Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie Recipe

This giant skillet cookie bakes up extra chewy and crisp around the edges.

Overhead view of skillet cookie

Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

Why It Works

  • A lower proportion of white sugar makes this skillet cookie super chewy compared with its drop-cookie counterpart.
  • Malted milk powder improves browning and adds an extra layer of flavor.
  • Baking in cast iron at a slightly higher temperature ensures the cookie is crisp along the edges.

If I learned anything about food growing up down south, it's that a cast iron skillet can work wonders for any recipe—even chocolate chip cookies. Slap a chocolate chip cookie dough in a cast iron skillet, and it'll bake up crunchy around the edges, but soft and fudgy in the middle, like some outrageous brownie/cookie hybrid.*

*I will not stoop to calling these "brookies"; get off my lawn.

This transformation largely reflects the loss of surface area that accompanies the switch from a cookie to a brownie-like format, but a cast iron skillet is crucial in helping the cookie dough crisp up around the edges without drying out in the middle. In the sort of aluminum cake pan I recommend for layer cakes, the cookie dough would bake evenly from edge to center, with none of those delicious textural extremes.

While it's true that almost any recipe is up for the cast iron challenge, a few tweaks can make the results even better.

A chocolate chip skillet cookie, fresh from the oven.

Serious Eats / Emily Dryden

Mix and Match Your Chocolate for Depth of Flavor

As with my old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies, grabbing a few different chocolates will go a long way toward creating some depth of flavor in the skillet cookie, with bites of creamy vanilla from white chocolate to contrast the bitter intensity of dark. Beyond that, using chopped chocolate rather than commercial chips will give the skillet cookie a brownie-like consistency, as chopping creates more than chunks—it also produces a powdery blend of chocolate flecks and shards that melt into the dough.

Close-up of a plated slice of the skillet cookie.

Serious Eats / Emily Dryden

Cut Back on Sugar for a Chewy Cookie

When baking my chocolate chip cookies in skillet form, I cut the white sugar by 40%. This allows for a bit more gluten development, creating a chewier consistency. (In a drop cookie, which has a higher proportion of surface area for moisture loss, that would only make the finished product tough and dry.) This reduction brings out more of the brown sugar flavor while reducing sweetness overall, making a skillet cookie better for serving à la mode—and trust me, you should take a page from the Tony Roma's playbook and serve it à la mode.

Malted Milk Powder for More Flavor Boost

Since the skillet format reduces the total surface area of the cookie dough as it bakes, there's less Maillard browning overall. To make up for that loss of flavor, I like to add a scoop of malted milk powder for an infusion of toasty depth (if you've read my ode to malted milk powder, you probably saw that coming). If you don't have some already, you can pick it up at any supermarket—look for plain, not chocolate, Carnation or Ovaltine, which is usually sold alongside hot cocoa mix—or pick up a specialty brand, like Hoosier Hill Farm, online.

Overhead view of a buttered cast iron skillet.

Serious Eats / Emily Dryden

Butter That Skillet

It's not that the cookie dough will stick in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet; it's that a generous coating of butter will really help give those edges an amazingly rich, crispy-fried texture. Just be sure to use soft rather than melted butter, and don't be shy.

Instead of scooping the dough into individual portions, scrape the full batch into a 10-inch cast iron skillet, then spread it into an even layer and bake at 400°F (200°C) until puffed and golden brown around the edges but still a touch wobbly in the middle, about 35 minutes.

Close-up of the skillet cookie, fresh from the oven.

Serious Eats / Emily Dryden

Because cast iron retains heat so well, carryover cooking will continue to "bake" the cookie long after you pull it from the oven. For that reason, it's important to let it cool at least 45 minutes before serving; prior to that, the giant cookie may seem molten and raw in the very center. But with a little time for the crumb to set up and cool, all will be well.

It's a great way to whip up dessert for a crowd when you're in a hurry, since getting rid of the scooping step saves substantial time—or whenever you're craving something warm, gooey, crisp, chewy, and smothered in ice cream. Which is me, basically all the time.

Close-up of a plated slice of the skillet cookie, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Serious Eats / Emily Dryden

January 2018

This recipe was cross-tested in 2022 and updated to reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, increase the baking time, add an internal temperature to confirm doneness, and extend the cooling time.

Recipe Details

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie Recipe

Prep 35 mins
Cook 45 mins
Active 35 mins
Resting Time 60 mins
Total 2 hrs 20 mins
Serves 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks; 225g), soft but cool, about 65°F (18°C), plus more for greasing skillet

  • 4 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (2/3 cup; 125g)

  • 8 ounces light brown sugar (1 cup, gently packed; 225g)

  • 1 ounce malted milk powder (about 1/4 cup; 25g); see notes

  • 1/2 ounce vanilla extract (1 tablespoon; 15g)

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons (8g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume or the same weight

  • 1 teaspoon (5g) baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

  • 1 large egg (about 1 3/4 ounces; 50g), straight from the fridge

  • 12 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour(2 3/4 cups, spooned; 355g), such as Gold Medal

  • 12 ounces assorted dark, milk, or white chocolate (not commercial chips), roughly chopped (about 2 cups; 340g)

  • Vanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F (180°C). Combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar, malted milk powder, vanilla, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low to moisten, then increase to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With mixer running, add egg and continue beating only until smooth. Stop mixer and add flour all at once; quickly and carefully switch mixer speed between off setting and stir setting just until flour mixture is nearly combined into butter mixture. Add  chopped chocolate, then mix on low speed to form a stiff dough.

    Two image collage of adding egg to dough

    Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

  2. Generously butter a 10-inch cast iron skillet, then fill with cookie dough and press into an even layer. Bake until slightly puffed, edges are set and  golden brown, and center is just set but still feels soft underneath when touched, about 45 minutes, loosely covering cookie with aluminum foil after 20 to 25 minutes to prevent excess browning if needed. (An instant-read thermometer inserted in center should register 180°F [82°C] to 185°F [85°C].) Cool until crumb is set, about 1 hour, before serving. (Center may sink slightly as cookie cools.) Enjoy warm or cover with foil when cool and store up to 3 days at room temperature. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

    Two image collage of before and after cookie dough cooks in skillet

    Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

Special Equipment

Stand mixer, flexible spatula, 10-inch cast iron skillet

Notes

Look for malted milk powder from brands like Carnation and Ovaltine next to hot cocoa at the supermarket, or buy it in bulk online; my favorite brand is Hoosier Hill Farm.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
401 Calories
19g Fat
54g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories 401
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g 25%
Saturated Fat 11g 57%
Cholesterol 45mg 15%
Sodium 307mg 13%
Total Carbohydrate 54g 19%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Total Sugars 33g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 42mg 3%
Iron 3mg 16%
Potassium 182mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)