Nothing beats a warm cookie! Some of our other favorites are Monster Cookies, Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Andes Mint Cookies. What are your feelings about Valentine’s Day? I didn’t use to care for it much, but over the past few years it has been growing on me. Especially when it gives me an excuse to make something special like these brown butter chocolate chip skillet cookies for two people that the mister & I like to be sneaky about sometimes and split for a date-night-in after our girls have gone to bed for the night.
What is a skillet cookie (aka a pizookie)?
If you have never had a skillet cookie or heard of a pizookie before, they were created in Chicago by a chain of restaurants called BJ’s, and have been copied by numerous other restaurants ever since. The idea is a gluttonous creation of cookie baked in individually sized pans, reminiscent of deep dish pizza, with a big scoop of ice cream on top. It should be served hot right out of the oven and slightly underbaked so that the center is extra ooey-gooey and the big scoop of ice cream that is mandatory starts melting right into it. Oh heavens, it’s divine. But it’s way too much for one person to tackle alone in my experience. (Not that I couldn’t do it, I just know that I really shouldn’t do it. So we always share.) It’s the perfect dessert for two. Paul got me a set of small 6 1/4″ cast iron skillets at World Market for Christmas and they are so fun for things like individual cobblers and these pizookies. You can even get smaller 3.5″ skillets and do individual pizookies if sharing isn’t your thing. Or just use ramekins if you don’t happen to have mini skillets. We don’t always want to make an entire batch of cookies, so this scaled down recipe is perfect for two people. And even at that it’s a generous dessert!
How to make a Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie for Two
It starts with one of my favorite secret ingredients of all time – browned butter. You brown the butter by melting it over medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring periodically to make sure the butter is cooking evenly. The butter will start to foam, then turn from a pale yellow to a toasty brown with a nutty aroma. Once the butter is browned, you need to let it cool for a bit so it doesn’t cook the egg yolk in the recipe, but you can speed up the process by setting the pan in a bowl of ice water for a minute, being careful not to let any water get into the pan. Then it’s a pretty basic method of creaming sugar, vanilla and an egg yolk into the butter using an electric hand mixer. I’ve tested this recipe with a whole egg and it makes the skillet cookie too cakey for my tastes. A tablespoon of water is a better approach for moisture while keeping the cookie dense and gooey, which is exactly how I like my pizookie. Then you add just ½ cup of flour with a small amount of baking soda and salt before stirring in the milk chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, if you prefer. The baking time is going to depend on the size of your pan, but 17 minutes is just about right for a 6 1/4″cast iron skillet. Ramekins will vary more in thickness and size, but will likely take between 12 to 15 minutes for the pizookies to be done. Or rather, underdone. Because if you overbake the skillet cookies, then it just won’t be as soft, gooey, and wonderful as it should be. You can tell your skillet cookie is done when the edges are puffed and just starting to crisp but the center is still very soft. Pull that baby from the oven and let it sit for just a minute or two so it doesn’t totally scald your tongue while eating it, but be sure to serve it while still piping hot with a big scoop of ice cream right on top. You could go even further with whipped cream, sprinkles, etc. but that’s not my jam. Just a little chocolate syrup and I’m good, personally. If you want to try a different flavor than this brown butter chocolate chip skillet cookie for two, you could make a batch of white chocolate macadmia nut or peanut butter M&M cookie dough and just press enough of it in to fill up the skillet, then refrigerate or freeze the rest to bake into cookies later. But this recipe is perfect when it’s just two of you. For even more cooking inspiration for two, be sure to keep scrolling below the recipe for some inspiration from some of my food blogging friends!
More Valentine’s Day Dessert Ideas
Raspberry Chocolate Tart Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies Raspberry Rose Macarons Fresh Strawberry Pie Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes Authentic French Fruit Tart
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
