This soft baked skillet chocolate chip cookie is perfect for those who love warm chocolate chip cookies extra gooey. Egg-free!

When life throws you lemons, you should hide them in the back of the refrigerator and make a soft, ooey, gooey, decadent, chocolate chip skillet cookie instead, because seriously, I don’t know anyone in my circle of life that would choose lemonade over a warm, freshly-baked cookie when they need a little pick-me-up.

Truth.

A white ramekin with a a chocolate chip cookie dessert next to a scoop of ice cream.

I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed with life lately.

Nothing crazy hard or terribly dramatic – just the usual suspects: family/life/work + a sudden and rather unexpected launch into homeschooling three of my kids.

I’ve been getting to the end of each day wondering if I remembered to even breathe. I’m sure you know what I mean.

Despite the craziness of life, we still managed to miraculously find the time (#priorities) to make this dreamy skillet cookie twice last week. I chalk it up to mom-needed-chocolate-stat-to-cope.

Of course, I didn’t hear anyone complaining as we dug in, all of us hovered around with our spoons at the ready and let go of schedules and to-do lists and minor stresses in favor of barely baked cookie dough for a few precious minutes while the kids kept me laughing with their animated stories and impersonations of each other (and me).

A chocolate chip cookie baked in a large skillet.

Egg-free, you can underbake this cookie to your heart’s content.

It’s meant to be melty and glorious.

I love baking it in a cast iron skillet so the edges get just slightly crusty while the middle stays really soft. I don’t use my cast iron skillet every day, but man, I love that sturdy workhorse of a pan (I have this one), and it might sound dramatic, but in my humble opinion, it’s worth keeping one in your cupboards for this cookie alone (although never fear, I’ve given some pan substitution recommendations in the recipe below if you don’t have one).

And now. I’m off to tackle my to-do list (and remind myself how to subtract fractions with uncommon denominators so I can help my 10-year old). If you’re life feels like mine of late, hang in there and eat a skillet cookie in my honor (actually, I’ll eat one with you).

One Year Ago: Healthier Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Oat Snack Bars
Two Years Ago: Whole Wheat Pizza Pull Apart Rolls {With a Simple Step-by-Step Tutorial}
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

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Soft Baked Skillet Cookie {Egg-Free}

4.68 stars (31 ratings)

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces (113 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 8 tablespoons (113 g) salted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • ¾ cup (159 g) light brown sugar
  • cup (71 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ⅔ cup (237 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch (see note)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 to 1 ½ cups (170 to 255 g) semisweet, bittersweet or milk chocolate chips
  • Ice cream for serving

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9- or 10-inch cast iron skillet (see note).
  • In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix about halfway; there should be dry streaks of flour here and there. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly combined (don’t overmix).
  • Spread the batter evenly in the prepared skillet and bake for 15-25 minutes depending on how soft and gooey you want the cookie. Serve warm with ice cream.

Notes

Pan + Pie Plate: I haven’t tried it but if you don’t have a cast iron pan, you could try making this in a well-greased 9.5-inch pie plate (or similar oven-safe pan size, like maybe an 9X9-inch pan).
Cornstarch: isn’t included in the original egg-free cookie dough but it’s used in a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes for tenderness factor and I like it in this skillet cookie. You could leave it out if you are opposed to using it.
Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 364kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 32mg, Sodium: 198mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 27g

Recipe Source: adapted from this egg-free cookie dough