How to Make the Perfect Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie
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You’ve finally gotten to the end of a really long day and just need a hot, gooey, chocolatey mess topped with ice cream to heal your soul. Grab your cast iron and a mixing bowl, because we’re making the most decadent brown butter, cinnamon, chocolate chunk skillet cookie.
This recipe is one that’s so easy, I make it with my toddler. I set her up with a spatula, and she mixes while I dump in the ingredients. It’s also so easy that I, a tired mom with a full-time job, a blog, and a toddler, can throw it together with what miniscule energy I have left at 8 pm.
It’s best when you use a bar of your favorite chocolate, but it’s also stupidly good with semi-sweet chocolate chips. I’ve even used a couple of bricks from a chocolate almond bark bar before, and it was perfection. There’s not really a wrong way to add chocolate to a cookie, am I right?
The Easiest Dessert with the Biggest Flavor
You can choose to brown your butter or not, but I do highly recommend it. Brown butter sets up the flavor of your cookie, so the end result is nutty and caramel-like in both flavor and fragrance. The big thing about stress-baking is the experience. For me, browning butter is how I begin an aromatherapeutic experience that ends with chocolate all over my face.
Brown butter is super simple to make. Set a stick of butter in your pan and let it melt. Eventually, the milk solids that have been floating on the top of the melted butter will sink to the bottom and fry to an amber-brown shade. You want to get it just past orange but before it burns black.
In addition to the brown butter, we’ll add vanilla, cinnamon, and of course chocolate. This combination is everything you ever dreamed of in a dessert. I often say that brown butter and vanilla make your house smell like Main Street, USA in Disney World. If you add cinnamon, though, you are getting the full aromatic effect.
Imagine: in under 5 minutes, you can mix together the brown butter with the sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate. It’s pretty foolproof. Spread your dough into a skillet and bake it for 20 to 30 minutes depending on how well done you want the middle.
How to Serve a Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie
There is no wrong way to serve up a chocolate chunk skillet cookie. Feel free to dig in with a spoon. I’d probably let it cool for at least 10 minutes so you don’t burn yourself. If you really need it right out from the oven, scoop your (first) portion into a bowl.
I like mine topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The cold melty cream mingles with the gooey chocolatey center and the wisps of cinnamon scented crust. It’s just so nice!
If you’re a little more prepared in the ice cream sundae department, drizzle on some caramel or hot fudge… heck, why not both? Throw a cherry a on top. GO NUTS! ADD NUTS!
For those of you feeling particularly crafty, I’ve got a recipe for making your own caramel sauce. It’s in with my Caramel Apple Galette, but it’s easy to extract the sauce recipe.
That got intense. It kind of escalated a little there, huh? But here’s the point: you can put whatever you want on top of your skillet cookie to create the perfect dessert tailored to your exact tastes and cravings.
Do you want to share? You don’t have to. In theory, this serves 8. I think this is a great dessert to throw together when you have a couple of friends over. However, there are definitely nights when a girl could demolish the whole thing. We have definitely all had those days.
Saving Leftover Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie
Sometimes, we actually do have leftover skillet cookie. I know! Surprising, right? I pull the rest of the cookie out of the skillet it and wrap it up. It’ll probably keep for a couple days on the counter. Honestly, I can’t keep people from eating the leftovers long enough to test its longevity. But it’s a cookie. Cookies last a week in an air tight container.
If you’re especially strong-willed, you could pop your leftovers in the freezer. Make sure you’ve got the cookie wrapped up well, and it will keep for 6 months. To reheat it, pop it back in the skillet, and bake at 350ºF until it’s warm and gooey again. How long this will take depends entirely on how much is actually left. It’ll smell really nice when it’s about done.
The Right Skillet for Your Cookie
I like a nice 10-inch cast-iron skillet for this recipe. However, what if you don’t have one or you have already used your skillet for something else? This recipe will also work in a 9-inch cake pan or a 9×9 square brownie pan. Ideally, you’ll want to use a dark-colored pan, though. Using a light pan or glass is going to affect your bake time.
Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
Deep Dish Skillet Chocolate Chunk Cookie
Equipment
- Medium mixing bowl
- 10-inch cast-iron skillet
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp pink himalayan sea salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 350ºF.
- Brown a stick of butter until just past amber-colored. Cool to room temperature.
- Whisk the brown butter into the sugars.
- Mix in the vanilla and egg until smooth.
- Fold in the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon until mostly incorporated. Stop mixing when there are still some dry spots.
- Add in the chocolate and finish mixing until everything is fully incorporated.
- Spread the cookie dough into a cast-iron skillet. Top with extra chocolate.
- Bake for 15 to 25 minutes depending on how gooey you want the center. 15 minutes gets you an underbaked cookie dough center. 25 minutes gets you a fully-set but still gooey center. You can go to 30 minutes for a fully cooked cookie.
- Serves 8 good servings or 1 if you're really committed. Top with vanilla ice cream for a real treat!
