The Retro 3-Ingredient Cookie Recipe Redditors Are Calling "So Good" and "Perfect"

I will forever be fascinated by minimal-ingredient cookies that actually taste delicious. I've baked Joy the Baker's famous 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies dozens of times. These 3-Ingredient Brownie Cookies are a staple in my house—we bake it at least once a month.

So when Redditor u/nolynskitchen shared their family’s 150-year-old cookie recipe, calling for just three ingredients, I knew I had to try it! 

It turns out that nolynskitchen’s family isn’t the only one who knows and loves a version of this three-ingredient cookie. Most notably, Mary Berry published a recipe for Fork Biscuits in her cookbook My Kitchen Table: 100 Sweet Treats and Puds with a nearly identical ingredient list and cooking directions. Berry credits a vintage copy of “an old red Cordon Bleu cookery book” as her original source.

How To Make These 3-Ingredient Cookies

Essentially a simple sugar cookie, the recipe calls for 125 grams of salted butter, 100 grams of caster sugar, and 150 grams of self-rising flour. You mix the cookie dough by hand and then chill the dough for 20 minutes while the oven preheats. Once the dough is chilled, you portion it into small balls, flatten them with a fork, and bake.

The oven temperature and baking time feel odd to a modern baker like me—these cookies bake at just 300°F for 20 minutes. It has a lower oven temperature and a much longer baking time than, say a classic chocolate chip cookie. 

Despite the fork indentation and long bake time, these cookies aren’t winning any beauty pageants. They are quite thin and pale, but their texture and taste are otherworldly. The edge of each cookie is tender crisp, with a center that stays pleasantly chewy even after cooling and storing. These cookies have a rich buttery flavor that tastes of vanilla and butterscotch despite the minimal ingredients. 

I loved how easy this recipe was to pull together. Using a mixing bowl and my digital scale, I could mix the dough with only a bowl and a spoon (no measuring cups or mixer required).

It is easy to see why this cookie recipe was passed down through generations. The ingredient list is short, easy to memorize, and hard to mess up. The cookies can be baked in any oven, including a dorm toaster oven. Plus, they are delicious enough to be worth becoming a family tradition.

My Tips for Making This 3-Ingredient Retro Cookies

Here are a few tips for when you try this amazing recipe:

Soft Butter: Make sure you use very soft butter. Since you’ll be mixing the dough by hand, it really helps to make a smooth dough if the butter is softer than room temperature. 

Sturdy Spoon: Use a sturdy spoon to bring the mixture together and then a clean hand if needed. Many of the Redditors took the “by hand” directions to mean that the cookie dough should be kneaded by hand. However, after making two batches, I found that mixing with a sturdy wooden spoon was less messy and produced the same quality of cookies. 

Small Cookies That Spread: Make the cookies about the size of a gumball. You can use your digital scale or a tablespoon measure to help keep the balls of cookie dough small. To get 25 cookies, as the recipe calls for, the balls should be just shy of a tablespoon or 15 grams each. They spread quite a bit in the oven, and a small portion ensures they don't merge as they bake.

Wet Fork: Use a wet fork to press the cookies. I learned this tip from Mary Berry: Dip the tines of the fork in cool water before pressing the cookies to prevent the dough from sticking to the fork.

No Caster Sugar? No Problem: I had golden caster sugar (leftover from doing a Great British Bake Off Bake-Along a while ago), but you could use the same amount of light brown sugar to get the same tender, crisp, and buttery cookies.

No Self-Rising Flour? No Problem: You can make self-rising flour if you don’t have any on hand—it's flour, salt, and baking powder.