Flour-less Peanut Butter Cookies

When I came across this recipe, it was introduced as a Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookie. That intrigued me quite a bit. I didn't quite understand how Peanut Butter, Sugar, and an Egg would make a cookie. It was getting pretty good reviews from quite a few people, so right then I decided I needed to try it for myself. There were a couple variations that other people had posted and claimed to be better than the original. I'm always up for a fun and tasty experiment, so I made a half batch of all of them to see for myself which was best! All cookies may enter, but only one will have the possibility of being made again!


The First Contender:
The first cookie recipe was the original (the cookie in the front of the picture). I didn't think it would hold up at all. I thought the peanut butter would melt and you'd just have a runny gooey mess. I was wrong though, they held their form very well. They will be a little mushy when you first pull them out of the oven, so let them cool down a bit first before moving them to a cooling rack.


Ingredients:
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 Egg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. Spoon the dough out onto a cookie sheet and flatten the dough with a fork to make the cross-hatches. (How else would any know that it's a peanut butter cookie?)
4. Bake for 8 minutes.
5. Let cool and serve.

Judgement:
The cookie looked like any other peanut butter cookie you would make, I was impressed. The texture of the cookie was a bit crumbly, not exactly like a regular cookie, but not a deal breaker. The flavor felt like it was missing something. Not that it was bad, just that it could have been better.


The Second Contender:
The second cookie was the first variation that was suggested (the darker cookies on the right side of the picture). There was only one small change with the second cookie, and that was with the kind of sugar you use.

Ingredients:
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg

Directions:
Same as The First Contender.

Judgement:
This second cookie turned out darker than the first batch because of the brown sugar. The texture was essentially the same as the first cookie in that it was a bit crumbly. The flavor though was an improvement over the first. The brown sugar added that missing element that the white sugar couldn't bring to the table.


The Third Contender:
The third cookie isn't a 3-Ingredient cookie like the other two, but it is still flour-less (the far back cookies in the picture). Unlike the first two cookies, this one did exactly what I was expecting of them and just melted. I don't know why, I can only think that I potentially miss-measured something. I'll have to try making these at a later time to double check.

Ingredient:
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:
Same as The First Contender.

Judgement:
The third cookie came out extremely flat. It didn't hold it's shape at all. The texture was very different from the first two (probably because of the melting) in that it was chewy. The flavor was once again an improvement over the previous cookies. It just added more of that cookie flavor that people expect when you bit into a cookie.


Verdict:
With everything taken into consideration, I declare The Third Contender as the winner of the Flour-less Peanut Butter Cookie Battle Royale! I didn't care for how crumbly the first two cookies were and surprisingly, the chewiness of the third cookie was very pleasant. The flavor beat out the first two by a long shot as well. It tasted like a cookie should taste. Even though I don't think the cookie turned out the way it was supposed to, it ended up to be the best. That just goes to show you that even if you make mistakes, they can still be delicious!


If you decide to make these, make sure you let me know which one is your winner!