Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

These gluten-free peanut butter cookies are soft and chewy in the center with lightly crispy edges. Made with a gluten-free flour blend, creamy peanut butter, and a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar, they taste just like the traditional version. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt right out of the oven gives them a sweet and salty finish.

The dough comes together in about 10 minutes and chills for 30 before baking, so you can have a batch of 18 cookies ready in under an hour. They freeze well as dough balls or baked cookies, making them easy to keep on hand for whenever the craving hits.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Better than store-bought. These are thick, bakery-style peanut butter cookies with a moist, chewy center that stays soft for days. No thin, crunchy discs here.
• Sweet and salty in every bite. Flaky Maldon salt on top right out of the oven gives these cookies a crunch that balances out the brown sugar and peanut butter. It’s the kind of small move that makes people ask what you did differently.
• Freezer-friendly. Scoop the dough into balls and freeze for up to 3 months, then bake straight from frozen with a couple extra minutes. You can freeze baked cookies the same way.

Ingredient Notes

• Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with both Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (blue bag) and King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Baking Flour. Both include xanthan gum, so you don’t need to add it separately. I haven’t tested other blends for this recipe, so I can’t recommend them here.
• Creamy Peanut Butter – Use a no-stir creamy peanut butter like Skippy or Jif. Natural peanut butter tends to separate and can make the dough greasy and the cookies too flat. If you weigh your peanut butter on a food scale instead of using a measuring cup, you’ll get the most accurate results.
• Sugar – The brown sugar keeps the centers soft and chewy while the granulated sugar helps the edges crisp up. Pack the brown sugar firmly into the measuring cup.
• Egg – Use a large egg for this recipe, which is 50 grams when weighed in the shell. Let the egg sit out at room temperature so the butter mixture doesn’t curdle when mixing together.
• Flaky sea salt – I use Maldon salt as a finishing touch, sprinkled over the cookies right out of the oven. The large, flaky crystals add crunch and balance out the sweetness. Regular fine sea salt works in a pinch, but use less since it’s more concentrated.

Why Weighing Ingredients Matters

Gluten-free flour is one of the trickiest ingredients to measure with a cup. How tightly you scoop it, whether you shake the cup, even the humidity in your kitchen can all change the amount. Too much flour and the cookies come out dry. Too little and they spread flat. A food scale takes the guesswork out, and a basic one costs about $10. I’ve included gram measurements in the recipe card.

Recipe FAQs

I don’t recommend it for this recipe. Natural peanut butter separates and tends to make the dough greasy and the cookies too flat. Stick with a no-stir creamy peanut butter like Skippy or Jif for the best texture.

It helps. Chilling for 30 minutes keeps the cookies from spreading too much and gives the flour time to hydrate, which prevents a gritty texture. If you’re short on time, even 15 minutes in the fridge makes a difference.

Yes. Fold in about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, M&Ms, or chopped peanuts after the dough comes together. The bake time stays the same.

Expert Tips

• Use a cookie scoop. A #30 scoop (about 2 tablespoons) gives you uniform cookies that bake evenly. You’ll get 18 cookies from this batch. If you don’t have a scoop, use a tablespoon measure and round each one into a ball by hand.
• Don’t skip the room temperature step. The butter and egg both need to be at room temperature before mixing. Cold butter won’t cream properly, and a cold egg can curdle the batter. Set both out about an hour before you start.
• Pull them from the oven early. The cookies should look slightly underdone in the center when you take them out. They firm up as they cool on the baking sheet. If you wait until they look fully done in the oven, they’ll overbake.

Storage Instructions

Room temperature: Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.

Freezer (dough): Scoop dough balls onto a baking sheet and freeze until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen at 350°F, adding 1 to 2 extra minutes to the bake time.

Freezer (baked): Freeze cooled cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag with parchment between layers for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen at 300°F for 10 to 15 minutes, or let them thaw at room temperature for about an hour.

Serving Suggestions

These cookies make great ice cream sandwiches. Press a scoop of my chocolate peanut butter ice cream between two cookies for a combination that’s hard to beat, or use my strawberry ice cream for a peanut butter and jelly vibe. If you want to dress them up, my peanut butter frosting works perfectly sandwiched between two cookies. They’re also a fun swap for graham crackers in my air fryer s’mores , and they pair well with a warm mug of hot chocolate for dunking.