Deep Dish German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie

Its here.  I wasn’t planning on sharing this Deep Dish German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie so soon but I just couldn’t do that to you.  And its the weekend.  And the weekend means its time for chocolate.  Lots of chocolate.  German chocolate.  And roasted pecans and coconut in a rich caramel topping all drizzled with more German chocolate.

German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie with vanilla ice cream.


 

Gimme.

Please.

Side view of German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie with vanilla ice cream.

Ever since I shared my German Chocolate Cake Cupcakes (a must!), I have been pacing myself to share another German Chocolate dessert.  This German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie is so worth the wait.

I got the idea for this skillet cookie from one of my favorite restaurants – BJs – which is less than 5 minutes away from my house and Legoland (so if you are ever going to Legoland come say hi!).  But long before this new BJs was around, I would frequent BJs in La Jolla every time we went to the LDS temple nearby and every time we would order skillet cookies or as BJ’s calls them  – Pizzookies (AKA pizza cookie).  By baking cookies in a skillet, you can underbake them slightly (how I like them, but bake them how you like), so they are extra soft, warm and melt in your mouth  –  that’s even before you add ice cream.

The then owner of BJs (he has since sold the chain) has a daughter with the chronic disease cystic fibrosis, (which two of my brothers and I have – I’ve written about our journey HERE), and would donate $1 to cystic fibrosis research for every pizzookie ordered.  Yet another reason we fell in love with the now famous skillet cookie.

My German Chocolate Cake version is made with real melted German chocolate, cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips all in the easy batter which you spread in your skillet and bake for about 35 minutes.

Showing how to make German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie by adding cookie dough to a skillet.

While your cookie is baking, you prepare your caramel, coconut, pecan frosting by simmering all the ingredients together in a saucepan, stirring your roasted pecans and roasted coconut (because roasted is so much better!) at the end.  Does a more delicious frosting exist in this world?  Try not to make this frosting too ahead of time or it might prematurely end up in your stomach instead of smothering your gorgeous rich chocolate cookie.

After smothering, just because you can, drizzle your deep dish of decadence with more German Chocolate.

Showing how to make German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie baking cookie dough in a skillet and adding caramel.

Insanely delicious as is…

Showing how to make German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie after taken out of oven.

Even better piled with ice cream.

German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate drizzle.

Even better when you eat the soft, rich, decadent Deep Dish German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie immediately right out of the skillet – the deep skillet.  The deeply delicious skillet.

Close up of German Chocolate Cake Skillet Cookie and a spoonful of cookie.

Gimme.

Deep Dish German Chocolate Cake Cookie Skillet

Servings: 8 -12
Total Time: 50 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

Cookie Dough

  • 4 oz. Baker’s Sweet German Chocolate, chopped*
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs at room temperature
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cups coarsely chopped pecans
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Drizzle (optional)

  • 4 oz. Baker’s Sweet German Chocolate, chopped*

Instructions

  • Cookie: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Lightly butter a 12-inch cast iron skillet.** Set aside.
  • Melt 4 oz. chopped German chocolate in the microwave at medium heat, stirring every 30 seconds until melted (about 1 ½ minutes). Set aside to cool.
  • Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
  • In a stand or hand mixer, beat butter, sugars and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in melted chocolate. Gradually beat in flour mixture just until flour disappears. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.
  • Spread the dough into a 12-inch skillet and bake for 20 minutes then cover with foil and continue to bake 10-20 more minutes (total of 30-40 minutes) or until center is almost done.*** Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
  • Frosting: While cookie is baking, prepare frosting by whisking the egg yolks, evaporated milk and brown sugar together in a large saucepan. Add butter and cook over medium heat, continuing to stir until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, approximately 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.
  • When oven is free and cookie is cooling, spread coconut and pecans evenly out on a large baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 7-12 minutes, stirring a couple times in between baking until coconut is golden, watching closely towards the end of cooking time so they don’t burn. Stir pecans and coconut into frosting and spread frosting evenly over cookie.
  • Melt 4 oz. German chocolate in the microwave at medium heat, stirring at 30 second intervals until melted. Add to a plastic bag, cut the corner and drizzle over cake.
  • Slice individual servings or dig directly into skillet. Best served warm with ice cream.

Notes

*May substitute with baking semi-sweet chocolate if German chocolate is not available.
**If you only have a 9″ skillet then half the recipe and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes.
***If you aren’t sure how long to bake your cookie, its better to underbake than overbake so the center is still soft – because no one likes a tough cookie!

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10 Comments

  1. Savita @ ChefDeHome says

    I’m obsessed with german chocolate and this deep-dish cake looks simply divine! can grab a big slice right now! major *drool*

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Savita! If you like German chocolate, I think you will love this!

    • Jen says

      Thanks Lynn! This is definitely a delicious reason to wipe your skillet out! Enjoy!!

  2. Sandra McCollum says

    Oh WOW! This looks amazing, something I would devour in less than 10 minutes. Shared! I love this girl.

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Sandra and thank you for sharing! That means a lot especially coming from you who is one of my dessert idols!

  3. Ari Gil says

    If I don’t have a skillet, is there some other way i can bake this? Thanks

    • Jen says

      Hi Ari! I would try it in a 9×13 pan. I haven’t tried this myself so I am not sure about the baking time, but it should be pretty similar, you will just have to check it for doneness. Good luck!

  4. Mercedes says

    I know coconut is a huge part of the frosting, but, because I’m not a fan, if I were to omit the coconut, would I need to alter the ingredients in another way to get the yummy texture?

    • Jen says

      Hi Mercedes, you can’t get the same exact texture without coconut but you could increase the nuts to help compensate – that should work just fine. Enjoy!