Skillet Chocolate Monster Cookie

Remember Monster Cookies? They were all the rage once upon a time. I hadn't made them in years! Then, just over a year ago, I saw Grant Melton make a Monster Skillet Cookie on the Rachael Ray Show.

It looked SO GOOD! I knew I needed to try it! Thankfully I had purchased an oven proof skillet a few months earlier so I just needed to get the ingredients together. Of course I made a couple of small changes to his original recipe like using crunchy peanut butter rather than smooth and peanuts instead of pecans. It was DELISH!

Well, actually, I did have one problem. I didn't want to serve it in my Paderno non-stick pan. I wanted to serve it on a large plate. That meant a double invert to get it out of the pan and onto a plate. I did let it cool for awhile in the skillet before trying to turn it out but I didn't wait long enough! When I did the initial turn, the cookie fell apart! Luckily, I had put a piece of parchment paper over the cookie first so none of the broken pieces and crumbs were lost! It was a very tasty mess!

 A few weeks later, I tried it again and waited till the cookie was completely cooled before doing the invert and that time it worked perfectly!

Then I had this crazy idea to make it even more delish. Why not make it into a Skillet Chocolate Monster Cookie? If I adjusted the basic ingredients a bit and added some cocoa powder AND NUTELLA ,,, the cookie could be downright amazing!

It was time to experiment! I adjusted the amount of Peanut Butter down a bit and added Nutella. That combined amount was a little more than the original Peanut Butter amount so I felt safe adding a few Tablespoons of cocoa powder to up the chocolate flavour even more! I used peanuts rather than pecans as I almost never have pecans in my pantry. I also swapped out the raisins in the original recipe for dried cherries as cherries go really well with peanut butter and chocolate.

The result was beyond my expectations! The PB and Nutella made it moist. The oats made it a bit chewy. The combination of all the add-ins was just right. It was loaded with scrumptious flavour and cookie goodness! I had hit the cookie trifecta!

As always, I took samples to several friends to get their opinions. Let's just say the oohs, awes and mmm's I heard were music to my ears! They LOVED it!

This tasty treat is great for any occasion and can also be frozen if removed from skillet and wrapped in plastic wrap then stored in a zipped freezer bag.

By the way, February 5 is World Nutella Day, so if you are looking for a sweet treat to wow your co-workers, friends and family you can't go wrong with this recipe!

Skillet Chocolate Monster Cookie

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup butter or block margarine

2/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup Nutella

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 cups quick rolled oats

1 cup all purpose flour

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup candy coated chocolate candy (M&M’s)

1/2 cup dark or bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup blanched, salted peanuts, chopped

Soak the dried cherries in hot (not boiling) water for 15-20 minutes to partially rehydrate. Drain, rinse and chop. Place the cherries in a single layer on a paper towel to drain a bit more while preparing the rest of the recipe. You could also use fresh cherries that have been pitted and chopped into small pieces. If you prefer your dried cherries to be really chewy (like shoe leather for the really dry ones!), you could skip the partial rehydration but I am partial to a softer cherry.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In an 11 or 12-inch oven proof skillet, melt the butter/margarine. Once melted, turn off the heat and add in the peanut butter, Nutella and both sugars. With a heat proof spatula or whisk, mix until smooth. Remove the skillet from the heat to a cooling rack and let cool for a few minutes.

 While the sugar mixture is cooling, combine the oats, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

Once the sugar mixture is cool to the touch, use your spatula or whisk to mix in the eggs.

Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the oat mixture. Once the dough has formed, add in the candy coated chocolates, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, peanuts and dried cherries. Mix just to combine all the add-ins. Spread the batter evenly in the skillet.

 Place the skillet into the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly puffy on top and starting to pull away from the edges.

Remove skillet from oven and place on wire rack to cool before serving.

 Now, depending on what type of skillet you used the serving/presentation may have to vary a bit.

If you used a cast iron pan, you can serve it warm out of the pan.

However, if you use a non-stick pan such as my Paderno, then you will have to use a non stick utensil to slice it in the pan OR preferably take a few extra steps to remove it from the pan to a serving plate when cooled so that you don't inadvertently scratch or otherwise damage the non-stick coating on your pan.

Before you attempt to transfer the cookie to a serving plate, allow it to cool in the skillet for at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours before attempting to remove from pan. This allows the "cookie" to firm up. Attempting to invert it out of the pan before completely cool will result in it falling apart! Trust me - that is what happened the first time I tried making a skillet monster cookie! It was still delish - just didn't have a great look for presentation!

To remove from a non-stick pan:

Once the cookie is completely cooled, place a piece of parchment or wax paper over the top of the cookie in the skillet then place a cooling rack upside down on top of the parchment paper. Align it so that the rack and the paper completely cover the top of the skillet and the cookie inside. While holding onto both the skillet and the paper on the rack, CAREFULLY, turn it over so the rack with the paper is on the bottom and the pan is upside down on top. If the cookie does not slide out within a few seconds, gently tap the bottom of the pan to loosen it. At that point it should separate from the skillet onto the parchment and rack. If the cookie still feels a bit warm on the underside leave it for a few minutes before the final invert. Once the bottom also feels cool to the touch, place a serving plate upside down on top of the cookie. Now, CAREFULLY turn the whole thing over so the plate is on the bottom with the cooling rack on top. Remove the top rack and paper.

Cut into wedges and serve! This will easily make 12-14 servings.

This can also be frozen whole or in pieces - just wrap whole or each section in plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag. Store in freezer for up to 2 months.

Enjoy!

dn