Spring snow, cooler temperatures and gray skies have you feeling down during week four of Illinois’ stay-at-home order? I’m with you. When the sun goes into hiding and it’s too cold to play outside, a little cooking, Homemade with Heinen’s, seems to help a lot. And sometimes BAKING is just what the doctor ordered!
Have you been baking up a storm? Add #BarringtonBakes to your captions on Instagram and we’ll share some of your photos for inspiration, like these favorites from Stephanie Nisbet, kindergarten teacher at Saint Anne Parish School. Mrs. Nisbet has been sharing photos of recipes she’s been making with her sweet daughter, Clara.
A batch of chocolate chip cookies with special unicorn chips was the jolt of sunshine I needed during a particularly difficult day of distance learning last week with our kids. (Thank you, Stephanie!)
Inspired by Mrs. Nisbet’s cheery kitchen, for the first time in years we broke out our KitchenAid stand mixer on Easter Sunday. We put our own spin on a simple recipe we found for a spring skillet cookie and we made a big mess. But it was fun to let my 5th grade daughter take charge of project monster cookie.
Spring Skillet Cookie
INGREDIENTS:
Makes 1 – 12″ Cookie
- 3 sticks of butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups of sugar
- 1 ½ cups of packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 4 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup of white chocolate chips
- ½ cup of Easter colored M&M’s
- ¼ cup of sprinkles
- Whipped cream & vanilla ice cream topping
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Grease the bottom of a cast iron skillet with butter or cooking spray.
- Mix the butter and sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla and eggs 1 at a time until they are mixed in.
- Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder and flour on low speed and mix until combined.
- Using a spatula fold in the chocolate chips, candy and sprinkles until incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to the 12” cast iron skillet and smooth out the top.
- Bake the pan in the oven at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned but soft in the center.
- Top off with optional ice cream and whipped cream topping.
While we didn’t have our Easter brunch until dinnertime, topping the spring skillet cookie was a fun way to end the day. Our boys were generous with the sprinkles and vanilla ice cream on top and we have leftovers that’ll last all week!
Family owned & operated, Heinen’s Grocery is located at 500 N. Hough Street, between E. Main Street and Route 14 in Barrington, Illinois. They’re open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click here for the latest on how Heinen’s is serving customers, associates, suppliers and communities during the COVID-19 crisis. For more information, visit Heinens.com.
