Nigella Lawson Cookie Dough Pots

Nigella Lawson’s chocolate chip cookie dough pots are individual ramekins of chocolate chip cookie dough baked just until the tops set, leaving a gooey middle to eat with a spoon. It serves 6, from her book Simply Nigella.

She created them because her children love a chocolate chip cookie so gooey inside that she can’t make the outside firm enough to hold its shape as a cookie. The solution: bake the dough in little dishes and eat it with a spoon, dolloped with ice cream or crème fraîche.

Her own favourite touch is a few sea salt flakes sprinkled over the top. They’re pure indulgence: set and golden at the edges, molten and cookie-doughy in the middle, and ready in minutes.

Nigella Lawson Cookie Dough Pots

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

400

kcal

Total time

45

minutes

Nigella’s gooey individual puddings from Simply Nigella: chocolate chip cookie dough baked in ramekins until set on top and molten within, eaten with a spoon and a scoop of ice cream. Serves six.

Ingredients

• 150g plain flour

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

• 110g soft unsalted butter

• 85g soft light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

• 1 large egg

• 170g dark chocolate chips

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Directions

• Mix the dry:You’ll need 6 ramekins (approx. 8cm across, 4.5cm deep, 200ml). Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F. Fork together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl.
• Cream:Beat the butter and sugar (electric mixer or by hand) until light and creamy, then add the vanilla and egg and beat to incorporate.
• Combine:Gently fold in the flour mixture, then fold in the chocolate chips.
• Fill:Divide between the ramekins (about 4½ tablespoons each). Spread over the base and smooth the tops with a small offset spatula or the back of a teaspoon.
• Bake:Sit the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 13 to 15 minutes. They’ll still be gooey inside, but the tops set, golden at the edges and just coming away from the sides.
• Serve:Cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then serve with a scoop of ice cream on top, or cream or crème fraîche on the side. They set as they cool, so don’t dally. Nigella loves a few sea salt flakes over the top.

Notes

• (no ramekins): You can use a pie dish instead; Nigella used one 20cm across the base, 24cm at the lip, which needed 5 minutes longer. The ramekins give a better goo-to-crust ratio, which is what these are all about.
• (make ahead): Make up to 6 hours ahead, cover with cling film and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before baking.
• (freeze): Wrap each ramekin tightly in a double layer of cling film (plus a bag or foil) and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 2 minutes.

FAQs

What are cookie dough pots, exactly?

They’re Nigella’s clever answer to the problem of a cookie that’s too gooey to hold together. Instead of trying to bake chocolate chip cookie dough into firm cookies, you bake it in individual ramekins so the tops set and go golden while the middles stay soft, molten and doughy, then eat it warm with a spoon.

So it’s a cross between a warm cookie and a little pudding, all the gooey, chocolate-studded joy of underbaked cookie dough but baked safely in a dish. Think of it as a chocolate-chip-cookie version of a molten chocolate fondant. It’s quick, needs no special skill, and is pure comfort-food indulgence.

How do I get the gooey middle right, and how do I know when they’re done?

Timing is everything. Bake them for 13 to 15 minutes, until the tops are set and golden brown at the edges and just beginning to come away from the sides of the ramekins, but the centres are still soft and gooey underneath. They should look set on top but not firm all the way through.

Crucially, they keep cooking and setting as they cool, so take them out while the middles are still molten and serve within 5 to 10 minutes, as Nigella says, “don’t dally”. Overbake them and you lose the whole point, the goo. If anything, err on the side of underbaking slightly for maximum gooeyness.

Can I make them without ramekins?

Yes. Nigella says if you don’t have ramekins you can bake the whole lot in one pie dish instead (she used one about 20cm across the base), which needs about 5 minutes longer in the oven, then spoon it out to share. Ovenproof mugs or small ovenproof cups work too.

That said, she’s clear the individual ramekins give a better “goo-to-crust ratio”, with more soft middle relative to set edge, “and that’s what these are all about”. So for the best gooey result, stick with small ramekins of around 200ml. A muffin tin also works for smaller portions, with less baking time.

What do I serve them with?

Warm from the oven, they’re made for a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream melting into the gooey centre, which is Nigella’s suggestion, or a dollop of cream or crème fraîche on the side to cut the sweetness. The hot-and-cold, molten-and-creamy contrast is the whole joy.

Nigella’s own favourite finishing touch is a few flakes of sea salt scattered over the top, which plays beautifully against the sweet chocolate, a bit like her salty chocolate cookies. A dusting of icing sugar or cocoa makes them prettier too. Eat them straight from the ramekin with a spoon. There’s more on the Nigella Lawson recipes page.

Can I make the dough ahead or freeze them?

Yes, which makes them brilliant for easy entertaining. You can fill the ramekins up to 6 hours ahead, cover them with cling film and keep them in the fridge, then just bring them to room temperature before baking, so you bake them fresh to serve warm and gooey.

They also freeze beautifully for up to 3 months: wrap each filled ramekin tightly in a double layer of cling film plus a bag or foil, and bake straight from frozen, adding an extra 2 minutes to the time. So you can have a warm, gooey pudding on demand, perfect for a sudden chocolate craving or unexpected guests.

Can I change the chocolate or add other flavours?

Yes, the recipe is a flexible base. Dark chocolate chips give a good balance against the sweet dough, but you can use milk or white chocolate chips, or a mix, or chopped chocolate chunks for bigger molten pockets. More chocolate never hurts here.

You could also stir in chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are classic with cookie dough), a spoonful of peanut butter, or swap the vanilla for a little espresso powder for a mocha note. Keep the dough quantities the same so it still bakes to that set-top, gooey-middle texture. It’s richer and gooier than Nigella’s triple chocolate cookies.