Raspberry Almond Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

98% of the time I use it, I am cooking something savory: sausage gravy, cornbread, pork chops. I rarely use it as a vessel for something sweet. Even though it’s versatile enough to prepare pretty much anything, my mind never goes to dessert. Until now. This recipe is warm, sweet, nutty, chocolately – just all around wonderful! I think it is so perfect for fall because it invites you to curl up with a blanket and your favorite movie on a cool evening and indulge just a little bit.

To me, cooking this in a skillet brings a bit of rustic-ness and ease to the dish since it can be created all in one pan. If you don’t have an iron skillet, don’t worry – you can still make this dessert in an 8” round cake pan. You will just need to melt your butter in a saucepan and combine everything in a large bowl before transferring into a greased cake pan.

Your delicious ingredients are:

• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 6 ounces (1 small clamshell) fresh raspberries, mashed into a puree with a fork
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• ½ cup chopped almonds

How you make it:

• Place your oven rack in the top third of the oven and set it to preheat to 350 degrees F
• Melt your butter directly in your  8″ skillet over medium-low heat
• Once butter is completely melted, turn off the heat, then add brown sugar and the vanilla & almond extracts
• Whisk everything together until smooth and combined
• Let the mixture cool for at least 5 minutes, until it is no longer hot to the touch. Warm is okay, but you do not want to cook the egg
• Once mixture is cooled a bit, add the egg and whisk until well combined
• Add raspberries and ginger, change from a whisk to a spoon, and stir to combine
• Add flour, baking powder and salt, gently stir until well combined
• Gently fold in chocolate and almonds until evenly distributed
• Spread the batter around until you have a smooth top, just to make sure you have uniform thickness throughout
• Place in the oven and bake for 18-25 minutes. The cookie should be done on the outsides, but still a little under-done in the center.
• Remove from the oven and cool for about 15 minutes to let everything set up nicely (don’t worry, it will still be warm and gooey).

There you have it – sweet, warming goodness. Don’t worry, no one will judge you if you pass up on dinner and eat this instead. Who can resist all of these flavors when they’re together?

Inspired by Joy the Baker