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Skillet Brownie Cookie

By Afton Cyrus

Published on January 4, 2023

Time

45 minutes, plus cooling time

Yield

Serves 12

What Kids Are Saying

"I made these for my family, and my cousins went back for seconds and thirds." —Lilian, recipe tester, age 17

Skillet Brownie Cookie

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon table salt ¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces/149 grams) light brown sugar 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup (3 ounces/85 grams) chocolate chips

Before You Begin

If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you can use a 9-inch cake pan or springform pan—melt the butter before starting the recipe. We highly recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe. If you use natural cocoa powder, the cookie will be lighter in color and drier in texture. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. In 10-inch cast-iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Turn off heat. Ask an adult to use rubber spatula to scrape butter into large heatproof bowl. Set skillet aside on cool burner (don’t wipe it out or wash it).
  2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
  3. Add brown sugar and oil to bowl with butter and whisk until well combined. Add egg and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
  4. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and use rubber spatula to stir until just combined and no dry flour is visible. Add chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
  5. Scrape cookie dough into now-empty ­skillet. Spread and push dough into even layer covering bottom of skillet.
  6. Place skillet in oven (ask an adult for help). Bake until edges of cookie are set and top looks dry and shiny, 16 to 18 minutes.
  7. Ask an adult to use oven mitts to remove skillet from oven and place on cooling rack. Place oven mitt on skillet handle as a reminder that handle is HOT. Let cookie cool in skillet for 30 minutes.
  8. Use butter knife to cut cookie into wedges, being careful not to scratch surface of ­skillet. Serve.

Skillet Brownie Cookie

Save

Time

45 minutes, plus cooling time

Yield

Serves 12

What Kids Are Saying

"I made these for my family, and my cousins went back for seconds and thirds." —Lilian, recipe tester, age 17

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces/149 grams) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (3 ounces/85 grams) chocolate chips

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces/149 grams) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (3 ounces/85 grams) chocolate chips

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup packed (5¼ ounces/149 grams) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (3 ounces/85 grams) chocolate chips

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

What could be better than a dessert that combines the best parts of a brownie, a cookie, and a cake? This giant cookie-cake has chewy edges, a soft interior, and loads of chocolate flavor thanks to both cocoa powder and chocolate chips. When it’s time to cut the cookie for serving, use it as a real-life opportunity for kids to practice fractions. Challenge them to cut the cookie in half (two equal parts), then into quarters (four equal parts). To make 12 equal wedges, they’ll need to cut each quarter into three equal pieces. One tip: Use the knife to score the surface before cutting, in case kids need more than one try.

Want more? Read the whole story

Before You Begin

If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you can use a 9-inch cake pan or springform pan—melt the butter before starting the recipe. We highly recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe. If you use natural cocoa powder, the cookie will be lighter in color and drier in texture. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. In 10-inch cast-iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Turn off heat. Ask an adult to use rubber spatula to scrape butter into large heatproof bowl. Set skillet aside on cool burner (don’t wipe it out or wash it).
  2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
  3. Add brown sugar and oil to bowl with butter and whisk until well combined. Add egg and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
  4. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and use rubber spatula to stir until just combined and no dry flour is visible. Add chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
  5. Scrape cookie dough into now-empty ­skillet. Spread and push dough into even layer covering bottom of skillet.
  6. Place skillet in oven (ask an adult for help). Bake until edges of cookie are set and top looks dry and shiny, 16 to 18 minutes.
  7. Ask an adult to use oven mitts to remove skillet from oven and place on cooling rack. Place oven mitt on skillet handle as a reminder that handle is HOT. Let cookie cool in skillet for 30 minutes.
  8. Use butter knife to cut cookie into wedges, being careful not to scratch surface of ­skillet. Serve.

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