Every month, our accounting manager Rachel, bakes up a huge batch of these jumbo chocolate chip cookies for employee birthdays. She bakes them at home and brings the precious cargo to the factory. They are always a huge hit with the crew so we though we would try baking them in our new Applewood cookstove.

The Applewood is a small wood fired cook stove with an oven and a removable cast iron cooking griddle. An extra cast iron griddle works great for baking these in smaller batches. There are a few key differences when baking a favorite recipe on a cookstove vs a conventional oven. One is the need to rotate your baked goods half way through the baking. This allows for a more even bake. Another difference is the way you control the heat of the oven. Once a fire is established, you will use the stoves air control to control the temperature of the oven. Additionally, the amount of fuel that you load in the firebox can be used to maintain your desired cooking temperature. Finally, you can open the oven door to reduce the temperature of the oven.

The cookies turned out great, we just followed the recipe and kept the oven's thermometer right at 375°. Here is the complete recipe if you would like to try these out!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 package of 12 ounce semisweet chocolate pieces (2 cups)

Instructions:

Place your thermometer in the oven and build a medium sized fire heating the oven to 375°F.
If cooking in a conventional oven, set the oven to 375°

Cream the butter, sugar, brown sugar and baking soda. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

Gradually mix in the flour until combined then stir in chocolate chips.

Measure ¼ cup scoops of dough and evenly space 4 scoops on your extra cast iron griddle or baking sheet.
Bake 12-14 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through.

Add wood and adjust the air to maintain a temperature between 350° and 375°
Let the cookies stand 2-3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Makes about 20 cookies