Dangerously Easy 3-Ingredient Cookies

Next to chocolate chip, of course, sugar cookies are the quintessential cookie. But when it comes to baking, sugar isn't just used to simply add sweetness to your cookie. Sugar actually plays a role in the texture of cookies as well, ultimately causing the dough to spread as the sugar dissolves. With the correct sugar content, your cookies will turn out lighter and softer thanks to this sweet addition.

Because sugar adds the sweetness, and it helps with texture, the only other two ingredients you really need to make a delicious sugar cookie are butter and flour. To make sugar cookies, combine one stick, plus two tablespoons, of butter with ⅓ cup granulated sugar. You'll want to be sure to whip the butter and sugar mixture in a mixer or stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Once well combined, add in one cup of flour and stir until it's fully incorporated. This will provide stability for your butter and sugar mixture, ultimately allowing you to form your cookie shape.

Form balls of dough, flatten them slightly, and place them on a greased baking sheet when you're ready to bake. Bake your cookies for 14-16 minutes in a 350-degree oven until the edges are lightly golden brown. Let them cool for a few minutes after baking before you dive in.

Shortbread is the ideal complement to tea time, pairing a deliciously sweet and buttery cookie with a cozy warm cup. It's a rich cookie, taking us all back to a simpler time, and the ingredients to make shortbread are just as simple.

The first shortbread recipe debuted in a Scottish cookbook back in 1736 utilizing yeast, but by 1850 the recipe dropped the yeast and only called for butter, flour, and sugar. While many three-ingredient cookies are hacks to make a cookie with fewer ingredients than its normal recipe, this shortbread cookie recipe is pretty well the same as its been since 1850.

To make shortbread, combine one cup of softened butter with ½ cup of sugar and beat it in a mixing bowl or stir it with a spoon. Gradually add in two cups of flour and combine until your dough forms. Shortbread can be shaped in a number of ways, but it's traditionally served in triangles. To achieve this, bake your dough in a greased round cake pan at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. The edges will be a light golden brown, telling you it's ready to remove the pan from the oven to cool. Once cool, cut your circular cookie into triangle wedges (much like a pie) and serve with a cup of tea.

Craving a delicious, chocolate-hazelnut cookie? You're in luck with this recipe. Nutella is essentially the combination of hazelnuts, sugar, oil, and cocoa to form a spread similar to peanut butter. It was invented in Italy in 1964 and has become wildly popular as a spread on toast, but it's just as popular as an addition to cakes, cookies, and other desserts.

You can capture the flavor of Nutella and put it in a cookie with just three ingredients. All you need is one cup flour, one cup Nutella, and one egg. Mix the ingredients in a bowl until well combined, forming a thick dough. Roll the dough into balls, put them on a greased baking sheet, and flatten the dough slightly along the way. Bake your cookies at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. With that baking time, the edges will crisp slightly, but the middle will stay soft. Pull your baking sheet out of the oven and let your cookies cool on the sheet for a few minutes until they're ready to eat.

What if we told you that you can even make delicious three-ingredient cookies, and you don't even have to bake them? Talk about a double win. Ridiculously easy cheesecake truffles are just the thing to curb that sweet craving, made with cream cheese, sugar, and graham crackers. Most cheesecake recipes utilize the same three ingredients, so these little delights capture the flavors of cheesecake perfectly.

All you need to do is combine a block of cream cheese with ¼ cup of granulated sugar. If you're out of granulated sugar, powdered sugar will work too. Mix the cream cheese and sugar, and then add in ½ cup of crushed graham crackers. Mix the dough, form into balls, and then roll each truffle in crushed graham crackers to finish them off. These are best left in the fridge to chill for a bit, and if you have it on hand, they can be served with a drizzle of chocolate or cherry sauce to really amp up your cheesecake bites.

Oddly enough, three-ingredient cookie recipes have the ability to be considered healthy. After all, the ingredients that might make a cookie unhealthy are typically butter, sugar, or flour, but this recipe omits all three of those. These 3-ingredient cookies are a simple option to make for a quick afternoon snack to have on hand, or, you could definitely get away with eating these for breakfast. 

To make these little delights, all you need is peanut butter, oats, and maple syrup. Add one cup of peanut butter and ½ cup of maple syrup to a pot. Warm the mixture on the stovetop until it begins to bubble. Once hot, pour the mixture over two cups of oats. Let the mixture cool slightly before using your hands or a cookie scoop to form balls of dough. Place them on a baking sheet with wax paper, flatten the balls of dough to form a cookie shape, and chill in the fridge or freezer until firm.

To be fair, let's just get this out in the open. Yes, this recipe uses a store-bought cookie to make another type of cookie, but hear us out. You'll definitely want this on-hand when your next Girl Scout cookies craving hits. 

Thin Mints have been on the Girl Scout cookie menu since 1939, and with their deliciously crunchy inside and their refreshing mint flavor, the little mint cookies have become a favorite across the U.S. But, as well all know, Girl Scout cookie time only comes once a year, so what's a Thin Mint addict to do when they run out of their favorite cookie? Now, you can whip up a solution for your shortage at home.  

All you need to pull this off is a package of Oreos, chocolate candy melts or dipping chocolate, and peppermint extract. Pull apart your Oreos and take the cream off of each cookie. Melt your chocolate and stir in the peppermint extract. Dip the Oreo halves in the melted chocolate and then place them on wax paper. Let the chocolate set and harden, and there you have it.

Now all you have to do is find a use for all that leftover Oreo cream, but we're pretty sure that won't be a problem. 

Meringues are the cutest little clouds of sugar, and you can easily make them at home with little effort and only a few ingredients including egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar.

Egg whites have been used to make textured desserts for centuries, because of their makeup. According to Smithsonian Magazine, egg whites are 90 percent water, but they also include proteins made up of amino acids. As they're beaten, portions of the egg white proteins cling to the water found in them, while others repel, creating bubbles that ultimately fluff up into meringue. Cream of tartar is added to stabilize the mixture, allowing it to hold its shape. And while all of that sounds scientifically complicated, making them at home really is quite easy.

All you need is two egg whites at room temperature, 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar, and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Beat your egg whites in a bowl until frothy and then add in the cream of tartar. Continue to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks begin to form and slowly add in your sugar. Adding in the sugar slowly is crucial for the ideal texture. Once the mixture is stiff, scoop spoonfuls of meringue onto a greased baking sheet, and bake your cookies at 225 degrees for 45 minutes. Once the baking time is completed, open the oven door and let the meringues sit to dry out for an hour to give them their signature chewy texture.