This warm, gooey chocolate chip pizookie took so many trials to get just right, but the final result was sooo worth it! It has crisp, golden edges and a soft, buttery center loaded with big pools of melted chocolate. It’s so easy to make, and served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top — YUMMM!
What Is a Pizookie?
If you’ve never had a pizookie before, it’s essentially a giant, warm chocolate chip cookie baked in a skillet! The name is a combination of “pizza” and “cookie,” and while it looks a little like a pizza when baked in a skillet, it tastes just like a deliciously gooey chocolate chip cookie.
The term “Pizookie” was coined by BJ’s Restaurant, which introduced its signature Pizookie® dessert in 1992 (the year I was born!). Their original concept was a deep-dish pan filled with cookie dough, baked until warm and gooey, and topped with ice cream.
The best part about a pizookie? It’s served warm straight from the skillet with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. As the ice cream melts over the warm, gooey cookie and the melted chocolate, you get the most incredible combination of flavors and textures.
Developing This Recipe
This recipe drove me a little crazy! I had trialed it a few times, finally came up with a version that both my taste testers and I loved, and then filmed it. But after filming, I just wasn’t happy with it anymore. I’m not even sure what it was or what happened, but it felt like it just wasn’t as flavorful or as wow as when I first made it.
Did I accidentally write something down wrong in my final recipe? Was it because I had just developed a crazy delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe (coming out later this year!), so suddenly this one didn’t seem as impressive? I honestly don’t know! 😂
But I wasn’t going to settle for a recipe I wasn’t completely happy with, so I trialed it again probably six more times. Eventually, I made a few bigger changes: I added more brown sugar, swapped the chocolate chips for roughly chopped chocolate chunks, adjusted the baking temperature, and finally… we had a winner!!
Did that mean we had to film everything all over again? Yes! 😭 But honestly, it was so, so worth it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
So easy to make: This recipe comes together in one bowl with no mixer needed, so it’s incredibly simple to make.
Crisp, golden edges: The edges bake up beautifully golden with a slightly crisp texture, while the center stays soft and gooey.
Big pools of chocolate: Using roughly chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips gives you big pockets of melted chocolate throughout the pizookie.
Perfect with ice cream: There’s nothing better than serving a warm pizookie straight from the skillet with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! You could even drizzle some hot fudge sauce or caramel sauce on top!
No chilling required: You can mix, bake, and have a warm, gooey dessert ready to enjoy in no time.
How to Make a Pizookie
You can find the full list of ingredients for this pizookie recipe in the recipe card at the end of the blog post. For easy navigation, just hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page. Here’s a quick visual breakdown of how to make it, and you’ll also find the recipe video in the recipe card below.
Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃) conventional. Lightly grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet and set aside.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, white granulated sugar, and soft light brown sugar. Using a whisk, mix until smooth and glossy.
Add the egg and vanilla and whisk until well combined and the mixture looks slightly thickened and cohesive.
Add the pre-sifted dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and, using a spatula, gently fold until a soft cookie dough forms. Be careful not to overmix and only mix until the flour is just incorporated.
Add the roughly chopped semi-sweet chocolate, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the larger chocolate chunks for the top. Gently fold the chocolate into the dough until just combined.
Transfer the cookie dough into the prepared skillet and press it into an even layer, smoothing out the top. Scatter the reserved chocolate chunks evenly over the surface.
Bake for 12–13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and set, while the top is slightly puffed and soft to the touch but set enough that no raw batter sticks to your finger. Be careful not to overbake. The center should still look soft and gooey, with a slight shine on the surface, but it should not look wet or raw.
Allow the pizookie to rest in the skillet for about 10 minutes. This allows it to finish setting while maintaining a gooey center. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve warm. Enjoy!
How to Store a Pizookie
Pizookies are best enjoyed warm and fresh, but if you have leftovers, allow the pizookie to cool completely before covering the skillet tightly with plastic wrap or transferring it to an airtight container. Store at room temperature for a few days, or if there is melted ice cream on top, store in the fridge for a few days. To serve, simply warm individual portions in the microwave until soft and gooey again.
I’ve also successfully frozen this pizookie recipe too! Just pack portions into freezer safe bags or airtight containers and then reheat when ready to serve.
Gooey Pizookie Recipe (So Easy!)
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- 6½ tbsps (91 g) unsalted butter - melted and slightly cooled
- 3 tbsps (38 g) white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) soft light brown sugar
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
- ½ cup (85 g) roughly chopped semi-sweet chocolate - Set aside about 2 tbsps of chunks to put on top before baking. I use 50% dark chocolate (see note 1).
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven). Lightly grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet and set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, white granulated sugar, and soft light brown sugar. Using a whisk, mix until smooth and glossy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and whisk until well combined and the mixture looks slightly thickened and cohesive.
- Add the pre-sifted dry ingredients into the wet mixture and using a spatula, gently fold until a soft cookie dough forms. Be careful not to overmix and only mix until the flour is just incorporated.
- Add the roughly chopped semi-sweet chocolate, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the larger chocolate chunks for the top. Gently fold the chocolate into the dough until just combined.
- Transfer the cookie dough into the prepared skillet and press it into an even layer, smoothing out the top. Scatter the reserved chocolate chunks evenly over the surface.
- Bake for 12–13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and set, while the top is slightly puffed and soft to the touch but set enough that no raw batter sticks to your finger. Be careful not to overbake. The centre should still look soft and gooey, with a slight shine on the surface, but it should not look wet or raw.
- Allow the pizookie to rest in the skillet for about 10 minutes. This allows it to finish setting while keeping the centre soft and gooey. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve warm. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
