Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for a giant oat and almond cookie

There’s something fun about bringing one giant cookie to the table for everyone to dig in to. It’s such a good sharing dessert, and this oaty, nutty one comes together pretty quickly, too. You can make the dough in advance, then just pop it in the oven while you’re having dinner, so it’s warm and a little gooey in time for pudding. I know there’ll be lots of you itching to throw in chocolate chips, but I honestly don’t think it needs them. You get to appreciate all the caramelly, buttery, almost flapjack-like flavour without any distractions.

A giant oat and almond cookie

Prep 10 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 6-8

90g jumbo oats
120g unsalted butter
70g dark muscovado sugar
100g caster sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
140g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
40g flaked almonds, plus a handful to top
Ice-cream, to serve

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Put the oats on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until very lightly browned and smelling nutty. Set aside to cool. Lightly grease a 23cm skillet or, if you’re using a cake tin, line that with baking paper.

Start by browning the butter. Put the butter in a saucepan and heat gently until melted. Continue to cook until the butter turns a deep amber colour and smells fragrant, then take off the heat and pour into a large bowl to cool to room temperature.

Once cool, add both sugars and mix to combine. Mix in the egg and vanilla, then tip in the remaining dry ingredients and stir to make a thick dough.

Spoon the dough into the skillet or cake tin, and press down evenly. Top with a handful of almonds and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cookie looks mostly set. Let it cool a little before serving warm with ice-cream.