Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

          Lately I have seen recipes for skillet cookies everywhere, so I've been dying to try my hand at one.  I absolutely love my cast iron skillets.  They will be a work horse for you in the kitchen.  I adore the fact that they can do double duty for you—meaning you can use them on your stovetop as well as in your oven.  For years I have used my cast iron skillets for baking cornbread, but never something sweet.  So here is my experience baking a cookie in my skillet:

          The recipe I used gave the suggestion of using chocolate chips and toffee chips, which I loved, but if you’re not a toffee person, you can just use more chocolate chips in place of the toffee chips.

          First step is melting the butter in your skillet. 

          Add the sugars and vanilla extract, and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

          Add your egg and stir well.

          Add dry ingredients. 

          Here is where I began to have a problem.  This recipe suggests doing everything right in your skillet, which I think is great—in theory.  However, I am apparently a messy cook who doesn’t have the time or patience required to mix all of this in a skillet without making a huge mess.

          Once the dry ingredients are combined, stir in your chips and/or toffee pieces (insert more messiness on my part here).

          I made sure the dough was spread evenly throughout the skillet, then placed it in the oven. 

          Recipe said to bake for 15-20 minutes.  That’s when I snapped this picture:

         

          However, when I cut into it, I felt like it was just way too gooey for my preferences, so I put in back in the oven for five minutes.  It was still pretty soft in the center when I pulled it out but I didn't want my edges too dark so I went with it.

          I served it up warm with vanilla ice cream, and it was delicious!  It is so much better than a plain, ordinary cookie.  I was a little disappointed when I saw this recipe was for an 8” skillet because I didn’t think that would be enough, but a little slice goes a long way.  This is very rich. 
          The one thing I would change is mixing everything in the skillet.  I don’t know if that is supposed to have some special effect, or if its just to save you from having a bowl to clean up—but I’d rather clean the bowl than to try to neatly mix everything in the skillet again.  It wasn’t good.  Next time, I’ll whip this up in a bowl, and spread it out in my skillet.  I see many more skillet cookies in my future.  Enjoy!

The Comfort of Banana Bread

          So, if any of you have been checking back to my blog regularly and have noticed my incredibly long absence, I apologize.  To say life has been busy is an understatement, and I just haven’t been able to get myself back in the swing of writing.  Summer has come, and almost gone now, in a flash it seems, and we have been busy soaking up the glorious weather we’ve had.  This is one of the mildest summers, temperature wise, that I can recall.  We have thoroughly enjoyed it, especially after the long, long winter we had.  On to deliciousness: 

One of my favorite go-to foods for quick comfort, is Banana Bread.  Although, not just any banana bread.  The recipe I use is from a great-aunt of mine who passed away, and I have to admit that every time I make it, there is a quiet satisfaction in my heart, knowing that her hands went through the same motions in her kitchen.  Do you have family recipes like that?  Plus, it’s literally the best banana bread I’ve put in my mouth!  It could be the addition of a simple glaze over top when the bread is still hot, that puts it over the top for me.

          Whatever recipe you choose, quick breads, such as banana bread, are a great addition to your recipe rolodex.  If you don’t have several to choose from in your recipe box, I suggest you remedy that quickly.  They will serve you well.  I use them constantly—for breakfast, snacks and gifts.  A loaf of bread comes in handy for a house warming gift, or get-well wishes, especially since you can throw them together in a jiffy.  Or if you want to be super organized, make a few loaves and freeze them to be ready at a moment’s notice.  I make my own baking mix that I keep on hand, and if you do that, you can whip up a loaf with even greater ease.

          Anyone will tell you though, the secret to GREAT banana bread, is ripe, and I mean RIPE bananas.  You want them to look black, or pretty close thereto, without being rotten, of course.  If you don't have ripe bananas on hand, there is a pin floating around on Pinterest about how to ripen them.  Let me add a side-note here…my husband loves this recipe.  As in—when I make a loaf, all four of us almost take it down in one sitting.  We “fight” over who is going to get the last piece.  He loves it, and it’s one of the things I make that I know blesses his belly, which blesses my heart.  I encourage you to find what does this for your husband as well.  So, whenever bananas in our house are approaching the desired ripeness, he knows banana bread is to come, and on this day, I came into the kitchen and found this:

          His cute way of hinting, and helping all at the same time.

          I use three bananas for my bread.  I mash them up with a fork until they look like this:

 

          You could leave bigger pieces if you wanted to, I guess, but this is what works for me, plus this is the way my mother used to do it.  When the bananas are ready, I place all my dry ingredients in my mixing bowl. 

 

 

          You won’t need a mixer unless you’re using butter or shortening.  I use vegetable oil.  Add in your prepared bananas and remaining ingredients and mix just until everything is moist. 

 

 

          Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake.  Since I use a glass loaf pan, I drop the oven temperature from 350F to 325F. 

 

 

 

          55-60 minutes creates the perfect loaf for me. 

 

 

          When still warm, mix up a simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk or water, with a little vanilla extract, and pour over your bread.  Once you take a bite, you'll have trouble stopping on it.  Its delicious!  Blessings!