Cookie cravings are demanding. They have a way of urgently commanding your immediate attention. These cookies are good for those emergency moments, when there’s no time for fuss or lengthy ingredient lists. This is probably the easiest cookie recipe anyone could ever make: 3 ingredients, 1 bowl, 1 fork, 3 minutes to make the dough, 10 minutes to cook, and voila, you’ve got a high protein, low-sugar cookie that is mighty fine. They’re also great for the gluten-free friends out there.

I first found this recipe online and was shocked how easily it yielded a great peanut butter cookie with only three basic ingredients: peanut butter, egg, and sugar. But the recipes I tried used a one-to-one ratio of sugar to peanut butter and I found that to be way too sweet. I tried halving the sugar amount and it was perfect for my taste. I also like to use coconut sugar which is lower on the glycemic index and has a deep caramel-like flavor. So my version of these flourless peanut butter cookies uses half the sugar, coconut instead of white sugar and lo and behold, the cookies are delicious. After experimenting a little, I found that adding a little baking soda and salt to these cookies makes them closer in taste to the traditional peanut butter cookies my grandmother used to make, but I often leave out the baking soda and salt altogether and they’re perfectly fine.

Now, one caveat: the quality of the peanut butter is important here. It is after all the main ingredient. You need a nice smooth peanut butter that spreads easily. Stay away from very thick peanut butter as you’ll get a hard puck of a cookie. And of course, make sure to use fresh peanut butter, there’s nothing worse than the taste of rancid peanuts in a cookie. I use a very smooth organic peanut butter made of peanuts only, no additives. I can’t speak for this recipe using peanut butters that contain hydrogenated oils and I don’t recommend those, for health reasons. But if you use a basic, fresh smooth peanut butter, you should have good results.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

These Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies are a quick, one-bowl recipe. (Recipe Credit: Aube Giroux of Kitchen Vignettes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup natural smooth peanut butter (avoid anything too thick)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (white cane sugar is fine, increase amount to 1 cup if you prefer a sweeter cookie)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl until a stiff dough is obtained. Roll into 12 balls and flatten with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern. Bake on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart, for about 8 to 10 minutes. Eat warm or cold. Will store at room temperature for about 1 week.

Yield: 1 dozen cookies

Aube Giroux is a food writer and filmmaker who shares her love of cooking on her farm-to-table blog, Kitchen Vignettes.

Aube is a passionate organic gardener and home cook who likes to share the stories of how food gets to our dinner plates. Her work has been shown on television and at international film festivals. Her web series has been nominated for multiple James Beard Awards for Best Video Webcast (On Location). In 2012, she was the recipient of Saveur Magazine’s Best Food Blog award in the video category.