Skillet Choc Chip Sweet Potato Cookie Brownies and Solidteknics NÖNI™ pan review

 

This Christmas I had the pleasure of trying out the NÖNI™ skillet by Solidteknics. I thought, what could be a better first use than to make something festive, like spiced sweet potato cookie brownies! But first, let me tell you about my new pan.

 

Having learnt about the potential dangers of nonstick cookware (see here and here) I am slowly transitioning my conventional nonstick pans (I’ve got 1 left now ) to safer and more environmentally friendly alternatives. I was excited to discover Solidteknics and their new cookware innovations: a range of beautifully crafted, sustainable pans with quality and durability to last many years to come. What I like about the nöni™ pan is that it is a seamless one-piece stainless steel pan. Being wrought from one solid piece means that it has no rivets, no welds or screws, no joints and therefore no more wobbly handles. It also works on a number of heat sources including induction, gas, ceramic, halogen, electric, oven, even fire if you wish to use it when camping in the bush.

Since I received my nöni™pan it has rarely seen the inside of my drawer. Due to its small size (I got the 17cm skillet, which is perfect for cooking or heating up small items) it gets used almost daily. The only issues I have with the pan is that occasionally, I get oil marks on the pan – they can be hard to remove using normal detergent. However, I’ve recently found out you can get a cleaning product called Barkeeper’s Friend, which will work wonders on those hard to clean oil marks, so hopefully this will no longer be an issue.

Anyway, if you’re looking for new pans for the new year, definitely consider this range.  Now that I have experienced their seamless stainless steels pan, I’m looking forward to trying their seamless wrought iron (AUS-ION™) pans next year, which perform just like normal cast iron pans but with half the weight and in a seamless one-piecer. I’ve never used bare cast iron before (most of my iron pots are enamelled) so it would be quite interesting going through the seasoning process (Note: all bare cast iron pans will need to be seasoned to make them non-stick). So that’s the plan for next year. For now, let’s make these super easy skillet cookie brownies.

This cookie brownie has the chewy fudgy brownie texture and crispy cookie top combined into one decadent dessert. It is also quite easy to make. I used my left over roasted sweet potatoes, but you can cook it however you like.  Just make sure they are cooked well or it will make mashing them difficult. The sweet potato adds moistness to the cake while boosting its nutritional content, and you won’t even notice it. The key to making this cookie brownie is not to over-bake it. Take it out as soon as a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Also, if you don’t have an equivalent size skillet that is oven-friendly, feel free to use an equivalent size baking pan.

Skillet Choc Chip Sweet Potato Cookie Brownies

Wet Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup cooked (mashed sweet potato)
  • ⅓ cup coconut oil (melted)
  • ⅓ cup coconut sugar (or plain sugar)

Dry Ingredients:

  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp bicarb soda
  • ¼ tsp salt

Topping

  • ⅓ cup non-dairy chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 180C.
  2. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix to combine.
  3. Stir in the wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and mix just enough to moisten the mixture.
  4. Fold in chocolate chips, set aside a few tablespoons to dot the top.
  5. Pour mixture into the skillet and smooth the top with the back of the spoon or spatula. Dot with remaining chocolate chips.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden brown and the inside is cooked –  check by inserting a toothpick into the centre: if it comes out mostly clean then it’s done (a few moist bits are ok). If it’s still a bit wet, bake for another 2-4 minutes. The key is not to overbake the cookie brownie. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

P.S. If you make this, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or find me on Instagram or Facebook. Don’t forget to tag me @passionatelykeren so I won’t miss your post.

Keren x


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December update (my big news)

Dear friends,

Christmas is around the corner and I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am!

I thought it’s time for me to write a post update as you may have noticed my lack of activities on the blog and social media over the last few months.

Truth is, I had to take some time away from the digital world to find myself again in the real world. The last few months have been really a strange, crazy, scary, at times depressing and lonely but at the same time wonderful and incredible. Something big happened to me and I guess I never knew how much it would have impacted me on a personal and emotional.

I cut my hair…

Kidding. Well actually, I did cut my hair but that wasn’t the reason for all the drama.

I’m having a baby.

Yes, a baby!

Some days I still don’t believe it.

Some days I pretend that nothing has changed.

But there is nothing like pregnancy sickness and seeing your growing belly that zaps you back to reality. That you have another human growing in your body.

This whole experience has made me realised how little I know, and how little people (or at least my friends and family) talk about the emotional and mental rollercoaster associated with pregnancy. From trying to get pregnant, getting pregnant, and being pregnant. I wish someone had told me how tough it can be. Yes, pregnancy is wonderful, joyful, miraculous and all that jazz, but it is also very challenging. I wish someone had warned me how hard it can be. I could have been more prepared. 

But here I am now. I’ve survived the first trimester (it was awful, there I said it). But now, my pregnancy sickness has subsided and I’m feeling better and more like myself now… I’m on week 18 now and the baby is proofing nicely for autumn arrival. I watched it grew from a beating spot on the screen to now a fully fledged foetus with eyes and ears, and fingers and toes! 

I’m starting to ‘show’ a bit and looking more and more pregnant every day. I still have mixed feelings with the changes happening to my body – I love rubbing my growing belly but.…I can’t say I love the additional ‘cushion’ developing here and there. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to the third trimester, to Christmas, to spending more time with Missa the dog, Nat the husband, and working on my new passion project – balcony gardening. I’m looking forward to sharing more of my garden with you in the future.

Anyway, if you’re still here, I just want to give you an immense and heartfelt thank you! Thank you for being such patient and loyal readers. Thank you for your email replies, likes, comments, tags, recipe-remakes, for everything. Thank you for making this blog feels like a worthwhile endeavour and thank you for being part of my life journey.

2019 will sure be a big year for me, I hope it will be for you too! In the meantime,

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year. Take care my friends!

Much love,

Keren x