A Colossal Cookie

Yummy note: Oh my, this summer is sure upon us, with all of the activities going on, this Secret Recipe Club post sure seemed to sneak a bit up on me. I was going to traveling a bit right before this posting, so I knew I had to get on the ball and get going with my assignment for this month. I had a blog called Heavenly Treats and Treasures and the photos on this site sure did look heavenly, making it a hard choice while planning it out. I really wanted to make one of the sorbets, but my freezer hasn't really had the room for something more tossed in there, so strike that off the list.. next I thought these brioche buns as I've never made those before and I could use them in several of my planned meals, but then I saw this HUGE cookie! Score, that is so it.. and what was even better, I was easily able to adapt the recipe for my kids' milk and nut allergies. That really sells a recipe to me, as I can make something for ALL of us to enjoy. It is no fun to eat something delicious, while others have to watch,  I don't like to make something and not share... and that is what makes this cookie from Heavenly Treat and Treasures so nice. It makes a larger batch and it is perfect for sharing :)

 A Colossal Cookie

(with dairy-free adaptions)

Recipe adapted from http://www.heavenlytreatsandtreasures.com/2011/07/cookie-monster.html

Ingredients: 

1 lb. soy margarine

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, infused with a vanilla bean

2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups bread flour

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour* 

* Grace suggested a perfect substitution for this pastry flour that the original recipe called for. Make an easy mix of 4 cups of pastry flour by whisking 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour and 1 1/3 cups cake flour together. Just note, not to use all of this flour, you’ll have about 3/4 cup of leftover flour you can save for later use. 

2 bags of dairy-free chocolate chips (apprx. 2 lbs of chocolate pieces) 

Two of my staple ingredients in my dairy-free pantry-- LOVE these Enjoy Life allergy friendly chocolate chips and the Willow Run Soy Margarine for baking. 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly spray a 12” cast iron skillet with oil. The Heavenly Treats and Treasures recipe originally started out with browning some butter with a vanilla bean and making some heavenly browned butter. However, I made an adaption here, as I was using a non-dairy substitute and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. Instead I used some of my vanilla bean infused sugar. I keep a jar of this in my cabinet for special recipes like this! It is easy to do, just place a vanilla bean, that is cut open and toss inside a jar of sugar. Make sure it is a tight lid and wait for few weeks to use for best flavor.

In a large bowl, whisk your pastry flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended. Next, in a separate bowl, cream the soy margarine and sugars on medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one. Add vanilla extract and beat until well blended. Gradually incorporate flour mixture to wet ingredients, add about a third of flour mixture at a time to the other bowl. Last, add the chocolate pieces to the batter. 

Spread about a third of the dough into the prepared skillet. Bake in your preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes on the center rack. Adjust your time accordingly and don’t over bake, so remove cookie once the edges start to get golden brown. Cool on a baking rack for about 10 minutes, then decorate or serve as desired. Check out Heavenly Treats and Treasures for a gooey caramel sauce to top it with or see how I decorated the cookie below! I used a basic buttercream frosting recipe and made adaptions accordingly. 

Hooray for The Secret Recipe Club! 

Cut and serve in slices!

Instead of baking larger cookies for the rest of the dough, I scooped some dough and baked them in greased muffin tin cups! I baked them for about the same time, roughly about 20 minutes until they turn a golden brown. These were perfect to freeze leftovers, too!

Caramel and chocolate sauce drizzled on top of a warm cookie makes it out of this world. 

I also made some frosted cookie cups with the leftover frosting!  The cookie cups sink a bit in the middle perfect for a glob of frosting! 

Stop by and check out the Secret Recipe Club and see what it is all about!!