Gooey Caramel Vegan Cookie Skillet (Gluten Free)
The ultimate indulgent gooey caramel cast iron skillet made entirely and secretly vegan and dairy free. This vegan cookie skillet is easy to make and even easier to eat for the perfect dessert that all eaters will love, vegan or not!
Why you need to try this vegan cookie skillet, whether or not you’re vegan:
If you’ve ever had or heard of a “pizookie,” then you’re going to love this easy vegan skillet cookie stuffed to the brim with caramel sauce.
This cookie skillet is perfectly gooey, soft, decadent, indulgent, and sweet with being undetectably dairy free, vegan, gluten free, and easily refined sugar free. I’m not exaggerating when I say that you won’t be able to tell that this cast iron cookie skillet is eggless and dairy free. You won’t even miss those ingredients!
It honestly makes this caramel cookie skillet even easier than the traditional. Minimal ingredients, and just a phenomenal taste. Let’s get started!
Ingredients:
- Flour: You can use regular flour or gluten free.
- Sugar: I like to make my cookie skillets like the classic, and use vegan granulated sugar and brown sugar. However, you can also make this refined sugar free with coconut sugar all together.
- Vegan butter: My favorite is Miyoko’s vegan butter.
- Chocolate Chips: I use Pascha Chocolate Chips for the best vegan chocolate chip!
- Applesauce: This replaces eggs found in a traditional cast iron cookie skillet recipe.
- Caramel sauce: Adding a caramel sauce in between the layers of this gooey and rich vegan cookie skillet takes this indulgent treat to a whole new level.
How to make a vegan cast iron cookie skillet (overview)
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
Making a vegan version of a cast iron cookie skillet is actually quite easy. We’re essentially making cookies but in skillet form.
This recipe in particular is designed for a large cast iron skillet. If you have a small cast iron skillet (8″ or smaller), you’ll need to adjust the recipe by half.
To make a vegan caramel cookie skillet recipe:
- Prepare the caramel sauce first.
We have two options: either the traditional vegan caramel sauce or a cashew caramel sauce, that’s so incredibly easy to make. The latter can be made in 5 minutes before making the cast iron cookie skillet. So if you’re short on time, go with that option!
- Make the cookie dough.
We’re using a double batch of my vegan chocolate chip cookies. Once you have the cookie dough made (which takes all of 10 minutes!), then we can start to assemble our cookie skillet!
- Assemble the caramel cookie skillet.
Layer about half of the dough onto the bottom of your greased cast iron skillet. Then pour the caramel on top, and spoon the remaining dough. I used a rubber spatula to spread the dough on top, and it does get quite sticky if your dough is warm (a side note: you don’t need to chill the dough!).
- Bake your caramel cookie skillet!
Because we’re using so much cookie, this cookie skillet takes quite a long time to bake: about 35-40 minutes. Check your oven periodically using your oven light, and use the toothpick test to ensure that the cookie skillet is done.
Top with vegan ice cream and enjoy!
Cast iron cookie skillet FAQs and Tips
Absolutely! To make this caramel cookie skillet gluten-free as well as vegan, simply swap in gluten free 1:1 baking flour. I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1:1 baking flour in the blue bag.
This vegan cookie skillet recipe is easily made nut-free by using all nut-free dairy free ingredients. I recommend Flora Plant Butter for a nut-free vegan butter. And for the cashew caramel sauce, you can use sunflower seed butter.
Though this is technically a cast iron cookie skillet recipe, you can absolutely use another dish if you don’t have a cast iron skillet! I’ve made a brownie skillet before in a pie dish, and it works just perfectly.
Cookie skillet variations:
Maybe you don’t want a caramel cookie skillet or have tried this one, and want to switch it up. Not a problem! Here are a few suggestions for customizing this cast iron cookie skillet:
- Make is a classic cookie skillet by omitting the caramel sauce
- Add in chopped pecans, walnuts, or even peanuts for an extra crunch
- Use vegan white chocolate chips along with your vegan chocolate chips
- Mix in holiday-themed sprinkles, like any of the holiday vegan sprinkles from Sweetapolita! Their Halloween sprinkles are my fave 🙂
You’re just going to love this gooey caramel cookie skillet! It’s the perfect kick off to the holiday season and will please all eaters, vegan or not!
More vegan cookie recipes:
Best Ever Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nutella-Stuffed Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
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Gooey Caramel Vegan Cookie Skillet (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The ultimate indulgent gooey caramel cast iron skillet made entirely and secretly vegan and dairy free. This vegan cookie skillet is easy to make and even easier to eat for the perfect dessert that all eaters will love, vegan or not!
Ingredients
- 2 batches vegan chocolate chip cookies (gluten-free as needed)
- 1 batch vegan caramel sauce (or cashew caramel sauce)
Instructions
- Please check out the ingredients on both recipes before beginning to ensure you have everything.
- Prep: Make sure you’ve prepared the caramel sauce before beginning. The cashew caramel is the quickest caramel to prepare (ready in 5 minutes) and can be made nut-free with sunflower seed butter. Measure out all ingredients for the cookie skillet. Grease your 10″ or 12″ cast iron skillet* with vegan butter or oil and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Make the cookie dough: You’ll make the dough in one large batch. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the applesauce and vanilla extract, and mix again until combined. Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt, and gently fold the dry into the wet almost until the wet is fully combined. Add in the chocolate chips, and fold into the dough just until evenly distributed and the flour mixture is just combined.
- Make the cookie skillet: Scoop about half of the dough into the bottom of your skillet. Use a rubber spatula or clean hands to press the dough into the bottom of the skillet. Pour the caramel sauce on top, saving about 1/4-1/3 cup for the top of the skillet. Then spoon the remaining dough on top and use a rubber spatula to cover the caramel sauce. Part of the caramel will seep through a bit, and that’s okay. Drizzle on top the remaining caramel sauce.
- Bake the caramel cookie skillet: Place the cookie skillet into your oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Serve and enjoy! Remove the cookie skillet from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.Top with vegan ice cream and enjoy!
Notes
Gluten free: Use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1:1 baking flour in the blue bag for a gluten free cookie skillet.
Nut-free: Use all nut-free vegan butters and if you’re using the cashew caramel sauce, swap in sunflower seed butter.
Cast-iron skillet size: The recipe quantities are designed for a large cast iron skillet. If you have an 8″ or smaller, you can use half of the recipe (so 1 batch of cookie dough and half a batch of caramel).
Keywords: vegan cookie skillet, cookie skillet, chocolate chip cookie skillet, caramel cookie skillet, cast iron cookie skillet
