This Skillet Cookie Class Got My Kid Excited About Cooking With Me

We both learned — and ate — a lot.

December 03, 2019

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My seven-year-old son loves to cook. He's happiest cozying up on the couch to watch Duff and Valerie work their magic on Kids Baking Championship. He loves to put his own skills to the test, so we've been tackling basic kitchen skills with dishes like scrambled eggs, in our own homemade Cooking 101.

But as fun as it is to guide him through the basics, I know that he can learn more from the pros. So, when the Food Network Kitchen app launched, the live and on-demand classes presented the perfect opportunity for us to cook and learn together, with the experts he loves guiding him.

I gave him free reign to sift through the available classes and find his next challenge. His big brown eyes lit up when he saw that Food Network managing culinary producer Dana Beninati was hosting a class on making the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie. He begged me to make it and I eagerly obliged. It had the benefit of being a clever spin on a universally beloved dessert. Skillet cookies mean more gooey bits to devour, and a big, edible trophy for him to show off to our family after dinner.

I wanted him to take the lead, so I played sous chef (assisting with things that were hot or too heavy). He gathered all of his ingredients and we got started. Cooking along with Dana made it fun, engaging and easy to keep up.

We both picked up valuable tips along the way. Though I’m a food writer, I’ll admit that until now, I scooped and leveled flour for baking. Dana suggested spooning it into the measuring cup for a more accurate weight. We’ll do it the right way from now on.

Apart from stepping in to melt the butter (for fear of an unnecessary burn), I let him mix the wet ingredients and then the dry in a separate bowl. When it was time to combine and pour everything in, I held the bowl and he scooped out the cookie dough, making sure it was all spread evenly in the cast-iron pan before I hoisted it into the oven. As Dana’s version baked simultaneously on our screen, she shared that it smelled amazing, and we enthusiastically agreed — the smell that filled our kitchen was beyond delightful. When it came out of the oven, it looked — and tasted — even better, and my son was beyond thrilled.

The Food Network Kitchen app is like a cooking school in our kitchen, anytime we want it. Fun, affordable kids’ cooking classes can be tough to find, so this was a great way for him to learn and, most importantly, for us to do something together. Though we watched the previously live class on-demand, he loved listening to the live questions as they popped up, and is eager to cook along live next time, and ask his own questions in real time.

He proudly brought a slice to school the next day, and had his friends guess if this was a cake, a brownie or a cookie. At the rate he’s learning, he’ll be cooking dinner for the whole family soon!

You can make Dana's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie by checking out the all-new Food Network Kitchen app. You’ll be able to drop in for classes and learn more must-know tips and must-make recipes.

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