Sunday Forward — Japanese-Asian Fusion · Week 3
4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Four ingredients · naturally gluten-free · one bowl · twenty minutes
Dessert4 IngredientsGluten-FreeQuick
~18
Cookies
10 min
Prep
12 min
Bake
Easy
Difficulty
The Four
🥜
Base
Peanut Butter
Classic no-stir — not natural/oily
1 cup
🧂
Sweet
Granulated Sugar
1 cup
🥚
Bind
Large Egg
1
⚪
Flavor
White Sesame Seeds
Stirred into the dough — nutty toast that pairs with the peanut
2 tbsp
Optional
🧂
Finish
Flaky Salt
A pinch on top before baking
to taste
Method
0 of 6 steps complete — click a step to check it off
1Heat
Heat the Oven
Heat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2Mix
Mix the Dough
Stir the peanut butter, sugar, and egg together in one bowl until it comes together into a smooth, thick dough, then fold in the sesame seeds so they're evenly speckled throughout.
3Scoop
Scoop the Cookies
Roll tablespoon-sized balls and set them on the sheet about 2 inches apart — they spread a little.
4Press
Give Them the Crosshatch
Press each ball flat with a fork, then again at a right angle, for the classic peanut-butter-cookie crosshatch. A pinch of flaky salt on top now is lovely.
5Bake
Bake Until Just Set
Bake 10–12 minutes until the edges are set but the centers still look soft. They firm up as they cool, so don't wait for them to look done.
6Cool
Cool on the Sheet
Let them rest on the hot sheet 5 minutes before moving — straight out of the oven they're too fragile to lift, but they set as they cool.
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Use No-Stir Peanut Butter

The classic jarred kind (the shelf-stable, no-stir sort) gives the sturdiest dough. Natural peanut butter that separates into oil can make the cookies greasy and crumbly.

🌾
Naturally Gluten-Free

With no flour at all, these are gluten-free as written — a handy dessert to have in your back pocket when someone at the table can't do wheat.

Peanut butter cookies on Blue Willow plate with tea Peanut butter cookies fresh from the oven on baking sheet