Brown Butter Toffee Skillet Cookie
A giant chewy, gooey cookie with toasty brown butter, homemade sticky toffee, and two types of chocolate made in a cast iron skillet. Serve this Brown Butter Toffee Skillet Cookie warm and top with vanilla ice cream for a family-style treat!
This Brown Butter Toffee Skillet Cookie has it all. A chewy exterior with a gooey center that is loaded up with semi-sweet and milk chocolate plus homemade toffee pieces. Once you make your own toffee bits at home and realize how easy and delicious they are – you won’t want to buy another bag again. It’s all baked in a cast iron skillet for a treat the whole family can dig into.
This cast iron skillet cookie is very similar to the well-known “pizookie” recipe from BJ’s Restaurant. They are served warm, right in the pan they’re baked in, with a scoop of ice cream on top. It’s basically a dessert pizza, which is where the name comes from (pizza + cookie). So this cookie skillet version must be a skookie then? I think we need to make this a new thing!
Ingredients
- Butter. Butter is an important part of most any cookie and this cookie gets another boost of flavor by browning the butter. Brown butter has a deeper flavor that adds a slight toasty nuttiness. It’s an easy way to add a little something extra to many recipes. You can see more detailed steps on how to brown the butter on my Brown Butter Blondie Bars post.
- Chocolate. I like to use 2 different kinds of chocolate here. I go for a bar of semi-sweet chocolate like this one (chopped up), plus milk chocolate chips. I love the different flavors, textures, and sweetness each of these adds to the cookie, along with the sticky toffee. You can use whatever combo is your favorite!
- Toffee. Nothing beats homemade toffee. This extra step makes the recipe extra special. Anyone would be impressed to hear that you made the toffee in this skillet cookie yourself, completely from scratch. You can also get larger and more varying sizes by making the toffee, which adds more texture and big gooey pockets in the cookie.
How to Make a Cookie Skillet
- Make the Toffee. These homemade toffee bits are easy and definitely worth the extra step. It’s only 3 ingredients – butter, sugar, and salt. Combine these on the stove and bring the mixture to a boil. You’ll want to use a candy thermometer for this part. Remove from the heat once the temperature reaches 300°F then pour it onto a sheet pan to cool. Break it into bite-size pieces for the cookie skillet, using either a meat mallet or heavy object or even by dropping the sheet of toffee onto the counter.
- Brown the Butter. I like to brown the butter in the same cast iron skillet that I bake the cookie in. Saves a dish and also greases the pan for the cookie. Brown butter can go from brown to burned quickly so make sure to continually stir and don’t walk away from it! The butter should be a deep golden brown with brown specks that sink to the bottom. Remove the pan from the heat and pour it into your mixing bowl as soon as it’s done, to prevent it from browning any further.
- Make the cookie dough. The cookie dough comes together quickly by mixing the sugars into the browned butter. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla then stir in the dry ingredients. Finally, you’ll fold in the chopped chocolate bar, chocolate chips, and toffee bits – just be sure to reserve some for the top. Press the dough evenly into the skillet you used to brown the butter in then add the reserved chocolate and toffee pieces on top.
- Bake the cookie skillet. About 20 minutes in the oven is all this skillet cookie needs. The cookie should puff up and turn golden brown around the edges. The toffee should also be completely melted. Be sure not to overbake it, even if the center isn’t quite set. Cast iron skillets retain their heat so the cookie will continue to cook even after you pull it from the oven. It should be a tad underdone in the middle for the perfect gooey bite.
- Top with ice cream and dig in. This cookie skillet is pretty rich so it needs a few heaping scoops of vanilla ice cream to cut right through it. Totally optional but trust me on this one, you’ll be glad you did it. Serve warm from the oven and give everyone a spoon to dig in!
Tips for the Best Homemade Toffee Bits
- Use a candy thermometer. Make sure your candy thermometer is working and accurate so your toffee doesn’t burn. Once the temperature starts getting close to 300°F watch it very closely. If it gets too hot and dark it will be bitter tasting and no one wants that.
- Just keep stirring. It will take about 10 minutes on the stove for the toffee to reach the correct color and temperature but don’t walk away from it while you’re waiting. The mixture needs to be stirred constantly to prevent it from burning.
- Remove from heat immediately. Take the pan off the heat as soon as the toffee reaches 300°F on a candy thermometer. The mixture will continue to cook and get darker so you want to have your sheet pan ready with parchment or a silicone mat to pour the toffee on and stop the cooking process.
Skillet Cookie FAQs
Can I Buy Toffee Bits?
If you must (only kidding, kind of). There is nothing quite like making your own toffee bits but the store-bought ones work too if you’re in a rush. Make sure to get this kind (not coated in chocolate) since you’re already adding chocolate to the cookie dough.
Do I Need To Brown The Butter?
Browning the butter isn’t absolutely necessary but it does add more flavor to the cookie. If you haven’t tried browning butter before, I highly encourage you to try it. If you’d rather not though, you can just melt the butter and proceed with the rest of the recipe the way it is.
Can I Make This Without A Cast Iron Skillet?
Yes! You don’t need a cast iron skillet to make this. A baking dish or even a cake pan would work well too. Just brown your butter in a saucepan instead and make sure to lightly grease your baking dish or pan with a little cooking spray to keep the cookie from sticking.
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
If you’re looking for another easy cast iron skillet recipe, check out my Blueberry Almond Skillet Crisp too. Lastly, if you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below and tag @sweetkitchencravings on Instagram or TikTok. You can also save my recipes on Pinterest if that’s your thing. Happy skillet cookie-making!
Brown Butter Toffee Skillet Cookie
Ingredients
For the Toffee
- ½ cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- ½ cup (108g) granulated sugar
- Pinch (about ⅛) teaspoon of salt
For the Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup (164g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (152g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (108g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup (230g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon (10g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 oz (113g) bar semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- ¼ cup (55g) milk chocolate chips
- ½ cup toffee bits, recipe below
Instructions
- Toffee: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Add the butter, sugar, and salt to a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Using a high-heat spatula or whisk, stir the mixture well to fully combine.
- Continue to cook the mixture, frequently stirring until it reaches 300°F on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. The mixture should look like the color of peanut butter. Immediately remove the toffee from the heat once it hits 300°F so it doesn’t continue to cook.
- Pour the toffee onto the prepared baking pan. Allow to harden and cool for about 20 minutes.
- Once the toffee is cool, break it into pieces with a meat mallet or heavy object.
- Cookie Dough: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a 9”-10” cast iron skillet, melt the butter on the stove over medium-low heat.
- Stirring constantly, brown the butter until it becomes foamy and a deep golden brown color. You’ll know it’s done when you see darker brown bits on the bottom and it has a nutty aroma. Remove from heat.
- Pour the brown butter into a large mixing bowl to cool slightly. Set aside the cast iron skillet as-is, which will be used to bake the cookie.
- To the mixing bowl with brown butter, add the brown sugar and sugar and whisk together until smooth and fully combined and smooth. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until the ingredients are just combined. Add the two types of chocolate and about ½ cup of the broken toffee pieces, reserving some of each for the top. Mix just until the chocolate and toffee are incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to the skillet that you browned the butter in. Press the dough into a flat even layer. Sprinkle the reserved chocolate and toffee pieces on top.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until the cookie has puffed up and is golden brown around the edges but is still gooey in the center.
- Serve right away, topped with ice cream, and dig in!
Notes
- Storing: If you don’t add ice cream on top, this skillet cookie will keep up to 5 days at room temperature. Make sure to cover tightly with plastic wrap or remove from the pan and store in an airtight container.
- Toffee Bits: You can use store-bought toffee bits instead of making your own. Make sure to get the ones that are not coated in chocolate. See tips for the best homemade toffee in the post above.
