These Air Fryer Pillsbury Cookies take less than 10 minutes to bake up soft or crispy, with almost no prep and any flavor of dough. Just bake frozen or refrigerated Pillsbury cookie dough in the air fryer, and you've got yourself a classic cookie (or a whole batch)!
If you like easy cookie recipes, check out my homemade coffee cookies or air fryer Toll House cookies!
Jump to:
- ✔️ Why bake cookies in the air fryer?
- 🍪 Ingredient
- 🥣 How to make Pillsbury cookies in the air fryer (instructions)
- ❓ Do you have to use parchment paper for cookies in the air fryer?
- 😋 How to make pillsbury cookie dough better
- 🌟 Storage and freezing
- 📖 How to reheat cookies in air fryer
- 👨🏻🍳 Expert notes & tips
- 🍴 Ways to serve air fryer cookies
- 🙋🏻♂️ Frequently asked questions
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
✔️ Why bake cookies in the air fryer?
Quick Air Fryer Cookies: These small batch cookies in the air fryer are ready in as little as 8 minutes for a soft cookie or 11 minutes for a crispy one, making it even easier to make cookies for one at any time.
Small Batch Cookies: If you use pre made cookie dough in the air fryer, you can easily make one to four of any air fryer cookies recipe in under 10 minutes.
Customizable: you can top Pillsbury cookie dough with almost anything (see below), and shape it thick or thin, cooking it soft or crispy depending on how to like your oven-fresh cookies.
🍪 Ingredient
Pillsbury Cookie Dough: you can use refrigerated or frozen Pillsbury cookie dough in the air fryer, but note that if you're baking it directly from frozen, you'll want to add one extra minute to your chosen bake time.
🥣 How to make Pillsbury cookies in the air fryer (instructions)
Step 1. It's not necessary to preheat your air fryer unless you need time to shape or cut the cookies, or you need to heat up a container so that you can bake in batches. If needed, preheat air fryer to 325°F (165°C) on the air fry setting rather than the bake or any other setting.
While it warms up, flatten and/or form your cookie dough for either thicker or thinner cookies in the air fryer. This is the best time to roll them in sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini marshmallows, or chopped candy canes, etc.
💡 Pro-Tip: for even crispier, more melt-in-your-mouth cookies, add the glass or metal container to the air fryer before preheating.
Step 2. Once preheated, if needed, put your cookie dough balls into the air fryer, with or without parchment or aluminum foil (see recipe notes), about 2" apart and close the air fryer.
I find either four or six fit best in my medium-sized countertop air fryer, with or without a container or basket insert (putting them directly ont he insert will cause some dough to fall through the slits, even if you're baking frozen cookie dough). How many fit in your own air fryer will vary.
Step 3. Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes in the air fryer, with less time making softer, meltier cookies and more time yielding crispier, more browned cookies. Check on the cookies at 6 minutes, if your air fryer runs hot.
💡 Pro-Tip: since Pillsbury cookie dough is safe to eat raw, you can cook these super soft, taking them out after 5 minutes and letting them cool just a couple minutes before enjoying them with a scoop of ice cream (or not!).
Step 4. Your air fried Pillsbury cookies will be done after they reach your ideal doneness and you've let them set for 3-5 minutes before scooping them up.
This is the benefit of using a baking container in the air fryer, if you need to make more than one batch and keep the air fryer hot for the next one. Serve hot, or allow to cool on a wire rack or cool counter for 30 minutes before storing.
❓ Do you have to use parchment paper for cookies in the air fryer?
Not at all! In fact, after testing 5 different methods of cooking cookies in the air fryer, I found that the best method for baking cookies in the air fryer is to bake them directly on the bottom of the frying basket, which is similar to using a nonstick baking tray in the oven.
Of all the frozen cookie doughs I baked in the air fryer, even with 4 or 6 one-ounce cookies, all of them were too light to keep a piece of parchment paper laying flat. If that's all you have, you need to either cook at least 8 cookies, leave it out entirely, or be okay with smushed cookies and a flapping sound coming from the air fryer
Alternately, you can use aluminum foil in place of parchment paper (I recommend buttering it), or you can place foil underneath and around the edges of the parchment paper to keep it heavier, if you're truly worried about it catching fire.
😋 How to make pillsbury cookie dough better
There are a ton of toppings to put onto raw cookie dough, and picking the right one can even transform frozen cookie dough into a Mother's Day dessert. Here are a few of my favorite, plus when in the baking process to add each one (don't forget to push them down into the dough!):
- Two Large Marshmallows (when raw; push them into the dough)
- Rainbow Sprinkles or Jimmies (when raw)
- Sliced Almonds (when raw; push them into the dough)
- Chopped Peppermint Candies (when raw; push them into the dough)
- York Peppermint Patties (2 minutes before done; push it into the soft dough)
- Fruity Pebbles (2 minutes before done; push them into the soft dough)
- Granola (when raw)
- Homemade Toffee (when raw)
- Chopped Crystallized Ginger (when raw)
- Jelly or Jam (make a small hole in the middle before baking; add it 1 minute before done)
🌟 Storage and freezing
You can store unused cookie dough in an airtight bag or container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to one year.
Any extra baked cookies (if somehow there are some) can be kept in an airtight bag or container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to six months.
📖 How to reheat cookies in air fryer
Reheat Cookies From Frozen: place carefully into air fryer, then set to 300°F (150°C) without preheating, cooking for just 3 minutes for one cookie, but 4 minutes for two or more cookies.
Reheat Cookies From Fridge: place carefully into air fryer, then set to 300°F (150°C) without preheating, cooking for just 2-3 minutes for one cookie, but 3 minutes for two or more cookies.
Reheat Cookies From Room Temp: place carefully into air fryer, then set to 300°F (150°C) without preheating, cooking for just 1-2 minutes for one cookie, but the full 2 minutes for two or more cookies.
👨🏻🍳 Expert notes & tips
Toll House vs. Pillsbury: Compared to Nestle's Toll House cookie dough, the Pillsbury cookie dough falls apart a lot more and really stays soft on the inside but crisp when you bite into it at room temperature. Because of that, if you can wait that long, once they're baked I recommend letting the cookies sit for at least 3 minutes with the air fryer open.
Alternately, remove the baking container from the air fryer and set it on a cool surface before you remove them. At room temperature I also like Pillsbury better than Nestle's, but I like the warm Nestle's Toll House better than the warm Pillsbury, which fall apart too easily.
Shaping Cookies: I recommend you flatten the cookies a bit if they come in a tray like mine, though you have the most control if they come in log-form or are homemade.
Testing Doneness: to test air fryer cookies for doneness, look at the color on the outside and the color in any creases. Once the outside is golden to medium brown, they're fully done and will overcook if baked longer than 11 minutes, as they finish cooking for a few minutes after the air fryer is turned off.
Smelly Cookies?: Make sure your air fryer is super clean, otherwise anything else you've cooked in there can flavor the cookies.
🍴 Ways to serve air fryer cookies
- serve warm with a scoop of ice cream on top
- drizzle on your favorite hot fudge sauce
- smear on some homemade jam
- slather with your favorite frosting and decorate for the holidays
- use them to make homemade ice cream sandwiches
🙋🏻♂️ Frequently asked questions
It's better to air fry cookies if you're in a rush, because air fried cookies bake faster than in the oven.
No, you just need to add 1 minute to the lowest amount of bake time indicated in the recipe or on the packaging, with no need to thaw frozen cookie dough.
Yes, to bake just one cookie in the air fryer, you can make it in a glass container or on a metal sheet, or even in the bottom of the air fryer.
Yes, and you don't need to spray the container before baking the cookies, even if you don't use a liner.
No, you don't have to preheat your air fryer before adding the cookies, but you'll want to add an extra minute to your preferred doneness time in order to allow the air fryer time to get hot enough.
Absolutely! You can use the same method, tips, and timing to bake Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, or peanut butter cookies in the air fryer. It doesn't have to be the prepackaged ones, either; you can use the Pillsbury cookie recipe, made with any type of chocolate chips you like.
Put the cookie dough into the air fryer as thick and circular as possible, making them more spherical in your palms, if needed, to form a thick chocolate chip cookie.
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📖 Recipe
Quick Pillsbury Cookies in Air Fryer
Ingredients
- Pillsbury Cookie Dough frozen or refrigerated
Instructions
- It's not necessary to preheat your air fryer unless you need time to shape or cut the cookies, or you need to heat up a container so that you can bake in batches. If needed, preheat air fryer to 325°F (165°C) on the air fry setting rather than the bake or any other setting. While it warms up, flatten and/or form your cookie dough for either thicker or thinner cookies in the air fryer. This is the best time to roll them in sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini marshmallows, or chopped candy canes, etc.Once preheated, put your cookie dough balls into the air fryer, with or without parchment (see recipe notes), about 2" apart and close the air fryer. I find either four or six fit best in my medium-sized countertop air fryer, with or without a container or basket insert. How many fit in your own air fryer will vary.
- Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes in the air fryer, with less time making softer, meltier cookies and more time yielding crispier, more browned cookies. Check on the cookies at 6 minutes, if your air fryer runs hot. Since Pillsbury cookie dough is safe to eat raw, you can even cook these super soft, taking them out after 5 minutes and letting them cool just a couple minutes before enjoying them.
- Your air fried Pillsbury cookies will be done after they reach your ideal doneness and you've let them set for 3-5 minutes before scooping them up. This is the benefit of using a baking container in the air fryer, if you need to make more than one batch and keep the air fryer hot for the next one. Serve hot, or allow to cool on a wire rack or cool counter for 30 minutes before storing.
Amanda
Great information! Loved them!
Max
Thank you, Amanda! So glad to be of help!