Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Small Batch)

You will love these Small Batch Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies — soft with slightly crisp edges and tender, chewy centers. Rich peanut butter and dark chocolate chunks (plus a sprinkle of sea salt if you like) make these irresistible. They’re perfect fresh from the oven or frozen for a ready-made chocolate–peanut butter treat.

Table of Contents

• Why You’ll Love These Cookies
• What Ingredients to Get
• Substitutions
• How to Make Them
• Essential Baking Tools
• FAQs
• More Cookie Recipes
• Recipe

Why You’ll Love These Cookies

• Soft, tender cookies with slightly crisp edges thanks to a hint of cornstarch.
• A simple, small-batch recipe — quick to prepare and perfect for one or two people.
• Dough chills only 45 minutes and can be frozen, so you can bake a few now and save the rest for later.
• Gluten-free by default; easily adapted to dairy-free or standard versions.
• About 15 minutes active prep time.
• Packed with peanut butter flavor and dark chocolate chunks.
• Makes 12–14 small cookies or about 6 large ones.

What Ingredients to Get

Gather these ingredients for a small batch of gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies:

• Unsalted butter — 1/4 cup, room temperature.
• Creamy peanut butter — 2 tablespoons (no-stir or smooth is best).
• Light brown sugar — 1/4 cup.
• Granulated sugar — 1/4 cup.
• Large egg — 1, room temperature.
• Vanilla extract — 2 teaspoons.
• 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour — 1 cup + 1 tablespoon.
• Cornstarch — 1 teaspoon for a tender crumb.
• Baking soda — 1 teaspoon.
• Dark chocolate — 1/3 cup, chopped (or semi-sweet chips).
• Sea salt flakes — optional topping.

Substitutions

Dairy-free: Use plant-based butter and dairy-free chocolate to make the cookies dairy-free.

All-purpose flour: Swap the gluten-free 1:1 flour for regular all-purpose flour if you don’t need a gluten-free version.

Chocolate: Use semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of chopped dark chocolate (same amount).

How to Make Them

1. Whisk together the gluten-free flour, cornstarch, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the butter, peanut butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla; mix until combined.
4. On low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
5. Fold in the chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips.
6. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least 45 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (second rack from center). Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Scoop dough 1 1/2–2 inches apart (use a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop for small cookies or a 3-tablespoon scoop for large).
8. Bake 10–12 minutes at 350°F. Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container up to one week.

To freeze dough: scoop the dough onto a parchment- or wax-lined sheet, freeze until solid, then transfer the dough balls to a sealed freezer bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the bake time; oven temperature stays the same.