A warm, soft, and doughy deep-dish pumpkin cookie infused with browned butter and loaded with pockets of dulce de leche and white chocolate chips!
There are two types of people in this world. Those who hate to see the summer end, and those who welcome fall with open arms. I happen to fall into the latter group. No pun intended…
Although it’s sad to say goodbye to late sunsets, warm evenings, and endless BBQ’s, I always look forward to the low-key atmosphere of fall. Not to mention, I’m absolutely obsessed with pumpkin-flavored everything! Call me a basic biotch all you want, but I will never feel ashamed of my love of all things pumpkin.
So for those of you who are just as obsessed with pumpkin as I am, I have the PERFECT pumpkiny treat that’s BOUND to please those pumpkin-possessed tastebuds of yours…
On second thought, you don’t even have to be utterly obsessed with pumpkin to fall madly in love with this Pumpkin Dulce De Leche Pizookie. When you stuff a deliciously doughy deep-dish cookie with melty white chocolate chips and thick pockets of dreamy dulce de leche, how can you NOT be completely infatuated?
Why You’ll LOVE This Pizookie
Soft and DOUGHYlicious – Aside from the fact that pizookies are super easy to make, what I love about them is that they’re incredibly doughy and deliciously ooey gooey in the middle. Since they’re baked in a warm cast iron skillet, every single slice is served nice and hot. In fact, you’ll want to hold off on cutting into the pizookie for at least 45 minutes to allow it to cool and set up a little.
Perfect Pumpkiny Flavor – When it comes to pumpkin cookies, you don’t want to add too much pumpkin puree or you’ll end up with cakey cookies. However, if you add too little, you won’t be able to taste the pumpkin at all. This pizookie contains the perfect amount of pumpkin puree to keep it soft and chewy with just the right amount of pumpkiny flavor. To enhance the flavor of the pumpkin, both pumpkin pie spice and ground cinnamon are added to the dough.
Oh and FYI, if you’re looking for ways to use up that leftover pumpkin puree, here are some other GLORIOUS pumpkin recipes you should definitely try!
No Eggs – Yep, you’re reading that correctly! This recipe contains NO eggs. Years ago I learned that pumpkin is a great replacement for oil. Well recently, I discovered that it’s also a great replacement for eggs! Although eggs help to bind ingredients together, promote spread, and provide structure, the pumpkin puree takes care of all of that in this recipe.
Dulce De Leche…need I say more? – There is definitely no shortage of dulce de leche in this pizookie. With almost a whole can of this luscious Latin American caramel, every single bite is brimming with dulce de leche. Feel free to cut down on the amount if you prefer a pizookie that’s not quite as rich. You can usually find dulce de leche next to the sweetened condensed milk in the baking section. I’ve also spotted it in the international aisle.
Browned Butter – Due to its blissful notes of toasty, nutty, toffee-like goodness, brown butter just SCREAMS fall to me. Its rich depth of flavor also pairs so perfectly with pumpkin. Brown butter not only adds a divine nutty flavor to the pizookie, but it also gives it that perfectly chewy texture as well as a beautiful glossy sheen as it bakes in the oven.
How to Brown Butter
There’s no other way to replicate that nutty, caramely flavor that browned butter offers, and it only takes a few extra minutes. The key is to babysit the butter as it cooks over medium heat. Always keep a close eye on it because butter can go from perfectly browned to burnt and bitter within seconds. Basically what you’re looking for is little specks of gold throughout the butter. These are the milk solids that have toasted. Once the butter reaches this point, immediately remove it from the stove and stir in both sugars. The sugar will help to halt the cooking process, so that the butter doesn’t continue to cook and potentially burn.
How to Assemble The Pizookie
- Press half of the cookie dough along the bottom and up the sides of the cast iron skillet.
- Drop teaspoonfuls of the dulce de leche evenly on top of the dough.
- Take small portions of the remaining dough, and flatten slightly between the palms of your hands. Layer them side by side on top of the dulce de leche, sealing all of the edges together.
As with all of my pizookie recipes, they’re not complete without a cool and creamy scoop of ice cream on top. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to serve a slice without.
At least, that’s what the tastebud police told me…
Pumpkin Dulce De Leche Pizookie
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup white chocolate chips, divided
- ¾ cup Dulce De Leche (I used La Lachera)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, it’ll start to foam, then turn a clear golden color. Continue to stir the butter, scraping up any browned specks from the bottom of the pan as it starts to brown. It should have a nutty aroma. Once browned and nutty, remove from the heat and pour into a large mixing bowl; cool slightly.
- Add both sugars to the browned butter, whisking until completely combined. Whisk the pumpkin and vanilla into the mixture until smooth. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices, and use a wooden spoon to stir everything together until just combined. Stir in 3/4 cup of the white chocolate chips. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Press half of the dough into a greased 10-inch cast iron skillet. Spoon dollops of the dulce de leche evenly over the dough. Take chunks of the remaining dough, flatten slightly, and layer them side by side on top of the dulce de leche, sealing all of the edges together.
- Bake for 27-30 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden. Immediately after removing from the oven, press remaining white chocolate chips into the top of the pizookie. Allow to cool for at least 45 minutes. Serve with a scoop of ice cream, and enjoy!