Straight out of the oven or topped with our favorite vanilla ice cream, the pizookie is an enormous, showstopping chocolate chip cookie creation. Whether you’re looking to whip up something new for a party or just want to impress your family with a larger-than-life, ultra-shareable cookie, this pizookie recipe is for you, and you can master it in no time with our tips.
By the way, if you’re looking for regular-sized cookies, try this chocolate chip cookie recipe.
You Should Melt the Butter—Here’s Why
Unlike the majority of cookie recipes, we’re not creaming together the butter and sugar for the pizookie. Instead, we’re melting the butter in the skillet as it heats up. That’s because melted butter creates a chewier, denser pizookie, ideal for loading it up with toppings before digging in.
Don’t miss our food editor’s baking tips for the best cookies ever.
How to Make Our Pizookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
- Vanilla ice cream, optional
Instructions
Step 1: Prep the skillet
Preheat your oven to 350° F. In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, melt the butter in the oven as it preheats.
Editor’s Tip: For a dairy-free option, substitute shortening or a non-dairy margarine for the butter.
Step 2: Combine the sugars
As the oven preheats, stir together the sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. It doesn’t matter whether you use light or dark brown sugar. When the butter is almost melted, remove the skillet from the oven and swirl the butter until it’s completely melted. Stir the melted butter into the sugar mixture, and set the skillet aside.
Step 3: Mix the wet and dry ingredients
Beat the eggs and vanilla into the sugar mixture. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture.
Editor’s Tip: Make sure your eggs are room temperature before adding them. Not only do they mix into the batter more easily, but they’ll also help the dough rise more. If you forgot to grab the eggs from the fridge in advance, just put them in a bowl of warm water for 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 4: Add the chocolate
Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. (See below for alternatives.) Spread the mixture into the buttered skillet.
Step 5: Bake it up
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs and the top is golden brown, or about 35 to 40 minutes. It’s better to underbake the pizookie than overbake, as the heat from the skillet will continue to bake the cookie. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a molten, gooey center.
Editor’s Tip: If you’d rather not make a giant cookie, you can prepare the cookie in four six-inch cast-iron skillets. Just brush the skillets with melted butter before adding the dough. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy
Serve the pizookie warm, and top with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, hot fudge or extra chocolate chips—the possibilities are endless!
Fun Flavor Variations
Mix up the pizookie by adding in other sweet options. Try replacing the chocolate chips with an equal quantity of M&M’s or chocolate chunks. Or up the ante by gently folding in 1½ cup fresh raspberries after mixing in the chocolate chips and pecans. Substituting dried cherries or butterscotch chips for the pecans works well, too.
More Desserts to Make in a Cast-Iron Skillet
This is one of my favorite summer recipes, as it features peaches and berries that are in season, but it's just as delicious with frozen fruit any time of the year. The quick biscuit topping brings it all together. —Lauren Knoelke, Des Moines, Iowa
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Bake up the ultimate shareable cookie. For variety, replace the chocolate chips with an equal quantity of M&M's or chocolate chunks. Or go super fancy by mixing the chocolate chips and pecans into the dough, then gently folding in 1-1/2 cup fresh raspberries.—James Schend, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
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My mother-in-law made a slump of wild blueberries with dumplings and served it warm with a pitcher of farm cream. We’ve been eating slump for nearly 60 years! —Eleanore Ebeling, Brewster, Minnesota
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Here's a fun and festive way to serve brownies. Family and friends will love topping their pieces with whipped cream and strawberries. —Johnnie McLeod, Bastrop, Louisiana
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For a change of pace, you can substitute fresh or frozen peach slices for the pineapple in this old-fashioned recipe. —Bernardine Melton, Paola, Kansas
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You can make this fruity dessert on your stovetop, but to really impress your guests, simmer it in an electric skillet right at the dinner table. There’s no more convenient way to enjoy the fruits of the season. —Patricia Frerk, Syracuse, New York
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A dear friend from the South gave me the idea for this peachy cake. I add bourbon and top each slice with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream. —Trista Jefferson, Batavia, Ohio
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Blackberries are an Oregon treasure. We love to go out and pick our own. Whatever we don’t eat fresh, we freeze to enjoy whenever we start dreaming of this irresistible treat. —Pearl Stanford, Medford, Oregon
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This recipe goes back at least as far as my grandmother, who was born in the early 1900s. Our sons and I enjoy eating it in a bowl with milk poured on it—much to the dismay of my husband, who prefers it plain! —Kathy Nienow Clark, Byron, Michigan
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My husband loves it when I make dessert. Fruit crisps are easy and quick to prepare, so I make them often! I created this fall-flavored grilled version with fresh pears and items I had on hand. We loved it. —Ronna Farley, Rockville, Maryland
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While the crostata, an open-faced fruit tart, is actually Italian, my version's peach filling is American all the way. —Lauren Knoelke, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Since my husband liked pineapple upside-down cake, I decided to give this recipe a try one night when we were expecting guests for dinner. Everyone pronounced this cake "Delicious!" and asked for seconds.—Bobbie Talbott, Veneta, Oregon
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My grandma used to make a version of this for me when I was a little girl. She would make it using fresh apples from her tree in the back yard. I've adapted her recipe because I love the combination of apple, pecans, and caramel. —Emily Hobbs, Springfield, Missouri
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I’ve baked this cake every spring for many years, and my family loves it! At potlucks it gets eaten up quickly, even by folks who don’t normally go for rhubarb. Use your own fresh rhubarb, hit up a farmers market or find a neighbor who will trade stalks for the recipe! —Helen Breman, Mattydale, New York
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These tender dumplings in a chunky fruit sauce are loaded with vitamins C and A, helpful in nourishing and protecting skin. —Roxanne Chan, Albany, CA
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Crumbled macaroons are a surprising addition to this cobbler’s topping. We love that you can make the sweet treat in a baking dish or a cast-iron skillet. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
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A little bit sweet, a little bit tart and topped off with golden, sugar-kissed biscuits, this cobbler is summer perfection. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Why bake when you can make an entire dessert on the stovetop? These dumplings are often requested by my family for special events like birthdays.—Becky Magee, Chandler, Arizona
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There were eight children in my family when I was a girl, and all of us enjoyed this cobbler. I now serve it for everyday and special occasions alike. —Carolyn Miller, Guys Mills, Pennsylvania
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This cake is a favorite of mine. I love the smell of the apples and butterscotch as it is baking. It fills the house with a perfect autumn aroma. —Sabrina Haught, Spencer, West Virginia
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Apple pie baked in a cast iron skillet is a real stunner. This beauty, with its flaky, tender crust, also works in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. —Renee Schettler Rossi, New York, New York
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This is warm, sweet and filling—comfort food at its best! Scoop it up hot from the oven and serve it on those crisp, cool autumn days. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
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My grandmother gave me my first cast iron skillet, and I've been cooking and baking with it ever since. Sometimes I add drained maraschino cherries to this banana skillet dessert and serve it with a ice cream. —Terri Merritts, Nashville, Tennessee
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Here's an old-fashioned pantry dessert made with items you can easily keep on hand. Mix up a second batch of the dry ingredients for the dumplings to save a few minutes the next time you prepare it. —Shannon Roum, Cudahy, Wisconsin
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This is a simple recipe—and especially easy in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. The result is a deliciously light, airy cake. —Suzanne Coelman, Rabun Gap, Georgia
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The post How to Make a Fancy Homemade Pizookie appeared first on Taste of Home.
Alexa Hackfort
