This is not a recipe. This is a life-changing experience.
I first encountered the pizzookie before I was living in Phoenix, but my family was, and I was here for a visit. They took me to Oreganos, a joint that has pizza, sandwiches…and pizzookies (Oreganos claims theirs is the original, but this is hotly contested, I’m not weighing in, I do not care, I’m just glad it exists at all).
To say my mind was boggled by the simplistic decadence of this awesomeness is an understatement. Okay, I’m a gal who can have her mind boggled pretty easily. So we’ll say my mind was blown.
This became my family’s “thing.” We baked our pizzookies at home, and the minute that crazy-goodness was pulled from the oven, the ice cream plopped on, it was a spoons-clinking, everyone-out-of-their-seat-bent-over-the-table-face-in-the-pan free for all.
This may be my favorite dessert of all time. Yes, I’m making that grand statement. But trust me on this, it’s a statement that needs to be made. Case in point, one of my readers reported to me that she made a pizzookie and her boyfriend and his brother got in a fistfight over it.
An actual fistfight.
Blood was spilled.
I do not find this surprising.
Give this to your family…and bask in their love
Creed’s Pizzookie
Ingredients
- Store Bought Cookie Dough, the standard is chocolate chip.*
- Ice Cream
How to do it…
- Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.
- You will need a round metal pan, 6-8” is ideal, you’ll need more dough for bigger. Don’t bake this in a glass pan.
- You can spray the pan or use a nonstick metal one. Open your tube or tub of cookie dough and squeeze it or spoon it out into the pan. Press it with fingers, spoon or spatula so it’s distributed evenly. Please note that the thicker you make your pizzookie, the more baking time you’ll need but you can make it as thick as you like. It isn’t a “thicker is better” thing, it’s a “how you like it” thing. A too-thin layer, though, what’s the point? If you did that, you could just make cookies!
- Put in oven.
- Now, the goal of this is that it’s just that little bit gooey. You do not want to bake this too long. You also do not want to pull it out too soon.
- I would say start checking at around the ten minute point. Odds are, it won’t be ready then and I’ll warn you now, it’ll probably take around 15-25 minutes to get it like you like it. The goal is for it to be doughy and squidgy, the outer edges baked golden and a little crispy, the middle nice and mushy. But you’ll need to keep an eye on it without opening the oven and letting the heat out every two minutes.
- When it's like you want it to be, yank that sucker out but be prepared! You’ll need your ice cream ready right away, for the instant you put it on the counter, you scoop that ice cream on (three scoops is good, but it’s up to you).
- Once the ice cream is on, slap that baby in front of your friends and/or family, grab your spoon and have at it, digging right into the pan.
- Beware, it’s gonna be hot, but it’s also gonna be awesome!
Notes
* You can buy a tube or a tub. You will need the whole tube. You won’t need the whole tub unless you go gonzo, which you will be tempted to do, but trust me, this is so rich and lush, once your brain settles down from the its flavor orgasm of tasting it, you’ll find a little goes a long way.
Now, you can do anything you want with this, obviously. Make it with homemade dough. Make it with different kinds of cookie dough (peanut butter, macadamia nut) or even brownie dough. You can drizzle chocolate or caramel or butterscotch syrup on it, hot fudge sauce, even spray some whipped cream on that sucker, sprinkle with nuts, top with a cherry.
However, as much as it stuns me I’m gonna say this, I think all that accoutrement is unnecessary. Yes, I’ve essentially typed out the words “hot fudge sauce is unnecessary.” No, I don’t believe I’ve done that either. But in my opinion, it’s the truth. However, you can do whatever you want. It’s your pizzookie. Have it like you like it, and as with anything, own what you like!