Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten-Free)

• 1 cuppeanut butter — conventional creamy — natural-style separates and spreads into puddles
• 3/4 cupsugar — plus 2 tbsp for rolling
• 1large egg
• 1/2 tspvanilla extract — the unofficial fourth ingredient; skip for strict three
• 1/4 tspflaky salt — to finish — peanut butter wants it

Method

1. 01

   Stir the peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla into a uniform dough. It will look too soft; five minutes in the fridge while you cut a liner fixes that.

2. 02

   Roll into 12 balls, tumble each in sugar, and space six on a perforated liner cut to fit the basket. Press the classic crosshatch with a fork — it's not decoration; these cookies don't spread on their own and need flattening to bake through.

3. 03

   Air fry at 325°F for 7–8 minutes until the edges are set and lightly bronzed. The centers will look one minute underdone — that's correct. Air fryer bakes carry over hard in a small chamber.

4. 04

   Rest the cookies on the liner for 5 full minutes before moving them — flourless dough sets as it cools, and an impatient spatula turns cookie into crumble. Salt while warm. Repeat with batch two.