Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Feb. 22, 2024
Welcome to the ultimate Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. This easy skillet cookie boasts crispy edges and a chewy center, thanks to our trusty cast iron pan.
In This Article
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Why This Recipe Stands Out
For the situations that call on a giant cookie that can easily be dressed up or down: say hello to this Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. Here’s why we love this recipe:
- Amazing Texture: This skillet cookie is crispy around the edges and delightfully chewy in the center – all courtesy of your humble cast iron pan.
- Easy to Make: We love how easy this is to make. Just mix all the ingredients together, pour them into the skillet, and bake!
- Delicious: Whether it be Bakery Style Cookies or Brown Butter Cookies, we simply can’t get enough chocolate chip cookies. And this cookie cake offers all the chewy, chocolatey goodness of our favorite treat.
- Versatile: There are endless mix-ins and toppings you can experiment with in this recipe.
- Comforting: This skillet cookie is quite possibly the most comforting dessert ever. Enjoy it sliced or dig right in with a spoon; you can’t go wrong!
Why Cast Iron?
- Evenly Heats: Cast iron holds heat much better than other types of bakeware; and once preheated, it heats evenly so all the edges are equally browned.
- Non-Stick: It actually improves in performance with more use; as you continue to use your cast iron pan and care for it, it develops a natural nonstick surface (patina) and allows you to release food easily without sticking. You get the benefits of a nonstick surface — all naturally.
- Sturdy: It’s the most sturdy kitchen tool you may ever own. A hardy cast iron skillet more than pays for itself, as it can last a lifetime and beyond.
- Easy to Wash: A gentle wash and dry after every use is all it takes to care for your cast iron. Some pans, such as Lodge cast irons (it’s what we use) come pre-seasoned, so there’s no need to worry about pre-seasoning your pan.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Butter: Softened butter gives this skillet cookie irresistible flavor and will have your kitchen smelling like a dream.
- Brown Sugar: We use part granulated sugar / part light brown sugar to give our cookie the perfect balance of fluffy, dense, and chewy.
- Egg Yolk: One extra egg yolk helps create a beautiful crisp, golden exterior.
- Chocolate Chips: What chocolate chip cookie would be complete without the chocolate? Semi-sweet chocolate chips give this skillet cookie a rich, decadent, gooey texture.
Substitutions And Variations
This Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake is super versatile. Take a look at some of our favorite variations:
- Decorate: To dress up your skillet cookie for a birthday or to resemble a cookie cake, pipe your favorite frosting or Stabilized Whipped Cream around the edges of cooled cookie. Don’t forget to add sprinkles!
- Mix-Ins: Feel free to add white chocolate chips, roughly chopped peanut butter cups, M&M’s, pretzel pieces, or chopped walnuts to your cookie dough.
- For the ultimate decadent treat, serve a warm slice of baked cookie with Creamy Vanilla Bean Ice Cream on top, drizzled with Hot Chocolate Fudge Sauce or Warm Caramel Sauce.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract; mix.
- Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
- Scrape dough into greased cast iron skillet and bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
- Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
Check out our favorite tips and tricks for making this treat ahead of time:
- Mix Dry Ingredients: The dry ingredients can be measured and mixed several days in advance. Just store them in an airtight container at room temperature until you’re ready to mix the dough.
- Mix the Dough: For super easy prep on baking day, you can actually mix the dough up to 2 days ahead of time. Just wrap the dough in plastic and keep it in the fridge. Make sure to give it some time to warm at room temperature before baking.
- Store Slices: After your skillet cookie has cooled, you can either store the slices in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Commonly Asked Questions
We recommend sticking with the butter. Vegetable oil will give your skillet cookie more of a fluffy, cake-like texture rather than that thick, chewy texture we’re going for. Plus, the butter helps the edges brown and crisp.
Although we haven’t tried this yet, we think 1:1 Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour would work just fine in this recipe. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Cast iron skillets can make almost anything! Check out this Sweet Honey Cornbread. The cast-iron skillet leaves it super soft on the inside, yet slightly crispy on the outside. We also use it for our Easy Skillet Tamale Pie and our Pan Seared Halibut.
If you’re slicing into this cookie while it’s still warm, expect it to fall apart (that means you baked it just right). If you want the slices to hold together better, simply wait for it to cool completely before slicing.
This recipe uses a 12 in. cast iron skillet. You could also use a 10 in. skillet. Just note that the 10 in. will result in a thicker cookie, which will require a little more time in the oven.
Did you make this?
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Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, 2 sticks, softened to room temp
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp table salt, fine
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs , room temp
- 1 egg yolk, room temp
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Optional: stabilized whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F, with rack on lower middle position. Spray a 12-inch cast iron skillet with spray oil of your choice.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix butter with both sugars on medium-high speed, scraping sides of bowl and the paddle a couple of times. Add eggs and vanilla extract; mixing on medium speed another minute.
- Gradually add flour mixture and mix on low speed just until cookie dough forms. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
- Use rubber spatula to fully scrape dough into cast iron skillet, evening out the edges. Bake about 30 minutes or until edges are browned and top looks puffy.
- Let cookie cool pan 15 minutes before slicing into it. If decorating with stabilized whipped cream or any other frosting/sprinkles, allow cookie cool completely first,
Notes
- For extra crispy bottom/edges, preheat your cast iron skillet in oven while you make the dough. Transfer dough into hot skillet and bake as instructed. Take care not to burn yourself on the hot handle!
- For neat slices, wait until baked cookie is set and cooled to room temperature before slicing (if you don’t care about clean-looking slices, go ahead and dig in while it’s warm.)
- If using a 10-inch cast iron skillet, you may need to increase baking time by a bit. Cookie will come out a bit thicker than 12-inch pan would.
- To freeze leftovers, cut into desired slices and place in airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream or stabilized whipped cream!
Nutrition (per serving)
More To Bake And Eat
- Forever Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – Thick, chocolatey, and supremely chewy, these cookies are truly addicting and worth every bite!
- Bakery Style Double Chocolate Cookies – These are perfect for all the cookie and chocolate lovers in your life. They’re chewy, decadent, and oh-so-chocolatey.
- Monster Cookies – Bursting with oats, peanut butter, chocolate, and M&Ms: what’s not to love about these cookies?
- Congo Bars – Congo Bars (aka. Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars) are soft and chewy in the center with loads of gooey chocolate in every bite.
- Chewy M&M Cookie Bars – These cookie bars are the ultimate crowd-pleaser at holidays, parties, and family gatherings.