Name: After-School Peanut Butter Cookies
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: ½ cup sugar; 1 large egg; ½ cup smooth peanut butter; ¼ cup M&M's or Reese’s Pieces, or 12 Hershey’s Kisses

Why This Recipe Works

We call these “after-school” cookies because of how quick and easy they are to make—thanks in part to having just four ingredients. You’ll notice there’s no flour in this recipe (that means these cookies are gluten free!). In most baked goods, flour is there to provide structure. In this recipe, creamy peanut butter is thick enough to do that job on its own. Have kids scoop a spoonful of the mixture at the end of step 2 (before adding the peanut butter) and at the end of step 3 (after stirring in the peanut butter—they can even turn the spoon upside down over the bowl. After adding the peanut butter, the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape, no flour needed!

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Before You Begin

Don’t use crunchy peanut butter in this recipe—the cookies won’t hold together as well.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In large bowl, whisk sugar and egg until smooth. Let mixture sit until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Add peanut butter to bowl and use rubber spatula to stir until smooth.

Drop 12 scoops of dough onto baking sheet, leaving space between scoops following photo, “Step-by-Step: Scoop and Drop,” below. Gently press candies into tops of cookies.

Place baking sheet in oven. Bake cookies until edges are golden and tops are set, 10 to 12 minutes.

Use oven mitts to remove baking sheet from oven and place on cooling rack (ask an adult for help). Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.

Use spatula to transfer cookies directly to cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.