No One is Safe

Sunday was a rainy day.  And a bit nippy.  I wore a sweatshirt as we ran errands.  Then when we got home, I wanted to bake.  I'd had my eye on this for a while, and I had all the ingredients.  Before I could give myself time to reconsider, the butter was melting in my cast-iron skillet.  In less than twenty minutes, I was eating a giant warm cookie out of a skillet.  With a spoon.  By myself.

I texted Jennifer a picture with a plea, "Save me!"

She wrote back, "YOU ARE SO BAD!"

Followed by, "I can't save you from anything cooked in cast iron."

It's good to know when you've been defeated.

I settled into eating melty spoonfuls from a hot skillet and watching the rain fall on our plants. 


Four-leaf water clover



Matthew's pitcher plants


Monday was quite another story.  First, the gentle rain of Sunday had moved on, Billy Goat Gruff style, and been replaced by a much more violent version.  I forgot my umbrella, stepped in a deep puddle and soaked my shoes.

Let me take just a minute here to comment on puddles in the Southeast.  They aren't anything like puddles in Michigan.  They are deep, dark, cold and can spring up anywhere.  Once you inevitably step in one, your feet will not be warm or dry all day.

I had cut the remaining cookie into squares and brought it in to the office.  To comfort myself and my cold feet, I slipped in the breakroom and took a small piece. The flavors were definitely improved from sitting.

By 5:00, the rain had stopped.  In the original recipe, Jaime says to follow up this cookie with 5K.  I am running 3 miles right now on Mondays, and with the weather clear, I was able to follow the recipe exactly.  Henry was not happy about it, but that's just because he didn't have a giant skillet cookie to run-off.

"You don't share your cookie with me, you can't share your exercise with me."

What Stands Between You and a Giant Cookie
Adapted from Sophistimom

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar (I used dark because it's what I had)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt (I used sea salt)
1 cup of chocolate chunks (I used 1 bar of 72% dark chopped, but chocolate chips would work fine too).

Preheat oven to 350.  In a skillet over medium heat melt butter.  Mix in sugars and vanilla.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for five minutes.  Using a silicone coated whisk (or a fork) mix the egg into the butter and sugar mixture.  Add dry ingredients and carefully stir to mix.  Note: This could probably be a one-skillet dish, but I got nervous and thoroughly mixed all my dry ingredients before adding.  Add chocolate chunks and stir just until incorporated.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (15 was plenty for me, but my skillet was bigger than originally called for).

Serve by scooping and topping with ice cream.  Or don't bother scooping and just it eat it straight from the skillet.

UPDATE:  I've made this twice now, and both times I made it I worried that it was too much flour.  Don't worry - the recipe is correct.