One thing I love about teaching (besides, of course, the generous paychecks and the endless adulation of teenagers) is the fact that it keeps me in touch with young people.

Most of them are in the 15-18 age range, of course. But, thanks to the university down the street, I often do get to have conversations with folks who are in college.

That’s how I found out about pizookies.

Now, maybe you’re thinking that pizookies have been around for decades, that everybody knows about pizookies, that I must have been living under a rock for these to be new to me.

Thankfully, the young woman who taught me about them did not tell me this. You see, the college students I meet most often are teacher candidates: kind, endlessly patient, and willing to overlook my endless geriatric commentary.

So if it is true that pizookies are not cutting edge treats, don’t tell me about it. Let me feel young. Just this once.

Anyway, if you, like me, were born “way back in the 1900s,” you may need an explanation: a pizookie is a pizza-sized cookie.

Has anything in the whole history of ever sounded better than a COOKIE that is the size of a PIZZA? No. I didn’t think so.

Actually, I think these have existed for a long time. But back in the 90s, we called them cookie cakes, and they were mostly restricted to mall counters. I can remember spending a lot of money figuring out how to get a “deal” on a dinky doozie, which if I recall correctly was the name given to two perfectly normal-sized cookies with a layer of buttercream icing sandwiched between them.

(How genius is that? Make a killing off selling giant cookies and then make your customers feel positively virtuous by calling normal-sized cookies “dinkies.” America, man. No other place like it.)

The beauty of the pizookie, in contrast to the cookie cake, is that it’s meant to be enjoyed warm, fresh from the oven.

So I guess I take it back. There IS something better than a cookie the size of a pizza… and it is a WARM cookie the size of a pizza.

Theoretically, you could pile a few scoops of vanilla ice cream on top of this cookie and serve it to a group of friends alongside a pile of spoons. Everyone could dig in, and it would be a party.

Maybe I would have done it that way in my younger years, but post-pandemic Amelia is just fine with slicing this bad boy into wedges and serving each in an individual bowl with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Actually, the pandemic is precisely when I found this recipe. I could not find it recently using any search terms whatsoever. Thank goodness I printed a copy; apparently it comes from Melissa Stadler at Modern Honey. I’ve recreated it below the way I make it.

CHOCOLATE CHIP PIZOOKIE

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag (1 1/2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
Optional: vanilla ice cream

Directions
■ In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet set over medium heat, melt butter completely. (I do not recommend browning the butter; browned butter is always delicious, but it does make the finished pizookie less chewy.) Add sugars to the melted butter and stir well. Stir frequently until mixture is smooth and glossy, turning heat down to low if sugar begins to scorch or boil. Chill in a refrigerator or freezer for 10-15 minutes or remove from heat and allow to cool on the counter for at least 30 minutes.
■ Preheat oven to 325 degrees while mixture cools. When mixture is cool enough to taste comfortably, add eggs and vanilla and stir well. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix well. Double check the temperature of the dough to be sure it’s at room temperature; add chocolate and mix to combine. Place skillet into preheated oven and bake until edges are golden brown, about 26-33 minutes.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.