Cake Batter & Crumbs: Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

Recently I had the opportunity to bake with my teenage cousin Emily. She’s learning about all kinds of new interests and hobbies that she can develop, so I really enjoyed showing her my most favorite hobby – baking! My mom was there helping out too, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I love baking with my family.

Emily chose this recipe, which calls for a giant cookie baking pan. After making a batch and spreading it out in the pan, we realized that one batch wouldn’t be enough. So, we made a second batch and used around half of it to fit in the pan. One batch might have been enough, but I thought it would make a really thin, crispy cookie bar, and that’s not what we wanted. We used the rest of the second batch to make little cookies that she used to decorate the top.

The cookie really turned out perfectly. It was just the right thickness – around ½ to ¾ inches thick and she loaded the top of it with the classic vanilla buttercream icing I used a while ago for these cupcakes.

Ok, so in actuality I had to force her to stand there so I could take a picture of her and the cookie for my blog... (Darn teenagers!) … but she did a fantastic job and I look forward to baking with her again.

Thanks, Em, for letting me show you my favorite hobby! =)

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients:

½ cup butter
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
¾ teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray pan with vegetable pan spray. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with sugars. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread dough into prepared pan with spatula. Bake 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool before cutting. Decorate.

Makes 8-10 servings.