Cast Iron Skillet Brownie
Sometimes after a long week, the best thing is to be sitting around a table with friends sharing music, and laughter, and love. Last night I had the signal pleasure of sitting around my table at a dinner Greg put together on the fly for a collection of my adult music students, laughing and talking over a beautiful quick Italian sauce of his making, perfectly paired with pasta. I’ve known some of these people for decades, and there’s nothing like the connection of music to seed deep and satisfying conversations about changing the world. The good conversation kept us at the table long after we would have otherwise gone our separate ways, and realizing the time, they quickly scattered back home, abruptly leaving us to our own devices. After the door had closed behind them, we both looked at each other and said, “Dessert,” and grinned. Of course, that meant something quick, and something chocolate. The perfect candidate? Cast Iron Skillet Brownies.
If y’all have never watched Quincy’s Tavern, you really should. I mostly watch his short Facebook and TikTok videos here and there, which are so wholesome and grounding and helpful and uplifting, and I remembered that his Valentine video featured brownies made stylishly in a cast iron skillet, which of course, meant I had to try them. To enjoy the best and most stylish deployment of this recipe, watch Quincy’s video:
Cast iron skillets can be used for so many things, and they are unabashedly one of my favorite cooking vessels for a host of reasons. I’d never made brownies this way before, generally preferring to be a quick-from-the-box kind of girl, but now I think I may skip the box entirely. This recipe cooks so perfectly in the skillet, avoiding the burnt brown-ness of a too-hot cake pan on the edges, which I really love. The brownie comes out cakey and light, and if you serve them warm right from the skillet topped with ice cream and chocolate syrup as Quincy does, they are an ultimate amazing dessert to share with those you love and don’t mind spoon-sharing a dish with (or not, if it’s been a long week— that’s self care too sometimes.) If you’d like a chewier, thicker brownie, opt for a smaller skillet, maybe one that’s six inches or so in inner diameter, like my Birmingham Stove & Range #4 . If you like a thinner, more cake-like brownie or more surface for ice cream, go for an 8-inch skillet like my #7.
The ingredients are simple, no need for frills: butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa. We had a lot of extra cocoa and chocolate chips lying around, mainly because I forgot to curate my Imperfect box for a couple of weeks (surprise! BBQ flavored mushroom jerky anyone? It was surprisingly good, thankfully) and they know me pretty well after two years of pandemic-staple buying, so chocolate is usually a regular purchase. No need for fancy cocoa or butter here, and margarine will certainly suffice too if that’s what you’ve got.
I would recommend whisking everything together in the skillet as Quincy does in his video (and how sweet is that towel-reveal costume change? Honestly, he’s the best) which means no bowls to wash. I melt my butter in the skillet before adding the other ingredients, which leaves the only cleanup a quick scrub and oil of the skillet when you’re done. I mean, no one’s leaving leftover brownies in there, right? Right. It also helps to keep the sticking factor to a minimum if your skillet’s well seasoned too!
Make these brownies in good health and enjoy them with someone you love, preferably with that same sweet smile as Quincy gives us in his videos, and be thankful for conversation, chocolate, and spoon-sharing with someone you love, even and especially if that’s yourself.