Toffee Apple Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet (Vegan Gluten-Free)

This Toffee Apple Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet is gooey, sweet, chocolatey and packed with sticky cinnamon apples. It’s easy to make in 20 minutes and is naturally vegan, gluten-free and makes a perfect dessert for two.

I love a good cookie skillet for a dessert or snack to share (or not) so in time for Bonfire Night this year, I wanted to work on something festive and seasonal. So, as well as the traditional gooey chocolate chip cookie, there is also tons a homemade toffee sauce and sticky cinnamon apples. Together, they are the dream especially when topped with some vegan vanilla ice cream.

You can watch how to make the cookie skillet here.

How good is this Toffee Apple Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet?

This cookie skillet is pretty special as it’s:

• Warm and gooey
• Chocolatey and delicious
• Sweet but not too sweet
• Naturally sweetened with applesauce and coconut sugar
• Packed with cinnamon spices and melting chocolate chips
• Topped with sticky cinnamon apples
• Drizzled with a simple toffee sauce (no boiling required!)
• Naturally vegan and gluten-free
• Easily nut-free
• Ready in 20 minutes with minimal preparation needed

There is something so special about a cookie skillet for dessert so if you are ready to make yours, skip ahead to the recipe card.

What ingredients go into this cookie skillet?

For the cookie, we need:

• Cashew butter: this is my favourite nut butter to use as it has a naturally cookie-like flavour but you can also use another nut butter like almond or peanut or use a seed butter like tahini.
• Applesauce or apple puree: this is so easy to make your own, simply peel, core and cube a few apples and add to a saucepan with 1-2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil and cook over a medium heat with a lid on for 15-20 minutes until the apples are soft. Now puree then to a smooth consistency. or, you can buy apple puree (this is not the same as apple sauce in the UK which goes with roast dinners but it’s more like the baby food).
• Coconut oil: this helps to adds a great texture to the cookie without tasting like coconut.
• Vanilla essence: this adds the classic cookie flavour.
• Coconut sugar: this is my favourite sugar for this recipe as it’s naturally caramel-like and rich in colour but you could use caster, golden caster or light brown sugar, too.
• Ground chia or flax seeds: I always use chia seeds and grid my own in a high speed blender. I make up a jar or pot which will last 1 month and is so easy to have on hand.
• Oat flour: just blend up your oats (gluten-free if needed) to a fine flour consistency.
• Cinnamon: for the warm flavours that go so well with apples. You could also try adding some ground ginger or a pinch of cardamom, too.
• Bicarbonate of soda: for a little rise.
• Salt: to enhance the flavours.
• Chocolate chips: or chunks of your favourite chocolate. You can use any dairy-free chocolate whether that’s milk, dark or white.
• Pecans: I just pecans this time of year and they work so well with the sticky cinnamon apples and with chocolate. You could swap these for walnuts or other nuts or use seeds or extra chocolate to keep this nut-free.

For the sticky cinnamon apples:

• Apples: any apples apart from cooking apples will work here. I like to leave the skin on and simply core and chop them into small pieces.
• Coconut sugar: as above, you can use another sugar.
• Maple syrup: together with the sugar, this makes the apples lovely and sticky. You could use another syrup like agave, rice, date, golden or vegan honey.
• Cinnamon: otherwise they won’t be sticky cinnamon apples!

And for the toffee sauce:

This is not a traditional toffee sauce but works even better as it takes less than 2 minutes to make!

• Cashew butter: as above another seed or nut butter will do. Make sure it’s runny and smooth.
• Coconut oil: this helps the toffee to set harder as it cools.
• Maple syrup: this keeps the toffee really sticky and delicious. Other syrups will work as above.
• Salt: for a lovely salted toffee flavour.

That’s all there is to this Toffee Apple Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet and then I like to add a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream but you can also keep it just as it is. This skillet really is the dreamiest of desserts.

Is this cookie skillet nut-free and gluten-free?

To make this nut-free, use a seed butter like sunflower seed butter or tahini for the cookie and the toffee sauce and use extra chocolate chips or seeds instead of the pecans. To make this gluten-free, make sure your oats are certified gluten-free.

Can I play around with the flavours?

YES! The base recipe for this Toffee Apple Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet is a delicious cookie in itself so you can add any toppings and add any fillings to make this unique. Try adding some warmed berries on top with chocolate sauce or adding some banana and peanut butter on top. Or simply make the cookie on its own.

How long will this Toffee Apple Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet last?

For the best experience, enjoy this cookie skillet warm from the oven but it will last for 1-2 days in the fridge, covered, and you can either have it cold or warm it in the microwave for a bit or in the oven again. You can also freeze the cookie once cool for up to 1 month.

If you love this cookie skillet and are looking for more simple dessert recipes, how about my:

• Peanut butter Banana and Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding
• Cookie Dough Nice Cream Blizzard
• Sticky Cinnamon Apple Galette
• Salted Chocolate Coconut Caramel Slices
• Mini Chocolate Mousse Pecan Tarts

I look forward to hearing what you think of this Toffee Apple Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make this cookie for dessert, I’d love to see so please tag me in them – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With toffee apple skillet love x