Ultimate Peanut Butter Skillet Cookie

This peanut butter skillet cookie is warm, soft, and loaded with Reese’s PB cups, Reese’s Pieces, and Jif peanut butter, making it one of the most popular dessert recipes for any occasion. Baked in a cast iron skillet, this easy homemade cookie cake can be made with store-bought dough or premade cookie dough for a quick treat. Whether it's for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, or a birthday, this pizookie-style cookie pizza is a crowd favorite. Pin this indulgent dessert to have a go-to sweet treat anytime!

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Why this is the best peanut butter skillet cookie recipe

This decadent dessert is delicious! There is something magical about a warm, gooey cookie, and this one is giant so can be served to more than one or two people.

This is an easy dessert. Press the premade cookie dough into the skillet, layer the candy, top it with more dough, then bake. That's all there is to it!

The ingredients for this easy recipe are very common. You probably have most of the simple ingredients already in your pantry, and the remaining couple are available in every grocery I've ever visited.

It's an irresistible flavor combination! The combination of creamy peanut butter and smooth chocolate is always a crowd-pleaser.

The texture of the crunchy edges with the creamy center is a winning contrast! The crispy Reese's Pieces and the melty peanut butter cups is also wonderful.

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What's the difference between a skillet cookie, a cookie cake, and a homemade pizookie?

I've used these names interchangeably in this blog post, but there are some very minor differences between the three.

A skillet cookie is a thick cookie that's prepared and baked in a cast iron skillet. It can be any flavor and is usually served warm and chewy. My peanut butter chocolate chip skillet cookie has two layers with peanut butter and candy in between, but most of the time, it's a thick, single layer cookie that often uses cookie dough that's made from scratch.

A pizookie is a pizza-sized cookie that was originally created by the BJ's Restaurant chain. The original pizookie recipe used chocolate chip cookie dough that's made from scratch, and it does not have layers with filling in between. It's typically served warm with hot fudge sauce and vanilla ice cream. These days, BJ's makes many flavors of pizookies, including brownie, chocolate fudge, and strawberry.

A cookie cake can be any flavor and is often baked in 9-inch cake pans rather than a cast iron pan. A cookie cake is usually decorated with chocolate frosting or buttercream frosting and may have words on top (like Happy Birthday or whatever). A cookie cake is very similar to a skillet cookie except that it is usually thinner, cooked longer so that it's completely firm, and may be cooked in a round cake pan or even on a pizza pan.

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What you'll need to make a peanut butter cookie cake

Equipment

• 10-inch cast iron skillet - Cast iron skillets are ideal as they are heavy and distribute heat evenly, giving you a crispy edge and gooey center. A well-seasoned cast iron skillet is especially good for baking. A 10" or 12" skillet will work. If you use a smaller one, the cookie will be thicker and more gooey. If you use a bigger one, your cookie will be thinner and more firm.

Ingredients

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See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutrition information.

• Butter - You're going to use this to grease the skillet, so it doesn't matter whether it's salted or unsalted butter. Just use whatever you have handy.
• Prepared peanut butter cookie dough - You can buy this in the dairy case with the Pillsbury pie crusts, crescent roll dough, and cinnamon rolls.
• Crunchy peanut butter - You could use whatever peanut butter you wanted, but I like Jif extra crunchy in this recipe.
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips - I recommend semi sweet or dark chocolate chips, as milk chocolate might be too sweet with all the other ingredients.
• Mini peanut butter cups - You can buy a bag of these without wrappings for easier baking. They're in the candy aisle at my grocery store with the wrapped PB cups.
• Reese's Pieces - I didn't measure these but used all of one small box.
• Hot fudge - This is optional but makes a nice presentation. You could also melt some peanut butter in the microwave and drizzle that with or in place of the hot fudge. The link goes to my hot fudge recipe which is spectacular.
• Vanilla ice cream - Also optional, but some ice cream takes this warm peanut butter cookie to a stratospheric level.

How to make a peanut butter pizookie

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat 10” cast iron skillet with butter.
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2. Arrange 16 ounces of peanut butter cookie dough in the bottom of the cast iron skillet.
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3. Flatten the cookie dough and press it together to form a solid layer in the bottom and up the sides of the pan. You may need to use one or two of the cookies from the second package to do this.
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4. Use an offset knife to spread crunchy peanut butter all over the cookie dough.
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5. Add a few miniature Reese’s PB cups, Reese's pieces, and chocolate chips on top of the peanut butter. (In the photos, I only added cut up PB cups, but I think it's even better if you add all three.)
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6. Flatten the remaining cookie dough and place them on top of the candy, trying not to move the candy around too much.
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7. Cover the whole skillet with the second package of cookie dough.
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8. Top with more Reese’s Pieces, chocolate chips, and mini Reese’s peanut butter cups.
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9. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown. If it starts to get too brown, cover it with aluminum foil. The center should be slightly jiggly when you remove the cookie from the oven, not completely set. If it is completely set, it's not the end of the world, but the cookie cake will be more firm than gooey.
10. Remove the pizookie from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. The center will continue baking while cooling.
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11. Top with remaining Reese’s peanut butter cups, Reese's Pieces, and a few scoops of vanilla ice cream. Serve warm and dig in!
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Baker's tips

Skillet cookies are best served warm. Let it cool for 15 minutes out of the oven, so it’s firm enough to cut but still chewy.

A giant cookie os thicker than a regular cookie. Keep an eye on your cookie cake in the oven — ovens and baking times can vary, so remove it from the oven when it has a golden edge and slightly jiggly center. This will allow you to serve gooey scoops with a spoon, like this:

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If you prefer to serve more firm cookie slices (such as an actual cake), leave the cookie in the oven until the center is almost completely set and then let it cool completely to room temperature. It will continue to bake as it cools, and the cooled cookie will be firm and easy to cut into wedges.

If adding chocolate chips, caramel, or other toppings, sprinkle them on, then place aluminum foil over the pan to avoid burning until the last 10 minutes.

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Variations & substitutions

You can make a chocolate chip pizookie by replacing the peanut butter cookie dough with chocolate chip cookie dough and adding hot fudge and chocolate chips or chocolate chunks in between the layers instead of peanut butter and PB cups.

If you make a chocolate chip skillet cookie, you might want to add some chopped pecans or walnuts in between the layers.

If you want to make a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie cake, you can use sugar cookie dough and white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts in the layers.

Try adding peanut butter chips, chopped nuts, or chopped pretzels in between the layers or on top.

Try adding unwrapped caramels (chopped) or caramel sauce in between the layers or on top.

A sprinkle of sea salt on top adds a great flavor contrast, especially if you're using caramel.

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Can I use a regular baking dish instead of a cast iron skillet?

Yes, you can use a 10" or 12" round cake pan instead of a cast iron pan, but the texture of your skillet cookie may differ slightly. If using a cake pan, I would cut a circle of parchment paper to line the pan and then grease the parchment and the sides of the cake pan with cooking spray. If using a baking dish, adjust your baking time accordingly and monitor closely for a golden-brown edge.

Storage

Cover your cooled cookie cake tightly and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 2 months.

To thaw a skillet cookie, allow it to warm up on the counter.

For a gooey texture, warm leftovers in the oven or microwave before serving.

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Try these other delicious peanut butter desserts:

• No Bake Peanut Butter Pie
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie
• Inside Out Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
• Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies (AKA PB Cream Cheese Brownie Bars)
• 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Marshmallow Fudge
• Peanut Butter Cookie Bliss

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