skillet cookie
This is the best Skillet Cookie recipe! A chewy chocolate chip cookie dough is baked in a cast iron skillet then topped with vanilla ice cream! The whole recipe takes under 45 minutes and requires no chilling!
This skillet cookie stopped me in my chocolate chip cookie-loving tracks. Why, I asked myself, have I never thought to make a chocolate chip cookie like this before? I’ve made them countless times in so many other variations like these gooey chocolate chip cookies, but never as one gigantic cookie. It is thick, dense and chewy but also kind of crispy on the edges and soft in the center.
Why You Will Love this Skillet Cookie Recipe
- Quick & easy! The recipe take under 45 minutes start to finish and is simple as making cookie dough, pressing it into a skillet and baking to chewy, gooey perfection!
- Extra chewy and soft: This recipes uses an extra egg yolk, mostly brown sugar, cornstarch and melted butter to ensure a chewy and soft texture.
- Customizable for your taste: Mix in M&M’s and oat like I did in this pizookie recipe or try peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips or just a mix of milk and dark chocolate chips! Bake individual sized skillet cookies or make a huge one to feed a crowd!
Professional Tips for Making One Giant Cookie
- Watch the bake time. Cast iron is wonderful for conducting even heat, and will cook this skillet cookie faster than you might expect! It only takes 25-30 minutes to bake completely. If you want a slightly, under-baked cookie, bake 18-20 minutes.
- Don’t chill the dough. The skillet contains the cookie dough so there is no need to chill the dough as you would for the best chocolate chip cookies. It will bake thick and chewy no matter what!
- Don’t skip the cornstarch! It is tempting because it is just one more ingredient, but cornstarch really makes these cookies soft and, along with the added egg yolk, makes them chewy.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour: You can easily make this recipe gluten free by using a gluten free all-purpose flour.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda react with the molasses in the brown sugar and will give a good puff!
- Cornstarch: Just a little cornstarch will help make these cookies soft and chewy even when fully baked. If you don’t have it, skip it. They will still be delicious.
- Kosher Salt
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar: I use light brown sugar but dark brown sugar would also be delightful. The large proportion of brown sugar adds to the chewy, deepens the flavor and also reacts with the baking soda.
- Unsalted Butter: Melted butter makes this recipe incredibly easy to pull together. If you want a more dense, chewy skillet cookie try this thick chocolate chip cookie recipe instead.
- Large Egg & Egg Yolk: The added egg yolk adds fat without a lot of additional moisture, so it makes this recipe even more thick and chewy!
- Vanilla Extract
- Chocolate Chips: I use semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can use whichever you have on hand or prefer.
- Sea Salt: This is optional but there is nothing quite like a salted chocolate chip cookie experience!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Possible Variations
- Make individual skillet cookies: This recipe will make 4-6 individual cookies baked in 4-6, 6-inch cast iron skillets. Prepare as directed, press into the smaller skillets and bake 8-10 minutes. Watch them carefully because the bake-time will vary.
- Different Mix-ins: Try butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, chopped walnuts or pecans, semi-sweet chocolate chunks, chopped Oreo’s, chopped Reese’s or Reese’s pieces instead. Swirl with salted caramel sauce for an extra decadent treat.
- Try it with a different cookie dough. Yes, you can bake any cookie into a skillet! Tell all your friends. Try it with snickerdoodles (just top the whole thing with an obscene amount of cinnamon sugar), chewy sugar cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or even kitchen sink cookies.
How to serve Skillet cookies?
Serve warm or room temperature. You can scoop it out while still warm, or you can let it cool and slice like you would a chocolate chip cookie cake! They are delicious on their own but here are a few serving ideas to make it an even more decadent dessert!
- Add a topping or two. Pour on a little salted caramel sauce, hot fudge or crème anglaise!
- Add Crunch. Try sprinkling on toasted nuts, candied pecans, or even baked streusel.
- Ice cream for the win. No one says it has to be homemade vanilla bean ice cream, but there is something special about melting ice cream on a warm skillet cookie. Try chocolate ice cream or go way outside the box with candied bacon maple walnut ice cream.
How to Make a Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F & lightly spray a cast iron skillet with nonstick cooking spray. If you are using a cake pan, you should spray and line it with parchment paper.
If yours is nicely seasoned, you don’t even need to spray it. If you aren’t sure, just give it a little spritz with nonstick cooking spray.
Step 2: In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, cornstarch and kosher salt. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large bowl whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla until combined and smooth.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.
Step 4: Once all the flour has mixed in stir in the chocolate chips. Press it into a cast-iron skillet and sprinkle with sea salt.
You can press more chocolate chips on top for aesthetics!
Step 5: Pop in preheated oven and bake until golden brown around the edges and the top. It will take 25-30 minutes. It might take longer in a traditional baking dish. Cast iron conduct heat more readily.
Step 6: Cool and then slice and enjoy. Or just gather your besties, pull it from the oven, and pile it high with scoops of vanilla ice cream and dig right in.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make the dough in advance and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week before baking. Simply press into skillet and bake according to the directions below when ready.
Store a baked and cooled skillet cookie well wrapped at room temperature for up to 5 days, refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for 2 months. I suggest refrigerating it then removing it from the skillet before wrapping freezing.
You can bake this in an 8-inch square or oval baking dish or even make your own out of foil! You can also try ramekins, gratin pans, 9-inch cake pan, or a pie pan! If you change the dish, be sure to watch the baking time because it will vary depending on the pan you choose.
Reheat baked skillet cookie slices in an oven preheated 325°F. Cover with foil and bake until warm in the center.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
Print
skillet cookie
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 24 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is the best Skillet Cookie recipe! A chewy chocolate chip cookie dough is baked in a cast iron skillet then topped with vanilla ice cream! The whole recipe takes under 45 minutes and requires no chilling!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for topping
- Sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 9-inch round cake pan (or square pan) with foil.
- In large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt until combined. In separate medium bowl, whisk butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla until combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Using wooden spoon, stir ingredients until soft but thick dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips (you might need to use your hands to “knead” the chips into the dough).
- Press dough evenly into prepared pan. Press a few more chocolate chips into top of dough, if desired (this is purely for looks). Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, if desired. Bake 35-38 minutes until edges are golden brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 1 hour. Remove cookie from pan using foil. Cut into bars or wedges. Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Before you go
I hope you enjoyed this easy cookie recipe! You might also love this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe, chocolate thumbprints, or peruse all our cookie recipes!
You are absolutely right, this really is what I need to make in my kitchen today!
I made this today. I had never made a c.c. cookie recipe in a cake pan. I also messed up and added a 1/4 cup white sugar more that it called for. So I googled to see what I could do to compensate for it. Didn’t want it to be too sweet. I took the advice of adding a little more flour and baking powder. The dough seemed dry so I added 2 T coconut oil. They suggested that and possibly an egg. I did not add the egg. The cookie was beautiful when I too it out of the oven and it stayed that way. It was really hard around the edges. It was very tasty. I wish I had taken it from the oven at 30 mins. though instead of 35. Are the edges usually hard?
Hmmm, the edges for me are usually crunchier than the center but not “hard.” That could be because of the extra sugar and less egg?
Can’t wait to try this! My bigger cookies are always weirdly flat, so I like reining it in with a cake pan!
Yeah, girl! Reign that giant cookie in! 😉
yesssss big cookies for the win!
This turned out great! Thanks so much.
I made it for my daughter s birthday. Big hit. Oh, did I
mention my daughter is 59 yrs old. Big kid at heart, loved her big chocolate chip cookie.
This is a good recipe to make with family and enjoy with ice cream or just alone. I would definately recommend 🙂