Whole Wheat Pizookie on the Wood Stove

Whole wheat chocolate chip cookie baked on the wood stove - served with vanilla ice cream

Heidi, the genius behind 101 Cookbooks and Super Natural Cooking, posted a great recipe for a whole wheat chocolate chip cookie baked in a skillet.  This type of cookie is also known as a "pizookie"  a pizza cookie!  Clever isn't?  Heidi's contribution to the new fad was the subsitution of whole wheat flour in proper proportion to the other ingredients, instead of the standard all purpose flour. 

And by the way, Pizookie even has a FaceBook page. 

If deperate times call for desparate measures, you could always use refridgerated cookie dough and a pie plate in the oven - the minimalist approach here.

I'm adding another twist....baking it on the wood stove!  You never know when the power might go out, be left stranded without electricity and want  a warm and somewhat healthy chocolate chip cookie NOW.  It's good to have a few good wood stove recipes under your belt.  Although there may be a problem if I can't access my blog for the list of ingredients and proportions....maybe if I made this enough times, I'll remember!

3 cups / 13.5 oz / 380 g whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
8 ounces / 225 g (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus more for buttering the pan
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g dark brown sugar
1 cup / 7 oz / 200 g sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces / 225 g bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4- and 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C degree oven, with a rack in the middle. Butter a 10 (25cm) or 11-inch (28cm) ovenproof skillet, one that is at least 2-inches (5 cm) deep. If you're unsure, measure, because if you use a too small skillet, you'll have a messy overflow.  I used 2 smaller Dutch Ovens on top of a wood heat stove.  When the pans were preheated, I wiped inside of pans with saflower oil.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

In another large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and the sugars. Mix just until the butter and sugars are blended, about 2 minutes using the mixer on low speed.

Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl along the way. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and blend on low speed until the flour is barely combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add most of the chocolate to the batter. Mix just until the chocolate is evenly incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then scrape the batter out into the skillet, pressing it out into an even layer. Sprinkle any remaining chocolate across the top, and casually press it into the dough a bit, just enough that it isn't riding directly on top of the dough.  Use a lid for the pan(s) if cooking on a wood stove.

Bake the cookies for 35-45 minutes (60 minutes on top of my wood stove), or until until the dough is a deep golden brown along the edge, and the center has set. Remove from oven and let cool a bit before slicing into. Cute into wedges or small squares.

preheat 2 smaller Dutch ovens

dough and extra chips ready for the pan

dough and chips into the 2 smaller pans

Dough after 15 minutes of covered cooking.  My cookies took 60 minutes total (covered) 

Makes one large skillet cookie, which you can cut into as many cookies as you like.

This was a very rustic tasting chocolate chip cookie, though very satisfying!  An easy desert when the wood stove is on during the day.

Astrid