Tag Archives: chocolate chip

23Aug / 2010

Cast Iron Skillet Cookie Cake

The last thing I need is a cookie cake. Nevertheless, when I ran across this recipe at The Kitchn, I decided to make one anyway anyway.  We had almost everything we needed to make this cookie happen, so when we bought groceries the other night we made sure to get the only missing ingredients: chocolate chips and butter.  While Ms. Dianne and I were working on the muslin slipcover I posted about recently, this cookie cake baked in the oven. The only hitch we encountered was the size of the skillet–the recipe calls for baking the cookie 40 to 45 minutes in a 10″ skillet.  Our two cast iron skillets are 8″ and 20,” and I like a thinner cookie anyway, so we decided to use the 20″ skillet and decrease the cooking time by about 15 minutes.  This worked out well for us, as the center was still soft and chewy while the edges were crispy but not burned.

Throw on some homemade cream cheese icing and this cookie cake becomes an unstoppable force.

To make this, you’ll need:

  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 3/4 C unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 3/4 C packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 t pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 C (about 9 oz) mixed milk- and semisweet chocolate chips

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt then set aside. This next part calls for an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, but if (like us) you don’t have one, a big bowl with a spatula works just fine.  Cream together  the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy–the original recipe says this should take about 2 minutes in an electric mixer, but I imagine it will take longer if mixing by hand. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until they’re fully incorporated. Pour in the flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Transfer the dough to your skillet (the recipe recommends a 10″ skillet) and press to flatten, covering bottom of pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. If you’re using a different-sized skillet then adjust the baking time to accommodate for the difference in thickness of the cookie.  Don’t overbake, because it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. Cut with a pizza slicer and serve warm.  Both The Kitchn and Martha Stewart recommend topping this with vanilla ice cream.  I’m not the biggest ice cream fan, but I have a feeling that homemade cream cheese icing would make this cookie cake unstoppable.

(Via TheKitchn, Martha Stewart)

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08Jun / 2010

Hershey’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

I forced my self to stop and take a picture mid-bite because I didn't know how much longer these guys were going to last.

Overall, yesterday was a pretty lazy day.  We went to my grandparents’ house for a while, scored some discount plants at Lowes (more on that later), swam a little, and watched a movie.  In other words, we did absolutely nothing to warrant making five dozen chocolate chip cookies.  Yet we did.  It started out innocently enough: we had salads for lunch and wanted a sweet treat (terrible logic, I know) but didn’t want to eat something from a package (at least we had that going for us?).  I decided to make chocolate chip cookies from the recipe on the back of the bag of Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips, diving headfirst into the recipe without realizing that it made five dozen cookies.  While we were temped to make them all, I ended up putting half of the dough in the fridge for later in the week.  We only had one cup of semi-sweet chips and the recipe called for two, so I used Hershey’s special dark chocolate chips for the other cup.  I’m typically not too crazy about dark chocolate by itself, but the combination of dark and semi-sweet chips was perfect in these cookies.

The makings of a pretty sweet afternoon.

To make them, you’ll need:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups chocolate chips (I used 1 cup dark chocolate chips and 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Heat oven to 375°F.  Stir together flour, baking soda and salt–set aside.  In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla with mixer until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating well until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Unless you’re making these for a party or bake sale, if you’ve made the whole batch it’s wise to put half the dough in the fridge at this point (unless, for some reason, you want five dozen cookies sitting on your kitchen counter).  Bake 8 to 10 minutes (nine was perfect for me), or until lightly browned.  Allow time to cool slightly (about the time it takes me to stick the next pan into the oven and reset the timer seems to be just right), then remove the cookies with a spatula onto a wire rack or a plate.  The recipe says to let them completely cool before serving, but we were dipping them in milk and eating them before they’d been out of the oven a full two minutes (probably not a good idea, so don’t sue me if you burn yourself).

I was so pleasantly surprised with the way these turned out because I have a particularly bad track record with cookies.  I tend to bake breads, cakes, muffins, and even brownies much more frequently.  There’s just something about cookies (specifically, finding the right balance between flat/crispy and puffy/cakey) that I can’t seem to figure out.  I’m not sure if it’s the oven or the recipes I’ve been using, since today was a departure from both.  However, I’m looking forward to experimenting a little further, and I’ll be on the lookout for new cookie recipes.  Do you have a favorite to recommend?

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15Dec / 2009

Homemade Holidays: Cookie Mix in a Jar

When I first heard of cookie mix in a jar, I thought it was the most brilliant idea ever.  Admittedly, I am pretty idealistic when it comes to things like this, and I didn’t take into consideration a lot of things.  First and foremost, I didn’t think about whether the recipes offered up in these projects were any good.  I quickly rushed out to buy flour, sugar, cranberries, and chocolate chips, assuming I could use all the mason jars I’ve been refusing to throw away over the past few years (in some sort of crisis I might need to can something, fast).  I guess that was my first mistake, or my first two mistakes.  Chocolate chips and dried cranberries are pretty expensive, and a quart and a pint aren’t the same thing (as if I could tell the difference?).  The first jar I put together was really pretty, but somehow I horribly mismeasured and didn’t realize until the second jar that things weren’t adding up at all.  What I have are pint jars, which are roughly half the size that I need them to be since the recipe I had was for quart jars.  Rats!

So, I decided I would halve the recipe.  This really appealed to me for several reasons, including but not limited to: 1. I refuse to buy new jars when the point of this whole thing is to be frugal and reuse things that would otherwise be thrown away, 2. halving the ingredients means I could make twice as many gifts with same amount of ingredients.  I go on this way for a while, making about three jars total (including the first couple of messed up ones) before I realize that I’m going to be giving people the ingredients to make cookies I’ve never actually tasted. Since some jars were really ugly and wrong because I’d messed them up anyway, I just decided to make that batch and see how they turned out before I proceeded.  That was a smart move, because these cookies didn’t turn out well at all.  The only liquids called for were oil, vanilla extract, and water (it was a vegan cookie mix), and I ended up adding a lot more water than the recipe required because the batter was just so dry.  Maybe I did something wrong, but I tried really hard to follow the recipe rather than just eyeing things like I usually do, and the cookies turned out really dense and bland and burned on the bottom.  Needless to say, I will not be giving any of those cookies away!

It really looks like more of a sausage ball than a cookie.

The failed cookie recipe and failed picture of failed cookies; they really looked more like sausage balls than cookies.

I’ve since found a new recipe that I decided to try out today, and if it’s successful I’ll be packaging and giving it away.  It’s not vegan, but the only additional ingredients required are butter, vanilla, and a 1.5 T of water.  The recipe is basically the Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, found on the back of the bag of chocolate chips.  I substituted flax seed powder for eggs, which is where the 1.5 T of water comes from.  This may also explain why my cookies ended up as flat as fried eggs, but I’m okay with it–they are still delicious.

First positive sign: it actually looks like cookie dough instead of a crumbly, oily mess.

First positive sign: it actually looks like cookie dough instead of a crumbly, oily mess.

To make these delicious cookies, you’ll need:

  • a pint jar
  • 1 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Mix the salt, baking soda, and flour and add to your jar.  This will form the first layer. Next, add the brown sugar, then the white sugar, then the chocolate chips.  Using twine or ribbon, tie a nice card around the jar.  I’ve made a couple of samples, feel free to download and use them!

I'll probably use this fancy one.

I'll probably use this fancy one.



I thought I should make a fun one, too.

I thought I should make a fun one, too.

The cards show everything else you need to know, so I guess I’ll just leave you with pictures of the final product!

This is only the first batch. By the time I was done baking the plate was overflowing, and that was even after I ate a few :)

This is only the first batch. By the time I was done baking the plate was overflowing, and that was even after I ate a few :)

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