There are really no words that can describe the ecstasy of a GIANT COOKIE BAKED IN CAST IRON! What more can you possibly say?

Pans needed

Cast iron skillet (or dutch oven), 10 to 12 inches in diameter. A larger pan will produce a thinner cookie, but the smaller pan will give a really, really thick cookie.

2 bowls to mix ingredients, one medium, one large

Ingredients

10 to 12 inch cast iron skillet

Dry ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt Optional: 1/3 teaspoon cream of tartar

Wet ingredients: 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 egg 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 ounces solid milk chocolate, chilled (keep in the refrigerator) (chocolate bars, blocks, Easter bunnies, etc.)

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, chilled (keep in the refrigerator)

14 inch cast iron skillet

Dry ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Optional: 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Wet ingredients: 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 1/4 cups brown sugar 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

8 to 10 ounces solid milk chocolate, chilled (keep in the refrigerator) (chocolate bars, blocks, Easter bunnies, etc.)

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, chilled (keep in the refrigerator)

Be sure to keep your chocolate in the refrigerator, or even in the freezer, before you use it. The chocolate will chop into pieces and be less likely to melt as you are cutting it up.

Using a knife (preferably a serrated knife), chop blocks of milk chocolate into tiny pieces. The pieces will be all sizes and shapes, even chocolate crumbs and dust. This is what we want, to ensure chocolate chunks are spread throughout the cookie!

When you are done chopping the milk chocolate, gather it into a bowl and place the bowl in the freezer while the cookie dough is being prepared.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the cooking surface of a cast iron skillet with shortening, including the sides.

In the large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt. This is an important step, as it helps to incorporate air into the dough.

In the medium bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: butter, sugar, and brown sugar. This can be done by hand if the butter is soft; you may need to soften the butter in the microwave oven for 15 seconds on high. After the sugar and butter are mixed (creamed) together, add egg and vanilla. Stir them all together until thoroughly blended.

Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl and mix them together with the dry ingredients. (This is why the large bowl is needed for the dry ingredients.) Keep stirring until it becomes a thick, clay-like batter. (If it seems too dry, don't add more liquid. Just put your stirring utensil aside and knead the dough with your hands. This will give it the right consistency.)

Retrieve the chilled milk chocolate pieces from the freezer, pour them into the bowl with the batter, and use your hands to knead the dough and mix in the chocolate pieces and chunks. Because the chocolate pieces have been chilled, they will be less likely to melt and make a big mess as you are kneading the dough with your hands.

Pour in half of the semisweet chocolate chips and mix it all together. Save the other half of the chocolate chips, to spread across the top of the cookie after the dough has been shaped!

Empty your batter into the cast iron skillet. Using a large spoon or spatula (or by pressing it down with your hands), spread it all out over the pan. After the dough has been spread and shaped into the pan, pour the rest of the chocolate chips over the top. Press down on the chocolate chips with your hands, pressing them into the surface of the cookie.

Let a young child nibble at some of the cookie dough. This is important.

Place the pan in your oven and bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F (176 degrees C). If you're using a 15-inch skillet to make a really big cookie, bake it for 40 minutes at 325 degrees F.

(The amazing part is the way the cookie rises! It's actually more like a cookie cake than a regular cookie.)

After 30 minutes (or 40 for a really big cookie), remove the hot cast iron pan from the oven and let it rest for at least five to ten minutes, in order for the cookie to settle.

Serve. Be careful not to burn yourself – the chocolate will still be hot and gooey.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 cup creamy peanut butter

6 ounces roasted peanuts (optional)

If you want a big, soft, yummy peanut butter cookie, add 8 ounces (1 cup) creamy peanut butter to the cookie dough mix, and mix it all together. You can also add 6 ounces of roasted peanuts to the dough, though this isn't absolutely necessary. Or, omit the chocolate chips completely and add 12 ounces (or more) of roasted peanuts.

If you really want to kick it up a notch, try this recipe: Slutty Brownies

See also: Horrible Truffle Cookies. For truly dangerous and decadent chocolate chip cookies, give them a secret truffle center. Your cookies will be remembered forever.

To truly make this cookie epic, bake a double batch of cookie dough in a cake pan. The result: Epic Bundt Cookie!

Finally, you can double the recipe and bake a cookie large enough to be served on a pizza pan. For an oversized pan like this, be sure to double the ingredients, lower the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake for 60 minutes.

February 22, 2014: For Valentine's Day last week, my workplace held a bake sale fundraiser to benefit a local senior citizens' home. I'd planned on contributing a bunch of baked cookies to the sale. However, on Tuesday, February 11th, my boss sent me out on a grueling road trip that ended up lasting over a week. I missed Valentine's Day completely, and didn't return home until Wednesday, February 19th. Never mind the holiday; that was my business. However, I'd stocked up on ingredients for cookies, and they had to be used. Therefore, my neighbors are going to luck out and get to feast upon this. This is a double batch of cookie dough, mixed in with two bags of M&M's (one bag milk chocolate, one bag peanut candies), and laid out on a 14-inch Lodge cast iron pizza pan. Into the oven it goes! Imgur picture gallery: Giant M&M Cookie in a Cast Iron Pizza Pan