From baking cookies in cast iron to making new discoveries, I’ve been having a pretty good week around the homestead.
Pretty-good-week fact #1: After unearthing an amazing light fixture this fall on our property’s centuries-old midden, I convinced my husband it should become our kitchen table light… and I LOVE it.
Pretty-good-week fact #2: After years of enjoying my dovetailed wooden box “magazine holder,” I inspected it closely the other day.
I researched its markings, and I discovered that I was the proud owner of a box that housed nothing finer than . . .
wait for it . . .
original American Chocolate.
With a capital “c.” Because this company–the Walter Baker & Company–was established in 1780 as the premier producer of American chocolate.
I’m not sure if I was more astounded that our founding fathers had the stamina to declare national independence without the fortitude that only chocolate can provide, or that I actually own a piece of this history.
And pretty-good-week fact #3? After days of icy, slippery steps, we were grateful for a fresh coat of powdery beauty to steady our boots as we navigated through our daily chores for the animals.
One evening–after trudging through the cold to give Scout her evening hay, close up the ducks and chicken, and break up the ice in the rabbits’ water bowls–we were elated to be greeted by the smell of a cookie in the oven when our chores were done.
Yep, one cookie.
But it’s quite possibly the best thing I ever bake in my cast iron pans. Yes, baking cookies in cast iron is the best therapy I know of after a cold winter’s afternoon of farm chores. Keep scrolling for the gotta-have-this-one recipe.
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links.
I usually use my 10 1/2″ griddle for this cookie, but I’ve also used my 14″ cast iron pizza pan to make one extra-large cookie, when I’m feeding a crowd.
I should say that my favorite cast iron cookies are the ones I bake in my 5″ individual-sized pans. But you don’t need a recipe for those. I simply use the Nestle Toll House recipe (on the bag) and place a giant ball (about 3 cookies worth of dough) on each pan. When I take them out of the oven, I place them on oven-safe pottery plates (so we don’t have to touch the hot pans while we devour the warm cookies), top them with ice cream, and of course always serve them with tall glasses of chilled milk.
If you like this recipe, be sure to try out another cast iron baking favorite of mine: Grandmom’s Blueberry Cake in Cast Iron.
So, to sum up the recent homestead happenings . . .
Turning found treasures into a light source? A job I allocate to my amazing husband.
Telling the story of my newly-found, long-ago-aquired chocolate box? A job I take on wholeheartedly.
Baking cookies in cast iron pans? A job I’m happy to devour.
If you haven’t yet subscribed to my weekly newsletter, please do so right now (in the sidebar, or in the box at the very end of this post) or you never know what cast iron baking creation you may miss! Plus, I’ll immediately send you a password to my exclusive subscriber library, where I’m continually adding new delectable recipes and awesome printables.
Prep Time | 10 minutes |
Cook Time | 15 minutes |
Servings |
servings
|
- 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cups butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 6 ounces chocolate chips
Ingredients
|
|
- Heat oven to 350 while mixing sugars, butter, vanilla, and egg.
- Stir in flour and baking soda, then add chocolate chips.
- Spread dough in a 10 1/2" cast iron griddle pan. (Use a paper towel to rub pan in thin layer of shortening if pan is not well seasoned.)
- Bake 15-20 minutes, or until center seems done.
To make an amazing extra-large cookie in an extra-large, 15" cast iron pan, simply increase serving size above to 12 servings and bake an extra 5-10 minutes. Of course, I know you can't add one and a half eggs, so you're gonna have to make a judgement call there. With our farm fresh eggs, I will choose one extra large one or two extra small ones. (We always have young hens as well as adult hens on the homestead, and their egg sizes vary greatly, which comes in very handy sometimes.)
We also love making single-serving chocolate chip cookies in individual-size mini cast iron griddle pans. For that, we have found that using the standard cookie recipe on the Nestle Toll House chip bag yields the best results. We'll put a large mound on the single-serving cast iron pan and bake for 8-10 minutes or until center is done. Then we top the warm-out-of-the-oven individual cookies with ice cream and eat dessert right out of the pan.
>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<
These are the three sizes/styles of cast iron pans that I’ve found work best for baking cookies. And I’ve tried a LOT of cast iron pans, from heirloom to new, from tiny to huge, from griddles to skillets. I mean someone had to do the difficultly delicious research. 🙂 You can trust me when I say these three styles/sizes of cast iron pans make the world’s best cookies:
Other cast iron products I love:
—- | | | |
>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<
I’d love to connect!
To find me in some other neck of the woods, just click any (or every!) box below:
Don’t forget to subscribe for access to my Resource Library. There you’ll find my FREE EBOOKs–including A Sweet Taste–as well as amazing recipes for things like whoopie pie cookies, maple sap switchel, and my grandmom’s perfect pie crust.
Heck, before you even scroll down and subscribe, I have a free eBook for you. Download Maple Goodness here or just click on the eBook image below. Your family will truly love the Best Ever Maple Scone recipe in this free eBook.
Type your email address in the box below, or click here for the 33-page eBook, A Sweet Taste,and so much more.
v v v v v v v v v v v
v v v v v v v v v v v
Dear sweet baby Jesus. This is so easy and so good, I want to cry (it’s worth noting that I’m seven months pregnant lol). I used one cup of whole wheat flour instead of the full amount of white flour, left out the white sugar (it was still plenty sweet), and added walnuts. My new favorite go-to dessert! Thank you 😊
Ooohhh, I love your changes! I can believe the 1 c of wheat flour went unnoticed, but truly no white sugar at all was plenty yummy? I have to try this! (And I am so pleased to know I could bring a 7-mo-pregnant mom sweet-tasting joy–you deserve it!) Thanks for sharing your version of the recipe!
OMGoodness this looks delicious! Thanks for sharing at Over the Moon. We look forward to seeing you again next week.
It truly is joy in cast iron. 🙂 Thanks for co-hosting Over the Moon Shelley!
This looks absolutely delicious! I don’t have a cast iron pizza pan-in fact, I didn’t know such a thing existed until I saw this post. Now I wonder if I could bake it in my cast iron frying pan? I may just have to try it or get myself one of these cast iron pizza pans. 🙂
It is absolutely delicious, Rosanna. The one I made in this picture was in a 10.5″ cast iron griddle pan. <--click the words for a link to the pan on Amazon. I actually haven't tried to bake one in a cast iron skillet, but I'd imagine it would work. Maybe the sides would be a little too crisp? If you try it, please let me know if it's successful! But yes, the pizza pan makes an amazing giant cookie, to feed a crowd.