18 Delicious Cast-Iron Dessert Recipes To Make Right This Second
For a Southern cook, a cast-iron skillet proves a most powerful tool in the kitchen, whether you’re making cornbread how some call the “only correct way,” cooking up a cowboy steak, or yes, baking up a crowd-pleasing dessert that is ooey, gooey, and waiting to be scraped clean in minutes. Classics like fresh apple pie, fudgy Texas skillet cake, and pineapple upside-down cake show just why the cast-iron skillet was made to turn out sweet, sweet masterpieces in ways a baking dish could never. Other creative cast-iron treats include a deep-dish chocolate chip skillet cookie that kids (and adults) go crazy for, a pecan pie cobbler that makes the most heavenly Southern dessert mashup, and a gingerbread pear upside-down cake that is ready to celebrate Christmas. One thing’s for sure: These cast-iron dessert recipes are too good to pass up.
Easy Skillet Apple Pie
Recipe: Easy Skillet Apple Pie
Because the caramelized and heavily spiced apples and crispy golden crust of classic apple pie was made to be baked in a cast-iron skillet. This one's as easy as it gets.
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Texas Skillet Cake
Recipe: Texas Skillet Cake
If you're going to indulge, go all in on this fudgy and super dense chocolate cake made in the cast-iron skillet and topped with thick chocolate icing, toasted pecans, and scoops of vanilla ice cream—you know, for good measure.
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Apple Butter Cobbler with Drop Biscuits
Recipe: Apple Butter Cobbler with Drop Biscuits
An easy recipe for slow-cooker apple butter makes a tasty base for gooey apple filling bursting with spiced flavor and topped with a drop biscuit topping.
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Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Recipe: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Everyone needs a classic upside-down cake recipe, and this one is sticky, sweet, and studded with maraschino cherries in the traditional way. Just a handful of ingredients that you likely already have at home is all it takes.
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Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie
Recipe: Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie
We do not take the name of this pie lightly—so you can expect an incredibly indulgent version of the perfect Thanksgiving pie that is ready to pop in the oven in ten minutes. A dash of bourbon (always optional) gives extra Southern flair.
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Bisquick Topped Blueberry Cobbler
Recipe: Bisquick Topped Blueberry Cobbler
Sometimes a shortcut is just what we need to convince ourselves to make dessert on the fly. In this recipe, a sweet filling of fresh blueberries flavored with vanilla and lemon zest is topped with simple drop biscuits from a store-bought mix you might already have in the pantry.
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Fig Upside-Down Cake
Recipe: Fig Upside-Down Cake
This cake is seasonal, super pretty, and unique enough to head up any Southern celebration. Figs offer the perfect amount of fruity sweetness and keep just enough bite to top off a skillet cake in style.
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Dutch Baby Pancake
Recipe: Dutch Baby Pancake
While many are fond of serving this not-too-sweet puffy pancake for brunch with syrup, we are just as jazzed about topping it with berries, whipped cream, or chocolate chips for dessert—all three if you're feeling generous—while still hot from the oven.
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Deep-Dish Skillet Cookies
Recipe: Deep-Dish Skillet Cookies
Choose from five different recipes for a deep-dish skillet cookie: Pecan Praline, Mississippi Mud, Strawberry Shortcake, Grasshopper (with bourbon and chocolate mints!), and Hummingbird. All are amazing and deserve your attention.
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Upside-Down Caramelized Apple Cake
Recipe: Upside-Down Caramelized Apple Cake
Like your favorite pineapple cake, but fit for the fall baking season. Spice cake batter is made even more delicious with fresh apple slices, pecans, and brown sugar.
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The Big Cinnamon Roll
Recipe: The Big Cinnamon Roll
Serve this cinnamon-swirled and cream cheese icing-drizzled beauty from brunch to dessert, thanks to your trusty cast-iron skillet.
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Pineapple-Ginger Upside-Down Cake
Recipe: Pineapple-Ginger Upside-Down Cake
We took the retro recipe for pineapple upside-down cake and made it feel fresh and modern by using fresh pineapple cut any way you'd like and grated fresh ginger for extra zing.
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Pecan Pie Cobbler
Recipe: Pecan Pie Cobbler
This might be our smartest mashup of Southern recipes yet. The gooey, sweet, crunchiness of pecan pie with warm and cakey cast-iron cobbler batter is a match made in heaven.
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Ginger-Plum Slump
Recipe: Ginger-Plum Slump
This old-fashioned Southern dessert—something akin to a cobbler with a drop biscuit topping—is gearing up for a comeback, starting with this recipe made with a jammy red and black plum filling flavored with fresh ginger.
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Gluten Free Peach Cobbler
Recipe: Gluten Free Peach Cobbler
Even the gluten-sensitive and carb-conscious folks can get in on the cast-iron celebration with this fresh peach cobbler recipe that caramelizes into melty heaven in the oven.
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Gingerbread-and-Pear Upside-Down Cake
Recipe: Gingerbread-and-Pear Upside-Down Cake
This most festive upside-down cake is perfect for your Christmas menu, with a spiced gingerbread batter and sweet tender pears.
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Skillet Caramel Apple Pie
Recipe: Skillet Caramel Apple Pie
This dependable recipe is layered with seasonal sliced apples and topped with a double-crust pastry that makes you actually want to give up the store-bought stuff.
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Classic Apple Upside Down Cake
Recipe: Classic Apple Upside Down Cake
This might look like a pineapple upside-down cake, but it sings like an autumn apple dessert. Out of all options, Honeycrisp apples tended to hold up most wonderfully.