Nadiya’s Stovetop Skillet Cookie
Hello hello, how’s your quarantine?? Hopefully someone is reading this in the future past 2020 and is thinking “what quarantine?” In which case, CONGRATULATIONS, you’re not confined to your house for months on end eating skillet cookie after skillet cookie!
For those of us suffering through the hellride that is the Year of Our Lord 2020, we’ve all been looking for something – ANYTHING – to distract us from the fact that the world outside is falling apart. For me, one of the bright spots has been discovering Time To Eat on Netflix, a cooking show from The Great British Bake-Off’s Nadiya Hussain. If you’re a fan of GBBO, you know that Nadiya is the SWEETEST soul, and she deserves all of the nice things in the world. Including her own cooking show, where she shows you time-saving hacks to make delicious food with none of the stress.
Now, one of my favorite recipes of hers didn’t necessarily take less time, but freed up more space. I’m talking about, of course, her Stovetop Skillet Cookie. The cookie batter comes together in the pan, and “bakes” in it as well, so there’s less mess to clean up! This already is a godsend, but the fact that it’s cooked on the stovetop means I can save the oven for dinner. Weeknight Taco Ring, anyone? Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken, maybe? Dinner in the oven, dessert on the stove top, ready in the same amount of time. Are you amazed yet?? I was.
I did this in my brand new cast iron skillet because I was SO excited to find one for a good price and I just needed to use it. However, this should work with any type of pan – just remember the bottom is more likely to burn in a hotter cast iron or stainless steel, so you’ve got to take it low and slow. With a nonstick, you may be able to ramp up the heat a bit and save some time – but keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
All the credit for this skillet cookie recipe goes to Nadiya – all I did was change the measurements to Freedom Units (gag), omit the almond extract (husband’s allergic), and add more chocolate (because EVERYTHING could use more chocolate, especially during lockdown). You’ll find the link to her original recipe in the notes.
I hope you enjoy this super-easy recipe for a stovetop dessert that won’t disappoint! Until next time, here’s to good drinking, great eating, and even better living.
For another recipe inspired by Nadiya, see my Pumpkin Spice Truffles.
Nadiya’s Stovetop Skillet Cookie
Ingredients
- 11 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 bag (12 oz) mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. When it's fully melted, stir in the brown sugar until dissolved and incorporated. Take it off the heat and let it cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg with the vanilla extract. In another bowl, whisk together the flower, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the skillet and stir in the egg mixture until a dough begins to form. Stir in half the bag of mini chocolate chips.
- Flatten the dough with the back of a spoon until it reaches the edges of the pan all around. Top with the remaining mini chocolate chips, if desired (and trust me, I desired). Move the skillet back onto the heat and lower the temperature to medium-low. Allow to cook in the skillet for 40-50 minutes, checking periodically to make sure the bottom isn't burning. The finished cookie should be set on the sides and bottom, but slightly gooey in the center.
- Cut into wedges and serve. Enjoy!
I’m in the trial and error part of this recipe 😁 (leaning more on the “error” side right now.) In the first step you recommend a 9” skillet, yet in an answer in the comment section you recommend a 12” skillet.
Thank you for catching that! After experimenting more, I do recommend the larger skillet, and I will go amend that in the recipe now. I appreciate your tenacity with the recipe! Skillet cookies can be a lot of trial and error in my experience.
Quick question – can I use a 10inch cast iron skillet without disastrous consequences? looking to try this for the holidays.
It should work with a 12-inch, even. As originally written, 9 inches is a bit too small and so I am amending the recipe based on some other comments!
Perfect recipe! Everything went to plan and even ‘the in-laws’ gobbled it up 🙂
Thanks so much Susan!
I just bought her book after watching her Netflix show. I tried this too and mine burnt on the bottom on low gas heat but I used cast iron and not a non stick skillet. Next time I’m using the oven as the center wouldn’t cook. I don’t mind gooey but hate the taste of raw flour and raw egg isn’t the best thing to consume.
I usually cover my pan when making a stovetop dessert, do you need to do the same here?
I’ve made this twice, and the bottom has burnt while the top is still raw both times. The first time I cooked medium low, this time I had the burger as low as it would go. What else can I try?
Hi Kyndra, I’m sorry the recipe is causing some problems! My first instinct would be to make a thinner cookie, by either using less dough or a bigger pan so it spreads wider and thinner. This will help it cook faster and hopefully more evenly. Of course, if you live somewhere where it’s getting chilly like I do, it’s never a bad idea to pop it in the oven instead! A skillet cookie like this should take around 15-20 minutes at 350F, depending on your oven.
I managed to save the second one in the oven, but it was very thick. What pan size do you recommend?
12 inches should be a good size to allow you to spread it out and get a thinner cookie that hopefully cooks more evenly.
How would I know if the bottom is getting burnt?
With skillet cookies, it’s quite difficult to tell without tearing it up, which is why I like to cook it low and slow to avoid as much chance of burning as possible! The best way to tell is by smell, and if you aren’t planning on serving it up to guests and making it look pretty, you can cut a sliver out and check the bottom if you’re worried about it.
Other recipes for the same dessert call for 15-20 minutes of cooking after all of the ingredients are combined. Do you think 40-50 minutes is better?
I do prefer to take things lower and slower, and wanted my cookie to be absolutely cooked through with no mushy or fudgy spots. If cooking on medium or medium-low as I suggest, I think you should start checking it at 30 mins and check every 5 minutes depending on how well done you like your cookies. You could always turn up the heat and shorten the time, but I worry about a burnt bottom with a raw middle so I play it safe.