2 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies (No Flour, Butter, Eggs or Refined Sugar)
These no bake peanut butter cookies are so easy to make and just 2 ingredients. They don’t contain any flour, butter, eggs or refined sugar. They take only about ten minutes to make and then they are ready to eat.
These peanut butter no bake cookies are a great quick and easy snack. They can also be made ahead of time and stored for whenever you’re in need of a snack or something a little sweet.
When you read the ingredient list, it may seem like all you’ll end up with is a sweet peanut butter spread, but that won’t happen. When mixed with natural peanut butter, maple syrup thickens the peanut butter to the point that the mixture is as thick as cookie dough.
Ingredients
- Natural creamy peanut butter
- Maple Syrup
Natural Creamy Peanut Butter: This recipe will only work with natural-style peanut butter with no added oils. You can replace it with other nut butters like almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, etc, but they must also be natural style. Nut butters that have added oils will not work. I recommend you use a fresh or fairly new jar of peanut butter. If your peanut butter is old, it is likely a little dry, which can make the dough dry and crumbly.
Maple Syrup: I used pure maple syrup to make these cookies. The syrup has two uses. It adds sweetness to the cookies. It also thickens the peanut butter to a cookie dough consistency. This recipe will not work with thick syrups like honey. It may work with other syrups that have a high water content and a watery consistency, like maple syrup, but I have not tested it. I have only tested it with maple syrup and Lakanto sugar-free maple flavored syrup.
Cookie Sweetness and Flavor
These cookies are only lightly sweetened. You can’t add too much maple syrup to the dough because it will change the dough consistency. If you prefer something sweeter, I recommend checking out my healthy no bake cookie recipe, which uses dates to sweeten the cookies and can be made sweeter.
You can also add mix-ins like chocolate chips if you want to make the cookies sweeter.
Recipe Tips
- If you want to thicken the cookies even more, you can mix in some quick oats or oat flour.
- You can add a pinch of salt if you prefer a sweet salty finish.
- Keep the cookies stored in the refrigerator which will help them stay a little firmer.
FAQs
Can you bake the cookies? Yes, you can bake these cookies. The baked version is what inspired me to make this no baked version. You can try my healthy peanut butter cookies if you prefer a baked version.
How do I store the cookies: Place the cookies in an airtight container and store them in the fridge or freezer.
More Easy No Bake Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (128 g) creamy natural peanut butter with no added oils, unsweetened
- 1½ - 2 tbsp (.75 - 1 oz) maple syrup
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl add peanut butter and 1 ½ tbsp syrup. Use a spatula and mix the syrup into the peanut butter. At first the peanut butter will become more liquidy as your stir in the syrup, but as you continue to stir, you should see the peanut butter thicken. Continue to stir until the peanut butter becomes as thick as cookie dough and pulls away from the sides of the bowl and can form a dough. Taste the dough and if it is not sweet enough for you, you can add another 1/2 tbsp of syrup and stir that in.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll between palms until it forms a smooth round ball. Place onto baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies 1 inch apart. Gently press balls to form a thick round disk (about 1/2 inch thick). Use the back of a fork to make crisss-cross patten on cookies. Cookies can be enjoyed right away. They can also be refrigerated for 30 minutes which will make them slightly firmer. Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- These cookies do not have the same texture as baked cookies. They are more like energy balls in cookie form. If you wanted baked cookie texture, these cookies can be baked. See my baked version for more details.
- This recipe will only work with natural-style peanut butter. It will not work with peanut butter processed with added oils. You can also substitute with other nut butters like almond butter or cashew butter but they also must be natural-style.
- Honey will not work as a substitute for maple syrup. Other syrups with a high water content and very thin liquid consistency like maple syrup may work. For example, I have also made these with Lakanto sugar free maple flavored syrup successfully.
These sound great! I plan on trying them. I am enjoying reading these easy recipes.
We hope you love the recipes!
I tried this recipe and it was amazing but when it turned to dough it was sticky so I added flour to it and it made no difference it still tasted the same
Thank you for this recipe! I followed it as-is the first time and it was great! Then during Covid shutdown, I didn’t have the chance to get good quality maple syrup, so I used pancake syrup as a substitute, which changed the consistency. I added vegan chocolate chips and roll them into bitesize balls, as a yummy snack/dessert. These became my sister-in-law’s favorite healthy “truffles”!
We’re glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
I like easy recipes
We do, too!
looks yummy..sounds great..my son will enjoy making
We hope he loves them!
Hi,
Great job Kirby and team!
I will be trying these and the other flavours too.
Thank you!!!???
You’re welcome! We hope you give this recipe a try soon!
Thank you sweetie for your recipes
You’re welcome! We hope you enjoy them.
I like this recipe so much. Tq??
We’re happy you like it!
Thank you for giving us lots of simple recipes I for one am very appreciated for all you provide for free. Ignore the rudeness they are idiots that are miserable people and their drive is to make every body else miserable like them. Sadly we live in a very hateful world. Its not like it was years ago when I was growing up. People then helped each other and families loved one another.
I probably should not have used crunchy peanut butter or I used too much maple syrup. It is still delicious, I just did something wrong that fit is crumbly. Do I need more peanut butter?
The chunky peanut butter could make them crumbly because the little bits of nuts make it harder for the cookies to hold together.
was not told how much of each ingredient was needed so now i have to eyeball it
the exact amounts are in the recipe card. It is right before the comments section
All those who have food allergies would love these cookies! Anyone being rude or having negative comments can go make their own recepies and keep their opinion To themselves.
Move on and let us people who enjoy KIRBIE’S recepies enjoy them…DELIOUS
Thanks for your comment – we’re so happy you love the recipe!
Wohoooo ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? 5 stars
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Based on the writeup, I think you may hold the answer to a question I have been searching for. I have a cookie recipe that contains natural peanut butter, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, plus other ingredients. Most cookies I freeze the raw batter and bake as needed. However, these cookies will not spread after a day of being chilled. Do you know if this is related to the idea of mixing peanut butter and maple syrup?
Yes, with these ingredients we don’t recommend chilling the dough.
Thank you so much for the free recipe. I look forward to trying it. It is perfect for my family as we have people with gluten allergies and vegans. Thanks again.
I hope you enjoy!
These are not only great cookies but it’s a great way to start teaching young children to cook. My young grand daughters loved to make these
.
that’s so great to hear!
Nothing ventured nothing gained…. Will give this a try..
Thanks for posting it…
We hope you enjoy it!
If I use the alternate syrup that is not as sweet, do you think I could add stevia?
Sorry, but it’s hard to say how that will work without testing it.
Sound good i’d like to try it make….
We hope you enjoy it!
I’m sorry yourself and others have to read those kinds of comments. Why not say I tried it didn’t like it or I don’t see how this can work but I’ll try it and see. Well back to me, have not tried this because I just found this receipe yet but can hardly wait to try it likely tomorrow or day after. Good time of year to be making a no bake reciepe. Looking forward to more reciepes.
We hope you loved the recipe and thanks for the nice comment!
I love this idea, sounds good. But I don’t like maple syrup, will they have that flavor??!
Agreed,haters will just find reasons to be haters.
The cookies are only lightly sweetened with maple syrup, so it’s not the main flavor. If you like, you can try our Healthy No Bake Cookies made with dates instead.
Sure, the consistency changes, but this is just cold sweetened peanut butter. I don’t get it…
Sounds like you might like our baked peanut butter cookies instead.
Hi, can the cookies be made with Sunbutter?My grandson is allergic to peanut butter so we only use the Sunbutter. But when Sunbutter is baked it turns green and he won’t eat them.
We haven’t tried using sunbutter because we wanted this to be a peanut butter-flavored cookie. Sunbutter is often used as a substitute for peanut butter but it will completely change the flavor.
Thanks for sharing with the world your obviously researched recipe! I appreciate your empathy to those who need more assistance in comprehending simple instructions and grasping the concept of all things natural, you’re great Kirbie!!
Looking forward to reading more recipes from you!!!
Oh, thank you for those nice words! We appreciate it.
Nice post…Thanks for sharing this recipe I would love to try it.
We hope you enjoy it!
What temp do they bake & for how long
These cookies are no-bake – you may want to try our Baked Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies.
Hi, would these be considered gluten free.
Natural peanut butter and maple syrup are gluten-free, but you should always check the labels when you buy them to be absolutely sure.
?? LOVED IT ?
Great! Thanks for letting us know.
?? LOVED IT ?
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us this can help us to have a healthy diet
We are glad you liked it!
Are these keto friendly? I’ve just started doing keto so still getting to grips with it.
They sound amazing by the way.
This recipe isn’t, but we have a No-Bake Keto Peanut Butter Cookie recipe you should try.
I was wondering if you think these would work with crunchy peanut butter which I bought by mistake?
We haven’t tested it with crunchy. If it is all-natural (with no oil) it should work but it will give the cookies a different texture.
Sounds like it needs oatmeal, raisins, and chocolate chips sprinkles , icing. Lol everything!!!. Lol. Thanks ,no more melting butter n what not !. #$#
We hope you love the recipe!
Because of my special nutritional needs, i used natural peanut butter which i can get by grinding whole peanuts at WHOLE FOODS. I also used brown sugar substitute made from monkfruit and a nonabsorbable sugat. I had to add two t. Of water, and stirred a LONG time, about ten minutes, but it worked. I tried again, adding rolled regular oatmeal I had ttoasted in the oven at 350 for 12 minutes, till slightly browned. This added some good fiber and crunch. I loved it. Many thanks. And as for the rude folks, they may just be having a bad day. For the sake of theit friends and families, I hope so. Kathy, a fan of your recipes.
Thanks for your comment and we’re happy you love the recipes!
Can I use artificial flavored mapl syrup?
We have only tested it with maple syrup and Lakanto sugar-free maple-flavored syrup.
Why cant people keep their rude comments to themselves i guess it gives them a forum to shoe what wonderful assholes they are!
there are always going to be people like that =)
Are these cookies diabetic friendly?
We recommend consulting with your health provider.
Would it work if I threw in some dark chocolate chips?
yes!
Any idea what the sugar or carb count is on these
yes that information is provided in the nutritional information
Can you use regular syrup? Like for pancakes?
We have only tested it with pure maple syrup and Lakanto sugar-free maple-flavored syrup.
Kirbie, you are putting these commentators is check! Whoo, Yaas Queen! Lol I am a science major, and you are so right about the spoonful comment! When you mix it together is does get real thick. I cannot eat just plain peanut butter but these cookies are bomb!!! AND quick to make… Who want to wait 20 minutes for cookies to be prepared then another 30 to cook them?? I LOVE THIS!!!!!
I’m so glad you tried them and enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and describing your experience.
These are easy and tasty. Thanks for this recipe! Sorry you have to deal with rude comments from some posters. It’s a free recipe, folks! Have some manners and appreciation.
thank you! I’m so glad you liked them!
Could this “dough” be used in homemade ice cream? I make a dairy free ice cream but must eat without gluten also. My done loves cookie dough—thinking this might be a good substitute. Just wondering!?!
We love that idea but can’t say for sure. We haven’t tested freezing the dough – if you try it please let us know how that works!
Lol this comment section. Like all of them can’t or didn’t read or understand that when things are mixed together the consistency changes? Zzzzz
It always surprises me too. Think of all the amazing foods that would never be discovered or invented if everyone thought like this.
Can I use the nut butter that is home made. Its a mixture of peanuts, almonds, cashews ,pecans and walnuts with a little salt and maple syrup, the thing is its a lot more runny that store bought nut butter.
We haven’t tested the recipe with those changes so can’t say for sure how that will work.
Look forward to more easy recipes. I cannot wait to try this recipe.
We hope you love it!
Sounds yummy. Can’t wait to try.
We hope you like it!
Kindly send me update
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The cookies are the BEST??
Thank you!
Y’all need to catch up. I’ve eaten this mixture in a bowl with a spoon all my life, I’m 52.
We’re happy to know you already love the idea – You should try forming the dough into cookies, as we did!
Do we put it into microwave? If so how long? And if not what do i we put it into ?
This is a no-bake cookie recipe so you don’t need a microwave or oven.
Looks almost too easy to be truelll but will try it.
We hope you love it!
no refined sugar eh? what do you think maple syrup is? That is refined from 100x sap to get 1x syrup.
Yes maple syrup does go through a refinement process but it is not considered a refined sugar. It is considered a natural sugar because it is not processed like other sugars where the minerals and nutrition get removed.
It’s amazing with how much hate people react to a simple 2 ingredient recipe.
I found this recipe amazing, it’s convenient and it tastes great. Definitely adding it to the family “Recetario”
Thanks for your nice comment!
I’m confused. Is this Lakanto syrup considered table syrup or is it pure maple syrup? In reading it’s ingredients it says it’s flavored with monkfruit. Doesn’t sound much like real maple syrup to me. With half of my family hailing from New England, I’m pretty familiar with what the difference is between maple syrup and table syrup. This Lakanto stuff doesn’t sound much like what I know as maple syrup. Is it possible to go to the store and get real maple syrup and use it or does this particular recipe need the fake stuff you use?
the recipe uses pure maple syrup. I state that I have tested this with pure maple syrup and I have also tested it with lakanto syrup. Lakanto is not pure maple syrup but it also works.
How many cookies do ya get from1/2 cup of pb
This info is in the recipe card – you should get 8 cookies.
How many cookies does it make?
8
I was a skeptic and rushed to my kitchen to try this. It actually worked beautifully and they were really good!
I’m so glad you tried them out and that they worked out for you!
Thank you for sharing this easy to make recipe. I will try it this weekend. It looks really delicious to have a different way of enjoying protein rich peanut butter aside from the usual way of enjoying peanut butter spread on banana or toast or shake. I am sorry that you have to see a couple of hurtful comments/words about this recipe. But I am appreciative of your time in creating simple recipes for people who do not much time to spare in a day with ultra busy schedule 24/7 and can still get to enjoy snacks like this on the go. 2-thumbs up for you from me. Thank you.
Thanks so much for your kind words – we appreciate it!
With all due respect, simply adding sweetener to peanut butter and forming it into a cookie shape is not a “recipe”, nor is it really a cookie. Why should I bother going to all the trouble of making this “recipe” when I could simply put a dollop of maple syrup on a spoonful of peanut butter and put it in my mouth? It would taste the same. You can’t be serious with this nonsense, can you? I mean, come on!
With all due respect, it’s not just adding a dollop of syrup to a spread. There is a chemical reaction when the two ingredients are actually mixed together for a long enough time which causes the peanut butter to change its texture and become like cookie dough rather than just a spread that sticks to the roof of your mouth. You won’t achieve the same results by putting a spoonful of peanut butter and syrup in your mouth.
If someone has to tell you how it’s made than it’s a recipe
With no due respect, you’re a douche bag for making a comment like that.
It’s an emulsion, not a “chemical reaction.” A sugar syrup mixed into fats will thicken the way blending oil into eggs makes mayonnaise.
You can get the same result mixing any kind of peanut or nut butter with an equal amount of canned cake frosting, or a little coconut milk or any number of syrups/oils/liquids.
But that’s the way the cookie crumbles… er… smooshes.
Thanks for your comment!
This is a new version of an old fashioned candy recipe. It’s very good, just don’t expect it to be cookie like. It’s peanut butter fudge.
Thank you for the nice rating, but fudge is made with completely different ingredients and cooked.
Chill the fuck out Alan. Skip the recipe if it’s too simple for your brilliant mind.
That was unnecessary. Please take your negativity elsewhere.
Great cookie
Thanks!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for this recipe ?? My hubby and I are Paleo eaters and always looking flourless sugar free treats and this is perfect! I am going to try your baked version as well!
Thanks so much for letting us know!
How rude…
My thoughts exactly!
Really Alan??? My Mom taught me a long time ago; If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. My Grandgirl in college finds it a great snack when you don’t have access to a kitchen or stove.
Delicious
I’m so glad you liked them!
Alan,
I suppose you have never had meringue. Do you know what that is made from?? 2 Ingredients egg whites and sugar. Enjoy having your runny egg whites and sugar on top of a delicious pie as I will do what’s called baking and mix the 2 together and Voila!!! It’s a miracle they’re not runny anymore.
Sorry for the negativity Kirbie some people are angry, lonely souls.
Thanks for the recipe as I look forward to trying it.
Jen
this is a great example. thanks for sharing!
Wood like recp
the recipe is at the end of the post before the comments
Good
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
I have a three ingredient peanut butter recipe, I have been making it for years. Great tasting.
We hope you give this 2-ingredient recipe a try!
I love your recipes! I made these and they hit the spot!
I’m so glad they worked out for you!
Nice
How long do I cook in oven?
How long do I cook for in the oven?
Please see our post with the baked version.
If you want a baked version please try our Baked 2-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies. They are just as easy!
Love your peanut butter recipe, will continue to try more recipes.
That’s great – glad you liked the recipe!
Love your recipes
Thanks so much! We’re happy you’re enjoying them.
Nice & nice this is cokies
Simple to do
Thanks for letting us know!
I make something similar with Reduced Fat Jif and Smuckers Caramel Sundae Syrup. You’d think adding something syrupy to peanut butter would make it more runny but it actually thickens the peanut butter. It turns out like a Reese’s filling.
Note: don’t be scared of the “Reduced Fat” part. What it means is that it is sweeter and less oily than regular peanut butter. I can’t even eat the oily stuff anymore!
thank you for sharing!
That sounds delicious. I would love to have your recipe and instructions. I am always lookung gor new ideas.
the recipe and instructions are provided at the end of the post. Right before the comments section.