The Whipped Cream Upgrade That Transforms Skillet Cookies

It's hard to top the crunchy, soft, and chewy goodness of an oatmeal raisin skillet cookie, that is unless you are adding whipped cream to it. The creamy and light nature of whipped cream is a beautiful contrast to the warm and rich taste of this dessert, providing your taste buds with a satisfying bite. But if you really want to amp up the flavor of your cream topping, try enhancing it with the floral, fruity, and even smokey notes of honey, along with the acidic tang of sour cream. 

The addition of honey and sour cream to whipped cream creates a yin and yang for your tongue. Honey is naturally sweet, but because there is such variety when it comes to this sticky, syrupy ingredient, you can experiment and select a version that fits your palate and compliments the type of skillet cookie you make. A deep, dark buckwheat honey will add a petrichor smell and taste while a honey lighter in color can add notes of caramel or butterscotch depending on the nectar the bees gravitated towards.

Juxtaposed to honey's spectrum of flavors, sour cream has a piquant taste that's both an equalizer and a thickener that doesn't compromise whipped cream's lighter-than-air texture. It also stabilizes this topping, meaning if you want to make it ahead of time, you don't have to worry about it melting and losing its shape before you dollop it on your oatmeal raisin cookie.

The best time to whip up your heavy cream is while your cookie is baking in the oven. It's always best to start with a chilled bowl, so plan to put it, along with your beaters or whisk, in the freezer for 15 minutes. This helps keep the fat cold, which makes for a light volume. Keep your heavy cream and sour cream in the fridge as well until you are ready to use. 

When whipping up these ingredients, you will want to use a 2 to 1 ratio of heavy cream to sour cream, and should go light on the honey. A little goes a long way. Just a single tablespoon will add the perfect amount of sweetness to the cinnamon and molasses notes of your oatmeal raisin cookie.

Once your skillet cookie is done, top it with your honey and sour cream whipped cream for what Food Network describes as "a tangy contrast to the sweet spices and rich brown sugar flavors."