These gluten-free peanut butter cup cookies are the best cookies because they require few ingredients and are easy to throw together. You'll make a simple and chewy peanut butter cookie dough and top it with a delicious peanut butter cup.
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Why You’ll Love This Simple Recipe
- This easy recipe requires few ingredients and has the best peanut butter flavor.
- It's a great option for any gluten-free friends out there as there is no flour involved.
- They are always a fan favorite and they are perfect to bring to a friend or family gathering.
- They're made with chocolate and peanut butter lovers in mind.
Ingredient Notes
- Natural peanut butter - you must use natural creamy peanut butter here. It is a bit more runny than standard peanut butter with additives. The peanut butter acts in place of the butter in this recipe.
- Coconut sugar - we prefer coconut sugar, but you can also replace it with brown sugar.
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Salt - we add salt into the dough AND on top of the cookies when they are done baking.
- Peanut butter cups - our very favorite peanut butter cups for these cookies are the dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's. Justin’s* also has a dark chocolate peanut butter cup option, or Reese's peanut butter cups will do the trick as well. Dark chocolate is our preference but milk chocolate will work as well.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and measurements.
Equipment You’ll Need
- Mixing bowl and spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Baking sheet
Step by Step Directions
For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the peanut butter and coconut sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix until combined.
Step 2: Next, add the egg, vanilla, and salt and mix well.
Step 3: Use a standard-size cookie scoop to make 12 dough balls. Place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Press the dough down slightly with your fingers to flatten the dough balls. Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Unwrap the peanut butter cups while the cookies are baking.
Step 4: Once you remove the cookies from the oven, immediately press one of the unwrapped peanut butter cups onto the center of each cookie. Once all of the cookies have a peanut butter cup, put the cookies back in the oven for 1 minute or until the peanut butter cups are partially melted.
Step 5: Let the cookies cool, sprinkle the flaky sea salt on top and enjoy! We prefer to let the cookies harden in the fridge before serving.
Tips & Variations for the Best Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- If you don't have peanut butter cups on hand, you can mix chocolate chips into the dough for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. You could also use mini Reese's peanut butter cups as a mix in as well. For peanut butter blossoms, add a Hershey's Kiss on top instead.
- You can also bake the cookies in a greased mini muffin tin for peanut butter cookie cups.
- You could also freeze the cookie dough balls and thaw them before making them into baked cookies.
We prefer to store these cookies in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them in an air tight container for up to 3 months.
These cookies are gluten-free, but be sure to ensure all your ingredients are gluten-free. Make these cookies dairy-free by using dairy-free peanut butter cups.
If you like this peanut butter cup cookies recipe, check out a few of our other easy cookie recipes:
If you make these chewy peanut butter cup cookies, please let us know how they turn out in the comments below and/or rate the recipe! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram to show us your finished product—it makes our day every time we see you trying the recipes we love!
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 14 dark chocolate peanut butter cups (to make dairy-free, ensure peanut butter cups are dairy-free)
- Flaky sea salt, for topping the cookies if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add the peanut butter and coconut sugar to a large bowl and mix until combined.
- Next, add the egg, vanilla, and salt and mix well.
- Use a standard-size cookie scoop to make 12 dough balls. Place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Press the dough down slightly with your fingers to flatten the dough balls. Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Unwrap the peanut butter cups while the cookies are baking.
- Once you remove the cookies from the oven, immediately press a peanut butter cup onto the center of each cookie. Once all of the cookies have a peanut butter cup, put the cookies back in the oven for 1 minute or until the peanut butter cups are partially melted.
- Let the cookies cool, sprinkle the flaky sea salt on top and enjoy! I prefer to let the cookies harden in the fridge before serving.
Notes
- We prefer to store these cookies in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them in an air tight container for up to 3 months.
- These cookies are gluten-free, but be sure to ensure all your ingredients are gluten-free. Make these cookies dairy-free by using dairy-free peanut butter cups.
NUTRITION
The recipe can be found on My Fitness Pal by searching "BWB PB Cup Cookies."
The nutrition content provided for each recipe is an estimate created through the My Fitness Pal database. Please be aware that the nutritional content of each recipe may vary based on the products you use, the precision of your measurements, and the source you use to obtain nutrition data. While we try to provide accurate information, we give no guarantee regarding the accuracy of the nutritional information provided.
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