Skillet Sprinkle Sugar Cookie

By Jessie Sheehan

Published June 10, 2025

Skillet Sprinkle Sugar Cookie
Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Total Time
40 minutes, plus cooling
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
4(11)
Comments
Read comments

You don’t need any special equipment to make this superfun, supersize sugar cookie; just a bowl, a whisk, a spatula and a skillet. Not only is making one huge cookie instead of two easier than baking several batches, there is something extraspecial about a giant dessert that is meant to be shared. Eat it warm from the pan with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top; or let it cool and slice it up as you would a pie. Swap out the rainbow sprinkles for holiday-themed sprinkles or whatever colors delight you.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:One 10- or 12-inch skillet cookie
  • 1¼cups/250 grams granulated sugar 
  • 4teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¾cup/169 grams unsalted butter, melted 
  • 1large egg, cold
  • 1teaspoon baking soda
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
  • 2¾cups/358 grams all-purpose flour
  • ⅓cup/60 grams rainbow sprinkles, plus more for sprinkling
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a 10- or 12-inch oven-safe skillet, such as a well-seasoned cast iron.

  2. Step 2

    Whisk the sugar and vanilla into the melted butter in a large bowl. Whisk in the egg, then the baking soda and salt. Using a flexible spatula, gently fold in the flour and sprinkles just until the last streak of flour disappears.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer the dough to the skillet, pressing it down evenly with your hands. Sprinkle with additional rainbow sprinkles. Bake until the cookie is lightly browned, with crispy-looking edges and a soft but set middle, 24 to 26 minutes for a 10-inch cookie or 20 to 22 minutes for a 12-inch cookie, rotating at the halfway point.

  4. Step 4

    For a warm, scoopable and soft cookie that begs to be eaten with a spoon, rest the skillet on a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes. For a sliceable cookie, cool for about 20 minutes before cutting. The cookie is best the day it is made, but microwaving a slice for 10 to 15 seconds can restore its tenderness. Store it in an airtight container.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
11 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

HMLS

I feel I am an accomplished baker. This seemed straight forward enough, especially compared to other NYT cookie recipes I have made. This turned out eggy-tasting, shocking for a recipe requiring only 1 egg (which I chilled for 2 minutes in the freezer prior to mixing into the butter). The texture of the dough was fine, the bake even, but for a cookie with 4 WHOLE teaspoons of vanilla in it, this is bland, if not slightly omelette-flavored.

Stacie

This was a great recipe to make with kids because it’s so easy! Looks great when baked, like a “sprinkle pizza”. Not all the grownups loved the flavor, but the grandkid and I loved it. Easy to cut and serve. Made exactly as written, using a 10” cast iron skillet.

Priya B

Delicious recipe! Look, it's a simple recipe so every ingredient needs to be good. I recommend organic sugar which is more flavorful. Anyway, super fun to make with my 3 year old.

Jasper

This recipe turned out fantastic for me! I second Priya's recommendation for using as high-quality ingredients as you can access for this one given its simplicity. I did use salted butter and pure vanilla extract, which might seem a bit much for how much of both there is, but it gave me a chewy outside, a tender inside, and a simple but wonderful vanilla flavor. Great for a special occasion with kids or for students without a lot of time or space in the kitchen (like myself!).

Woke-eyed Susan

This was not a favorite for unclear reasons. I did try to up the flavor by browning the butter (I added water back in) and subbing brown sugar for some of the white sugar. Still strangely bland. Even my 7-year-old didn’t like it.

amanda v

Such a good alternative to making a bunch of cookies! It’s delicious (not super sweet which is good) and so easy to make. I cut it in half then in strips for kiddos and it was perfect. You could definitely put frosting on top and also change out sprinkle colors for different holidays. Perfect dessert.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.