This recipe, which I will also refer to as a sick-Day Salted Caramel Skillet Cookie, will change your life. No question.

Yes, sick day (or days). I’ve been knocked out with a head-cold all week long and now finally finding the energy to move around and get in my kitchen. After mustering the motivation to turn on the oven, the only thing I wanted to make was a big ass cookie — so this salted caramel chocolate chunk skillet cookie goodness was born.

I’m definitely not inventing the wheel with a skillet cookie. In fact, I had my first skillet cookie (also called a pazookie = pizza cookie) in college at a local pizza spot in Tucson, Arizona. At this restaurant, you ordered a pazookie for your table of friends and it was pulled out from the oven, loaded up with ice cream, and served to the table with a handful of spoons. Obviously, it was the (sugar-loaded) dream.

Now, skillet cookies are trending on Instagram. The skillet cookie queen, Rachel DeVaux from the blog Rachel’s Good Eats, kind of changed the game on the whole pizza cookie thing. This is an adaptation of her recipe with just a few minor (delicious!) adjustments.

The big-ass skillet cookie in question is made with a base of nut butter. I used both peanut butter and cashew butter, but feel free to make dietary swaps as you see fit. Almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or a different type of nut-based butter would all work wonderfully. Just make sure to find the least processed version of nut butter possible, meaning one or two ingredients only: peanuts + salt, for example.

This sick day cookie is also completely gluten-free thanks to oat flour instead of conventional white flour. Oat flour can be purchased in your grocery store or online, or ground in a high-speed blender from rolled oats – which is how I make mine. Oat flour, like whole oats, is supreme source of fiber noted to reduce and improve total cholesterol levels and maintain happy digestion.

Other superstar ingredients include almond milk for extra creaminess, coconut oil for healthy fats, and an organic egg to bind the whole cookie together. I have not tried using a flax egg with this recipe, but I suspect it would work like the dream.

The salted caramel goodness is thanks to Alter Eco’s (my favorite chocolate brand – see more here!) dark salted burnt caramel chocolate bar, which adds the perfect salted caramel flavor to the cookie. If you don’t have one of these chocolate babies lying around (I suggest you fix that ASAP!) then feel free to use 80 grams of a different kind of dark chocolate bar.

Cut your skillet cookie into slices, like a pie, or dig into it with spoons and (optional but delicious) ice cream on top. It’s SO delicious!

Bonus – if this is your sick day baking project, it will make you feel so, so much better.

Salted Caramel Skillet Cookie

Yields 1 Large Skillet Cookie

Ingredients

½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup cashew butter
¼ cup almond milk
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 organic egg
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup oat flour
½ tsp sea salt + more to sprinkle
1 bar Alter Eco Dark Salted Burnt Caramel chocolate, chopped (80 grams)

You will also need: a 10-inch cast iron skillet

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a blender combine peanut butter, sunflower butter, almond milk, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and egg. Blend on medium until mixture is combined and creamy. Add in baking flour, oat flour, and sea salt and blend to combine.

Add in ½ bar of chopped chocolate and pulse a few times to combine.

Lightly grease a cast iron skillet with coconut oil. Spread cookie batter into cast iron skillet and dot with remainder of chopped chocolate bar. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.

Bake cookie for 18 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Turn oven to broil and cook an additional two to three minutes – keep an eye on the cookie so it doesn’t burn.

Remove from oven, cut into slices (or dig in with spoons and ice cream!) and enjoy!

_Notes: recipe adapted from Rachel’s Good Eats