evenly than your palm. The criss-cross is structural here, not just decoration.
Natural or stabilized peanut butter?
Recipes online disagree on this because they are usually describing different doughs. Match the jar to whether your recipe has flour:
| Your recipe | Best peanut butter | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Flourless | Stabilized creamy (the no-stir kind) | There is no flour to absorb separated oil, so the dough needs a jar that stays emulsified |
| Flour-based | Natural (well stirred) or stabilized | Flour absorbs free oil, and natural peanut butter gives a stronger peanut flavor |
| Either | Avoid crunchy in the flourless version | Nut pieces break up the thin sugar network holding the cookie together |
If natural peanut butter is all you have for the flourless recipe, stir it very thoroughly, add an extra tablespoon of powdered sugar and chill the dough for 15 minutes before rolling.
Chewy or crisp: bake times
| Texture you want | Bake at 350°F | Pull them when |
|---|---|---|
| Soft and chewy | About 9 minutes | Centers look slightly wet, edges pale |
| In between | About 11 minutes | Edges just golden |
| Crisp | About 13 minutes | Golden across the top |
Home ovens often run 15 to 25 degrees hotter or cooler than the dial, so bake a test tray first and adjust by a minute next time.
Other egg substitutes that work
- Plant milk: oat, soy or almond milk swaps 1:1 for dairy milk and keeps the recipe dairy-free.
- Aquafaba: 2 to 3 tablespoons of chickpea can liquid can replace the milk and adds a little extra binding.
- Flax egg: 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water, rested 5 minutes. Best in the flour-based version; it adds a slightly nutty flavor.
- Mashed banana: about 1/4 cup binds well but makes the cookies softer and noticeably banana-flavored.
- Maple syrup: 1 to 2 tablespoons replaces the milk and adds a caramel note; reduce the sugar slightly.
Troubleshooting crumbly or greasy dough
- Dough crumbles and will not roll: too little liquid or a dry jar. Add milk a teaspoon at a time until a squeezed handful holds together.
- Dough is oily and sticky: add 1 to 2 tablespoons more powdered sugar, or chill for 20 minutes.
- Cookies break when lifted: they were moved while hot. Wait the full 10 minutes.
- Cookies spread thin: granulated sugar in the flourless version, or a warm kitchen. Use powdered sugar and chill the tray before baking.
- Dry and sandy: almost always overbaked, or too much flour in the flour-based version. Weigh the flour if you can.
Because there is no raw egg in the bowl, this is an easy recipe to make with children. Let them do the fork pressing, then keep them busy with one of our picks of Nintendo Switch games for kids while the trays cool. Baking in summer without heating the house? The flourless dough bakes fine in a countertop oven, or in an outdoor pizza oven at a moderate heat if you are building an outdoor kitchen.
Flourless vs flour-based: which to choose
| Factor | Flourless | Flour-based |
|---|---|---|
| Total time | About 20 minutes | About 55 minutes with chilling |
| Texture | Dense, fudgy, strongly peanut | Lighter, closer to a bakery cookie |
| Gluten-free | Yes, if your ingredients are certified | Only with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend |
| Vegan | Yes with plant milk | Needs plant milk and vegan butter |
| Forgiving of loose measuring | Less | More |
Storing and freezing
Baked cookies keep for about 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. A slice of bread in the container helps chewy cookies stay soft. To freeze dough, roll and press the balls, freeze them flat on a tray for an hour, then bag them for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen and add 2 to 3 minutes. Baked cookies also freeze for around 3 months; thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes. And if the cookie tin travels to the living room, our guide on how to clean a rug will help with the crumbs.
Frequently asked questions
Can peanut butter cookies without eggs be chewy?
Yes. Take them out at about 9 minutes while the centers still look soft and let them set on the hot pan for 10 minutes.
What can I use instead of an egg in peanut butter cookies?
Two tablespoons of milk with powdered sugar works best in the flourless recipe. Aquafaba, a flax egg, mashed banana or maple syrup also work, with small changes in flavor and texture.
Are eggless peanut butter cookies vegan?
The flourless version is vegan if you use plant milk. Some cane sugar is processed with bone char, so strict vegans may want to choose a sugar labeled vegan.
Can I use granulated sugar instead of powdered?
Yes in the flour-based recipe. In the flourless recipe granulated sugar tends to stay gritty and the cookies spread more, so powdered sugar is the better choice.
Do I need to chill eggless peanut butter cookie dough?
The flourless dough does not need chilling unless your kitchen is very warm. The flour-based dough should chill for about 30 minutes so it does not spread.
