David Zapatka
Reader Kim Park wrote, “Recently at the Chop, Block and Brew restaurant, my server offered a pizookie for dessert. This word is a portmanteau, the very word you wrote about in the April issue. It is ‘pizza’ and ‘cookie’ put together to form one word, pizookie. I learned it originated at BJ’s Chicago Brewery, a restaurant chain out of Santa Ana, Calif. Interestingly, I am going to BJ’s for the very first time with my family for my upcoming birthday celebration. The birthday dinner was planned before I learned of the word in your article. Additionally, my boyfriend took me out to an Italian restaurant for my birthday and we had a Sicilian Sundae for dessert. Guess what it was, a pizookie! It came in a pizza pan and was a chocolate chip cookie with ice cream and whipped cream on top. The portmanteau, pizookie, has arrived in my life just as I read all about portmanteaus in your column. How serendipitous is that!
Pizookie pih-ZOO-kee/noun. A pizookie is a dessert consisting of a large, deep-dish cookie baked in a pizza pan or cast-iron skillet and served warm, straight from the pan typically underbaked in the center to remain gooey and topped with one or more scoops of ice cream. It is meant to be eaten communally, scooped directly from the baking vessel.
Etymology—A portmanteau blending pizza (from Italian, referring to the round pan and shareable, pan-baked format) and cookie (from Dutch koekje, “little cake”). The name reflects both the vessel used (a pizza-style pan) and the dish itself (a giant cookie).
Origin—The word pizookie was coined in the United States as an in-house menu item by BJ’s Restaurants, a California-based chain. It was born out of casual American food culture’s love of portmanteau naming, combining two familiar, beloved foods into a single fun, memorable word. The playful, rhyming sound of the word (-ookie echoing cookie) gave it an immediately catchy, marketable quality. Over time, the word escaped its trademarked origins and entered informal everyday American culinary vocabulary, used broadly to describe any oversized, skillet-baked cookie served with ice cream regardless of where it is made.
First Known Use—BJ’s Restaurants introduced it on their menu in the 1980s.
Pizookie used in a sentence:
She skipped the birthday cake this year and asked her mom to make a pizookie instead, insisting it was the superior celebration dessert.
After finishing our burgers, we split a warm chocolate chip pizookie topped with two scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Pizookie used on the web:
“For those days when all you need is a giant warm cookie topped with ice cream, I give you the Pizookie!”—What’s Gaby Cooking
“Pizookies are part cookie, part pizza, and totally delicious!—Heather Likes Food
Have you enjoyed a pizookie, yet? I have. They’re delicious! Share your favorite pizookie experiences with our readers. Please submit your experiences or any word you may like to share along with your insights and comments to dzapatka@wbhsi.net.