Why Costco's Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Is More Expensive Than Its Others

While baking homemade pies is a traditional mainstay for celebratory gatherings, it can also be a lot of work. Thankfully, your local grocery store has you covered, offering all the seasonal staples we know and love. Costco is no different in this regard, stocking festive classics like apple, pecan, and pumpkin for fall; and key lime and berry pies for summer. However, the big-box retailer offers one pie that's gonna cost you a little more.

Costco's layered Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Pie consists of a buttery, crushed graham cracker crust; whipped peanut butter filling; silky chocolate mousse; and whipped, decorative topping. The dessert is a definitive step above a humdrum pumpkin pie — and the price tag reflects that. While Costco's pumpkin pie costs a meager $6.99 (depending on your region) this superior confection will set you back $19.99.

The whopping price gap is partly due to the ingredients that comprise this premium dessert. Folks familiar with homemade pumpkin pie know that it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to acquire the necessary ingredients to fill the house with the enticing aroma of pumpkin pie filling. But this more expensive chocolate and peanut butter option from Costco has several components that don't come as cheap, like cream cheese and liquid chocolate truffle. Yet that may not be the only reason this elevated pastry is priced sky high.

Costco likes to go big, with many of its pies clocking in at three and a half pounds. However, the chocolate peanut butter pie has a little more heft, weighing a full pound more than most of its cohorts on the shelf (though Costco's Orange Dreamsicle Cheesecake weighs about the same). More weight means substantial amounts of those pricey ingredients, and the sheer bulk of the pie may contribute to its price tag.

But this isn't the first time Costco has released this chocolate and peanut butter favorite. The pie enjoyed quite a bit of fanfare when it first graced the retailer's bakery department in 2023. Yet, like many of Costco's food court items that we're never getting back, it wasn't long before patrons noticed the creamy confection was no longer available. Because the membership warehouse strives to keep its prices as low as possible, this pie may have been deemed too costly to stay on the shelves. We don't always know exactly why Costco stops selling popular foods, and the reason the retailer brought it back is anyone's guess. But the massive amount of fans willing to shell out the extra dough for this delicious dessert certainly aren't complaining.