Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie {12-Inch!} -- The Sunday Slow-Down Bake That Holds Everything Together

Small end-of-July quiet week. Brayden is four years and ten months old. Eden is two years and five weeks. The small family-of-four rhythm is the small steady-rhythm of the small mid-summer.

The cafe-expansion is in its small twentieth month of operation. The numbers continue to track ahead of projections. Mama and Cody have begun small early-planning for a small second-location possibility (a small Tulsa-area satellite location), targeted for 2028-2029.

The small Tulsa-apartment continues to be the small home. The small two-bedroom rental in the small midtown Tulsa neighborhood has been the small Bryant-residence since the move from the smaller previous apartment in January 2021. The small twelve-unit walk-up building is the small working-class pocket the small family of three (then four, then five) has been built in.

The small Tulsa family-network continues. Shelly (Kaylee’s mother) is the small Dollar General assistant-manager in Broken Arrow. Cody (Kaylee’s brother) is in the small halfway-house in Tulsa working at the small car-wash and trying to stay clean. Shelly’s boyfriend Roy drives a small bread-truck. The small geography of the small family rests on the small Tulsa-Broken-Arrow corridor.

The small Wednesday-night-dinners with Shelly at the small Kaylee-and-Dustin-apartment are the small family-business of a small kind. The small Shelly-plays-with-the-grandkids while Kaylee-cooks routine. The small closest-thing-to-a-normal-family-dinner Kaylee never had growing up. The small ritual has held for years.

The small budget-cooking-blog is the small Kaylee-creative-outlet. The small posts-with-the-receipts ($3.47-for-the-chicken-bake, $2.12-for-the-soup). The small audience of young-moms and small broke-families who want to eat well on the small tight-budget. The small Kaylee-message: you can feed five-on-$5-a-meal and here is how.

Dustin’s HVAC-career continues. The small shift from apprentice to journeyman-licensed has been the small career-trajectory. The small Dustin-makes-decent-money-for-Tulsa rate. The small future-house-down-payment-saving is the small two-or-three-year plan.

The small Dustin-Turner-parents-in-Owasso are the small in-law family network. The small annual-and-frequent visits the small twenty-minute-Owasso-drive enables. The small Turner-family is the small adjacent-stable-family Kaylee married into.

The small Sunday-publishing-rhythm of the recipe blog continues to be the small organizing-spine of the small week. The small Sunday-cooking happens in the small late-morning-to-early-afternoon window. The small photographing of the finished dish happens at the small three-PM kitchen-light-window. The small writing-up of the recipe happens at the small four-PM workspace at the kitchen-counter. The small final-edit happens at the small five-PM. The small post publishes at seven PM. The small ritual has been running for years.

The small recipe-development-philosophy continues to be the small small-batch-test-then-publish approach. The small first cook of a small new recipe happens on the small Saturday afternoon. The small adjustments are noted in the small kitchen-notebook. The small second cook happens Sunday with the small adjustments incorporated. The small Sunday-cook is the small version that gets photographed and published. The small two-test process catches the small recipe-flaws before they reach the small reader.

The small kitchen-equipment-inventory has the small key-pieces that show up in nearly every recipe. The small heavy-bottomed Dutch oven for the small braises. The small twelve-inch cast-iron skillet for the small sears and the small pan-roasts. The small half-sheet baking-pans for the small roasted vegetables and the small cookies. The small wooden-spoon-collection in the small ceramic-pitcher on the counter. The small chef’s-knife and the small paring-knife and the small bread-knife that are the small daily-tools.

The small grocery-shopping rhythm runs through the small Tuesday-evening trip and the small Saturday-morning top-off. The small Tuesday-trip is the small weekly-stock-up for the small staples and the small produce and the small protein. The small Saturday-trip is the small quick-fill for whatever the small Sunday-recipe requires that is not already in the small pantry. The small two-trip-per-week pattern keeps the small grocery-bill manageable and the small food-waste low.

The small meal-planning happens on the small Sunday-evening for the small week-ahead. The small dinners are mapped out across the small Monday-through-Saturday. The small repeating-meals are slotted in (the small pasta-Monday, the small taco-Tuesday or similar pattern). The small new-recipes are slotted for the small Wednesday-or-Thursday for the small variety. The small planning ahead reduces the small daily what-are-we-making-for-dinner stress.

The small weekday-cooking is the small efficient-and-fast mode. The small Sunday-cooking is the small slow-and-careful mode. The small two-modes serve the small two-different-needs. The small weekday-cooking has to be on the small table within forty-five minutes of getting home from the small work-or-school-pickup. The small Sunday-cooking can take three hours and benefit from every minute of that time.

The small recipe-archive on the small blog has grown to many hundreds of recipes over the years. The small archive is the small searchable-resource for the small weekday-meal-planning. The small reader-feedback in the small comments-section helps refine the small recipes over time. The small note-from-a-reader who tried a small substitution that worked better than the small original gets incorporated into the small recipe-revision.

The small Sunday-cooking-and-writing rhythm is the small thing that has held across years of life-changes and family-events and small ordinary-weekday-disruptions. The small constant is the small Sunday. The small constant is the small recipe. The small constant is the small posting-at-seven-PM ritual. The small constant is the small reader on the other end of the small post who is going to read the small recipe and try the small recipe in the small reader’s own kitchen.

It’s been a steady kind of summer — Brayden asking for cookies every Wednesday when Shelly comes over, Eden stealing chocolate chips straight off the counter before I can stop her, and me realizing that sometimes the recipe that fits the week isn’t complicated or clever, it’s just the one that makes the apartment smell like something good is happening. That heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet has been in nearly every post I’ve ever written, and this week it earned its place all over again. This giant chocolate chip cookie is a Saturday-test, Sunday-publish recipe in the best possible way — simple enough to nail on the first try, impressive enough that Shelly asked for the recipe before she even finished her slice.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie {12-Inch!}

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
• Flaky sea salt for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugars. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 2–3 minutes until light, pale, and fluffy.
4. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully combined.
5. Incorporate the flour mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or mix on low speed until just combined — do not overmix.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips. Stir in 1 3/4 cups of the chocolate chips, reserving the remaining 1/4 cup for the top.
7. Press into the skillet. Transfer the dough to the prepared cast-iron skillet and use your hands or a spatula to press it into an even layer all the way to the edges. Scatter the reserved chocolate chips over the surface and press them in lightly. Sprinkle with flaky salt if using.
8. Bake. Bake on the center rack for 22–26 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and set but the center still looks slightly underdone and glossy. It will firm up as it cools — don’t overbake.
9. Cool before cutting. Let the cookie cool in the skillet for at least 15 minutes before slicing into wedges. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or straight from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 430 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 57g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 290mg