Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Yes, you can make delicious peanut butter cookies without flour or wheat.

Vegetarian. Hands-on time: 5. Total time: 25 mins.

Contributed by George Delaney (June 2011).

I've always loved peanut butter cookies (despite the fact that they always remind me of school). So when the need arose to make a gluten-free version, I was delighted to find how easy it was. These flour-less cookies taste every bit as good as the more usual version, and they take less than half an hour to make.

As with any recipe for peanut butter cookies, the secret of success is to use only so-called natural peanut butter. Avoid mass-market brands that are laced with palm oil, stabilizers, and other undesirable additives. "Natural" peanut butter contains peanuts and nothing else - except maybe a little salt. (For more information about the reason to choose natural peanut butter, see Is peanut butter really good for you?)

Unfortunately, none of my local supermarkets sell natural brands of peanut butter. But it's easy to buy it on-line, for example this brand from Amazon.com. If you are in the UK, try this product from Amazon.co.uk.

Here then is my recipe for gluten-free peanut butter cookies. The quantities given here will yield 10 - 15 cookies, depending on their size.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• ¾ cup (5 oz, 150 g) white sugar
• 1 cup (6 oz, 175 g) peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, your choice)
• 1 tsp. gluten-free baking powder

Method

Oven: Pre-heat to 350F (175C)

Start by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the egg and sugar in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, and beat together, using either a hand-held blender or a balloon whisk.

Taking about half a tablespoon at a time, drop the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Press down lightly with the back of a fork.

Bake for ten minutes, then remove from the oven. The cookies will still be soft at this stage, but don't worry. Just leave them on the tray, and they will firm up as they cool; this should take a further five to ten minutes.

Note on quantities and temperatures:
Quantities are given in American (cups), imperial (oz, fl oz) and metric (g, ml) units. Do not mix the units - use one or other system throughout the recipe.
See also How much does a cup weigh?
oz = ounces, fl oz = fluid ounces, g = grams, ml = milliliters, tsp = teaspoons, tbsp = tablespoons.
Oven temperatures are given in degrees F (Fahrenheit) and C (Celsius).
For fan-assisted ovens, reduce the temperature by 20F or 10C.