Chocolate Skillet Cookie Recipe

Prepare and preheat

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place a 9- to 10-inch oven-safe cast-iron skillet or heavy ovenproof skillet on a baking sheet. Lightly grease the skillet with a little butter or oil.

Melt butter and combine sugars

In a small saucepan over low heat or in a microwave-safe bowl, melt the unsalted butter until just melted. Stir in the vegetable oil. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the warm butter and stir until sugars are slightly dissolved and mixture is warm (this helps melt and incorporate). Let cool for 2–3 minutes.

Wet ingredients

Whisk the egg and vanilla extract into the slightly cooled butter-sugar mixture until smooth and glossy.

Dry ingredients

In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and fine sea salt until evenly combined.

Make the dough

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold with a spatula until just combined. Fold in 120 g of the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, reserving about 30 g for scattering on top. The dough will be thick and fudgy.

Bake

Press the dough evenly into the prepared skillet, smoothing the top. Scatter the reserved chocolate over the surface. Bake on the center rack for 18–22 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is slightly soft but not raw (a toothpick inserted near the center should come out with moist crumbs). For a gooey center bake closer to 18 minutes; for firmer center go toward 22 minutes.

Finish

Remove the skillet from the oven and let cool on a rack for 8–10 minutes. Sprinkle flaky sea salt over the warm cookie. The cookie will firm up a little as it rests but remain warm and fudgy.

Serve

Spoon slices or wedges from the skillet and top each serving with a generous scoop of tahini ice cream and a few chocolate shavings. Serve immediately.

Warm milk and cream with tahini

In a medium saucepan, combine the whole milk, heavy cream, and tahini. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and just starting to steam (do not boil). Stir in the granulated sugar and corn syrup (or honey) until dissolved.

Temper egg yolks

In a heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Slowly pour about 120 ml of the hot milk-tahini mixture into the yolks in a thin stream while whisking constantly to temper. Then pour the tempered yolks back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture.

Cook custard

Return the saucepan to medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon (about 76–80°C / 170–175°F, or when it reaches nappe consistency). Do not boil.

Cool and flavor

Remove from heat. Stir in the fine sea salt, vanilla extract, and optional lemon juice. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any curdled bits and to ensure smoothness. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight until fully cold.

Churn

Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions until it reaches a soft-serve consistency (usually 20–30 minutes). Transfer to a freezer-safe container, smooth the top, and press a piece of parchment against the surface. Freeze for at least 2 hours to firm.

Optional swirl

If you like pockets of tahini texture, reserve 1–2 tablespoons of tahini before mixing and swirl into the churned ice cream before the final freeze.

When ready to serve, remove the ice cream from the freezer 5–10 minutes to soften slightly. Top skillet cookie portions with a scoop of tahini ice cream, sprinkle extra chocolate shavings, and finish with a light pinch of flaky sea salt.