This is no basic cast iron skillet cookie! It's a toasted pecan chocolate chip peanut butter cookie in a skillet that has been baked to perfection so that it's warm and gooey in the center, and golden toasty on the edges.
A skillet cookie is one of my favorite ways to switch up my cookie baking routine. A giant cookie baked in a cast iron pan is a must during the fall and winter months- a tradition that lasts all winter long in our house.
Why the skillet? Cast iron has a way of transforming everything that it touches, and in fact, it's a crime to cook Country Sausage Gravy any other way. For very serious reasons.
When it comes to cookies though, it's magic. It toasts the bottom and edges of the cookie, caramelizing the sugars and butter, making the most amazing, toasty bottom. Top that beauty with a scoop of vanilla ice cream while it's still warm--it's pure joy.
What you'll need
- Use pecan halves, or chopped pecans that are raw, and unsalted.
- I prefer smooth peanut butter, but for extra crunch you can also use chunky style peanut butter.
- Light or dark brown sugar are both fine.
- Semi sweet chocolate is the perfect sweetness to balance the peanut butter and pecans, but you can choose milk chocolate or dark chocolate if you prefer.
- Choose salted butter, and make sure the butter is completely softened before using it.
- This recipe is written for a 8 inch cast iron skillet. For other sizes, the recipe is the same, but the cooking time will be adjusted as noted in the recipe card.
How to make this recipe
Preheat the oven first, so that it it heats while you make the cookie batter.
Put the pecans in a dry skillet (rough chop if you like, or leave in halves) and toast on medium high heat until they become fragrant (photo 1). Keep an eye on them and flip them around because they will go from toasted to burned very quickly if you're not careful.
Remove the toasted pecans from the heat and place on a plate while you make the dough.
Mix together the "wet" ingredients, including peanut butter, as shown below (photo 2). It's ok if there are a few lumps of butter at this point.
Stir in the dry ingredients until smooth (photo 3) and sprinkle in the chunks of chocolate and toasted pecans (photo 4), giving a final stir to combine.
Grease the skillet on the bottom with butter (photo 5), and press the dough into the skillet until flat (photo 6). Place a few chocolate pieces and pecans over the top of the dough before baking to showcase the ingredients.
Baking the cookie
For an 8 inch skillet, cooking time is about 20 minutes.
For larger skillets, the cookie will be thinner, and therefore you'll need to reduce the cooking time by about 3 minutes per inch increase in diameter of the skillet. For example, a 9 inch skillet is one inch wider than an 8 inch skillet; so reduce the time to 17 minutes.
Conversely, if your skillet is smaller than 8 inches, the cookie dough will be thicker and you'll likely need to increase the cooking time by about 3-4 minutes per inch. So, a 7 inch skillet will need to bake for about 23-24 minutes.
The cookie is done when the edges are golden brown and slightly crisped and the center is still slightly gooey. It will continue to set as it cools.
Let it cool for a few minutes before digging in. It really is the most delicious thing even when served warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
You can store it right in the skillet, at room temperature, covered with foil for next time.
Reheating the cookie
The skillet cookie can be warmed up in the oven in the skillet, uncovered at 250 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
You can also just cut the individual portion out and warm it up on a plate or bowl on high for 30-60 seconds, or until warmed through.
However you warm it back up, just don't forget that scoop of ice cream!
Enjoy.
Yes, you can just cut them in the skillet and serve.
Yes, you can use chocolate chips in place of chunks/pieces.
Yes. By adding an additional egg, the texture will be more cake like. By omitting one egg, the texture will be more like a brownie, or fudge like.
If you made this recipe, leave a rating in the recipe card using the stars (1-5) or leave a comment below!
Toasted Pecan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Equipment
- Cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup pecans halves, raw, unsalted
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, softened at room temp, plus more for greasing pan
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup peanut butter smooth style
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces chips or chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Toast pecans (1 cup) in a single layer on a dry skillet on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes until fragrant. Remove from pan and onto a plate or bowl to set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix softened butter (stick), sugar (½ cup), brown sugar (½ cup), 2 eggs, teaspoon vanilla and peanut butter (½ cup).
- Add the teaspoon baking soda and flour (2 cups) and stir until smooth.
- Add toasted pecans (1 cup) and chocolate pieces (1 cup); reserve some for the top of the cookie if desired.
- Grease skillet with a bit of butter on the bottom.
- Spread the batter into the skillet in an even layer.
- Add any reserved pecan or chocolate chunks over the top of the cookie dough (optional).
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes for an 8 inch pan until edges are brown and crispy.
- Let cool slightly, serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.
Notes
- Pecans should be raw, unsalted, and in halves. You can rough chop them if desired.
- Once pecans are toasted, move them to a plate or bowl so they don't accidentally burn on the pan.
- Don't substitute margarine for butter; soften at room temp.
- If desired, reserve a little of the chocolate pieces and pecans to scatter on top of the cookie dough before baking, so that they pop out and make the cookie more appetizing.
- An oven safe skillet can be used if you don't have a cast iron skillet. Whichever skillet is used, grease it with butter for this recipe.
- Add 3 minutes per inch of skillet diameter less than 8 inches, subtract 3 minutes per inch larger than 8 inches.
- Serving suggestion: warm with a scoop of ice cream.
- Store leftover cookie and reheat directly in the skillet at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes until warm, or reheat in microwave for about 30 seconds on high.
- Cookie can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days, covered.
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