Soft, oversized, and swirled with peanut butter chocolate frosting, these cookies are a fun and indulgent twist on your favorite bakery-style treat—all made with the help of Betty Crocker’s Soft Baked Cookie Mix.
This is the first recipe in my Sunday Softies series, and it’s definitely a sweet way to start. The cookies are made with chocolate caramel cookie mix, stuffed with a full-size Reese’s, and topped with a swirl of peanut butter and chocolate frosting. They’re rich, soft in the center, and finished with even more Reese’s on top. If you love those giant, frosted cookies from the bakery, you’ll want to save this one.
Recipe Tips
- Betty Crocker Cookie Mix: To start this cookie is made with the Betty Crocker Soft Baked Chocolate Caramel Cookie Mix. It’s decadent, packed with bits of caramel pieces and pairs perfectly with the peanut butter additions. I found mine in Walmart so check your local store!
- Underbaking the cookies: This is essential to getting the texture right. I bake my cookies for 14 minutes on the dot and then remove from the oven and let cool completely on the cookie sheet. Letting them cool on the hot pan will keep cooking them but at a lower temperature, not drying out the cookie entirely. If you prefer a crispier cookie, feel free to bake for 15-16 minutes. They’re still delicious, but I’m a sucker for a those big chewy cookies 🙂
- Chilling the dough: Chilling the dough will help with two things: cookie spreading and flavor. These cookies will spread when they bake but by chilling the dough for 30-45 minutes prior to baking, it will keep them from spreading too much! Also as the dough chills the flavor will enhance. It’s truly a win-win 🙂 I leave my cookie dough in the refrigerator and only pull out how many I need for the pan. They should be baked up straight from the fridge.
- Cookie dough scoop: I always get a ton of questions about what scoop I use, so I wanted to link the ones I used for this recipe! I like this set because it comes in 3 different sizes. For these cookies I used the large size, which is about 3 tbsp of cookie dough per cookie. Using a cookie dough scoop gives you perfect cookie dough balls that are even and therefore will bake evenly!
- Reshape immediately after baking: Use a round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass to swirl around each cookie while it’s hot for that perfect circular look.
- Flour your hands: A light dusting of flour on your palms helps keep the dough from sticking when shaping.
- Baking sheet: For all of my cookie recipes you I suggest you use a cookie sheet. You can use a jelly roll however I find the edges of the cookies tend to brown a little faster and they bake differently.
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you’d like to keep them longer, you can refrigerate them for up to a week—just let them come to room temperature before serving for the best texture. The frosted cookies can also be frozen for up to a month; place them in a single layer on a baking sheet to freeze, then transfer to a freezer-safe container with parchment between layers.
Whether you’re baking for a special occasion or just want to treat yourself on a Sunday, these cookies deliver that soft, indulgent texture and bold flavor everyone loves. They come together with simple ingredients, but the result feels anything but basic. Keep an eye out each week for a new Sunday Softie—this is just the beginning.
Caramel Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 package Betty Crocker Chocolate Caramel Soft Baked Cookie Mix
- ½ cup salted butter melted
- 1 tbsp whole milk
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 10 full-size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
For the frosting:
- 1 container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Vanilla Frosting
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 container Betty Crocker Rich & Cream Chocolate Frosting
- extra Reese's for decoration
Instructions
For the cookies:
- In a large bowl, combine the cookie mix, melted butter, milk, and eggs. Stir until a thick dough forms. Use a large (3-tablespoon) cookie scoop to divide the dough into 10 equal portions.
- Press a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup into the center of each dough ball and wrap the dough around it to fully enclose. If the dough is sticky, lightly dust your hands with flour while shaping.
- Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). After chilling, space the dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet, as they will spread. Bake for 13–14 minutes, or until the edges are set.
- Immediately after baking, use a round cookie cutter or bowl to gently swirl and reshape the cookies into perfect circles. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.
For the frosting:
- While the cookies cool, stir the peanut butter into the vanilla frosting until smooth. Transfer the peanut butter frosting into one piping bag and the chocolate frosting into another. Snip the ends, then place both bags inside a third piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
- Once cookies are fully cool, pipe a swirl of frosting onto each one. Top each cookie with two quarters of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Enjoy!