Name: Caramel Pear Skillet Cookie
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick, used whole for browning); 3/4 cup light brown sugar (packed); 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg (room temperature); 1 large egg yolk (room temperature); 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled); 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp fine salt; 1/4 tsp cinnamon; 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips; 1 medium ripe but firm pear (peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3/4 cup)); 3 tbsp store-bought caramel sauce (plus more for drizzling at the table); 1 tsp flaky sea salt (for topping, optional)

From the roundup: 24 Easy Fall Desserts Recipes to Bake This Season

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This caramel pear skillet cookie is what I make when someone asks for dessert and I have maybe 35 minutes and zero interest in pulling out a mixer. One bowl, one skillet, and the hardest part is browning the butter without walking away from the stove. The pear was an accident the first time, honestly. I had one sitting on the counter that needed to be used, diced it in, and now I won’t make this without it.

Active time is about 10 minutes. The oven does the rest. You press the dough into a hot cast iron skillet, swirl caramel over the top, and bake it at 375 for somewhere between 18 and 22 minutes. Pull it when the center still looks a little glossy and underdone. The cast iron keeps cooking it on the rack, and if you wait for the middle to look fully set, the edges will be overdone by the time you scoop.

Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream and more caramel on top. It feeds 8 people without anyone feeling shortchanged, which matters when you have a full table.

Why you will love this

One bowl and one skillet, so cleanup takes about two minutes after dinner
Brown butter gives the dough a nutty, toasty flavor that plain melted butter just doesn’t match
The diced pear keeps the center soft and a little gooey even after the cookie cools down
The caramel swirl bakes right into the top so every scoop gets some
Start to finish in 30 minutes, which is faster than most box mixes once you account for preheat time

Tips for success

Use a light-colored saucepan to brown the butter so you can actually see the milk solids turning golden. Dark pans make it easy to burn without noticing.
Let the browned butter cool for 5 full minutes before adding the egg. I’ve rushed this and ended up with scrambled bits in the dough. Not ruined, but not great.
Pull the skillet out when the center still looks underdone and glossy. This is the single most common mistake with cast iron baking. The pan holds heat and keeps cooking for several minutes on the rack.
Grease the hot skillet right before you add the dough. If you grease it cold and then heat it, the coating can smoke or uneven out before the dough ever goes in.

Common questions

Can I use a different pan? A 10-inch oven-safe stainless or ceramic baking dish works, but add 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time since it won’t hold heat the same way cast iron does.
Does the pear make it watery? Not if you use a ripe but firm pear and dice it small. A mushy, overripe pear will release too much juice into the dough.
Can I double it? Not in one skillet. If you want more, bake two separate skillets rather than trying to press a doubled batch into one pan. The center won’t bake through.
What if I don’t have caramel sauce? A drizzle of honey works in a pinch, or just skip it. The brown butter dough is good enough on its own.

Substitutions

The pear can be swapped for a firm apple, Honeycrisp or Braeburn both hold up well, if pears aren’t in season or you just don’t have one. Dark chocolate chips work in place of semi-sweet if that’s what’s in your pantry. Coconut sugar can replace the brown sugar and adds a slightly deeper caramel note, though the texture will be a touch denser.

If someone in your house has a dairy allergy, a good vegan butter like Miyoko’s browns reasonably well and the rest of the recipe works as written. For a gluten-free version, a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend subs in without changing anything else, though the edges may spread a bit more than usual.

Make-ahead and storage

You can brown the butter and mix the dry ingredients up to 24 hours ahead and store them separately at room temperature. Dice the pear right before baking so it doesn’t sit and release juice into the dough. The assembled dough can also be pressed into the greased skillet, covered, and held in the fridge for a few hours before baking if you want to get ahead of a dinner party.

Leftovers keep at room temperature covered with foil for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat individual scoops in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. I don’t recommend freezing this one after it’s baked. The pear releases moisture as it thaws and the texture turns soft in a way that’s not great.

Brittany Stage