Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
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For those who don’t like to celebrate with a traditional cake, this chocolate chip cookie cake is the perfect way to celebrate any special occasion! Soft, chewy center, and crispy edges with lots of chocolate chips and decorated with a chocolate buttercream frosting on top. The cookie cake dough is as simple as making regular chocolate chip cookies and takes about 15 minutes or less to mix up!
You know when you go to a fun get together and someone brings one of those GIANT cookie cakes? Anyone else sidle over making sure they get a big old slice? I hope you’re nodding your head over there with me. Please tell me I’m not alone.
Those cookie cakes are always SO good. Thick, chewy cookie slice, and of course that frosting on top always sends it over the edge for me. This homemade chocolate chip cookie cake is 1000% times better than those store-bought ones Then again homemade always is isn’t it?
I’ve been having some fun perusing and choosing recipes from my latest cookbook, Live Well Bake Cookies from Danielle Rye over at Live Well Bake Often. I thoroughly enjoyed (as did everyone who got one!) her chocolate whoopie pies, made with my Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. So I decided to try her chocolate chip cookie cake next. I changed up the cookie cake recipe by frosting it with some of my Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting but otherwise if you get a copy of the book it’s exactly what you’ll see inside.
And now maybe after making this cookie cake, I’m thinking there needs to more cookie cakes on this blog because wow they are just awesome. Stay tuned for more cookie cakes… until then let’s make this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe.
Oh. My. Swoon. I was stuck in my house for 3 days because of an epic blizzard that hit Boston (over 2 feet in 1 day!!). Did we play a lot of board games and watch too many movies? Yup. Did we have to spend half a day shoveling? Oh my yes. Did we drink way too many cups of hot cocoa afterwards with some of my Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows? Yes and yes.
And then the ultimate question, did I eat way, way, way too many slices of this cake myself you ask? Yup. I had to get this cake out of my house ASAP once we could clear a path down our driveway because it was starting to become a problem. Like not fit in my pants anymore by the end of the week kind of problem.
Make this chocolate chip cookie cake and then you will understand my struggles.
What Makes This Cookie Cake Seriously Awesome
- Soft, Chewy Perfection – Danielle is no dummy, she knew to get that soft, chewy cookie you expect from one of these cookie cakes, she would need to an extra egg yolk into the dough. And it’s genius! Perfect texture achieved.
- Easy, Pantry Stable Ingredients -Basically it’s one big giant cookie, so if you have those ingredients on hand, then you’re all set to make these.
- Easy To Decorate And Customize – You could easily frost this with vanilla frosting, or even write a “Happy Birthday” message”, stir in some sprinkles, whatever for a special occasion!
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs – You need one egg and an extra egg yolk. Make sure they are room temperature before you use them.
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate Chips– I use either semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, depending on what I have. You could also use mini chocolate chips, another flavor, chop up some chocolate as well.
How To Make A Cookie Cake
Mix Your Dry Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
I can’t stress this enough…measure your flour the right way! Kitchen scale is best, but if using a measuring cup spoon the flour into the cup, not packing it down, and then level it off. Too much flour = dry, cakey, crumbly cookie cake. And nobody wants that!
Cream Butter And Sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes, or until well combined.
Room Temperature Butter Is Key!
We need to cream our sugar together softened butter, aka butter that has been brought to room temperature in order for the mixture to become light and fluffy. The sugar’s job, is basically to punch little holes into the butter and add air to the mixture. The air pockets will then fill with the gasses created from your baking powder and baking soda and expand helping to make your baked goods rise.
If your butter is too cold, or straight from the fridge, then the sugar can’t do a good job of jabbing that butter all over and creating those air pockets. No air pockets = dense, flat baked goods.
To bring to room temperature quickly take your butter out of the fridge, and cube up the butter and let sit for about 30 minutes (time may vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen). Or you soften your butter quickly using of these methods.
Properly softened butter means you should be able to press your finger into the butter and it should leave an indent. There should be some resistance, though, your finger should not go straight through.
Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in the egg and egg yolk. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature so they don’t seize up the butter in the dough and create a smooth dough. I place my eggs in a bowl of warm water before I begin baking and they’re good to go!
Add the vanilla. I love pure vanilla extract but for anything chocolate chip cookies you really can get away with an imitation vanilla extract. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully combined, making sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Sometimes ingredients like to hide at the bottom of your mixing bowl!
Add dry ingredients. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.
You want to make sure to not overmix at this point or it will create a tough-textured cookie. You want to stop stirring once the last of the flour has been incorporated.
Add your chocolate chips. Then mix in the chocolate chips on low speed until fully incorporated into the cookie dough or you could do this with a spatula. I use semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, and regular sized. But you could use mini chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or chop up some quality chocolate and stir in that.
Press into pan. You want to press your cookie dough into the bottom of your greased 9-inch pan. This can be a bit tricky and sticky. You can use your hands, a spatula, or even a piece of greased plastic wrap.
If your dough is sticking to your hands or spatula too much and you’re having trouble try spraying your hands (or spatula) with non-stick cooking spray and pressing the cookie dough dough into an even layer.
Bake the cookie cake. Bake for about 22 to 28 minutes, or until the tops of the cookie cake is set but still looking soft. The top should be light godlen brown and the edges should be crispy and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow the cookie cake to cool in the pan on a cooling rack. Once it’s cooled, then run a knife around the edge and release your spring form pan. You can then lift the cookie cake off the removable bottom and transfer to a serving platter.
Heather’s Baking Tips
- Measure flour carefully. You donโt want to over-measure your flour which could result in a dry, crumblyor cakey cookie cake.. Use a kitchen scale for exact measurements, or use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a butter knife. Donโt pack the flour down.
- Use room temperature eggs. If your eggs are cold and added to the softened butter that’s been creamed your butter might seize up in the bowl, and you might get a curlded looking batter. I place my eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before I begin.
- Donโt overmix. As with all baking recipes, overmixing causes tough, dense dough. Mix until just combined. Even leaving a streak of flour is OK, and will ensure you didnโt overmix.
- Donโt overbake. For that signature soft, chewy center with slightly crispy edges, you canโt bake the cookie cake too long. The center of the cake should should still look slightly soft when you take it out of the oven.
- Use A Springform Pan. I greased and used a spring from pan so it would release and make a beautiful round cookie cake to cut into wedges. Of course, if you don’t have one you could use a 9-inch round cake pan (line the bottom with parchment paper), or even a pie plate.
Chocolate Frosting Time!
Once the chocolate chip cookie cake is done cooling you can pipe on swirls of chocolate buttercream frosting around the outside. Of course, feel free to mix it up! Try Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, or silky smooth Chocolate Italian Buttercream or Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe. Of course you could mix up the flavors and try something like my Peanut Butter Frosting! Just make sure you invite me over when you do, because I’m going to want a slice of that.
I use a big open star tip but any tip works really, but I find a bigger tip gets bigger, beautiful swirls. My favorite using a closed star large tip like this one from Ateco.
If you don’t want to add frosting on top, you could serve with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream or just serve with some Whipped Cream on the side with each slice! It’s all delicious, but the frosting was by far my favorite way to prepare this cookie cake.
Commonly Asked Recipe Questions
You can use a 9-inch springform pan for the easiest release and best presentation, but a 9-inch round cake pan or a pie plate for this cookie cake also works. Make sure to grease your pan no matter what, and you could also line the bottom with parchment paper if need be if using a springform pan but I don’t bother.
It’s definitely more cookie-like. The reason it’s called a cake is simply because of the size and the fact that you can cut it into slices.
This will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, just make sure to keep it covered so the cookie doesn’t dry out.
Freeze any leftover slices for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving. I haven’t tried freezing the whole cookie cake but again just cool and wrap well, and then thaw at room temperature before serving. Or if you wanted to try freezing it unbaked, again just wrap well and then I would bake frozen (no thawing) and add on a few extra minutes of baking time.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes To Try
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Ingredients
For the cookie cake:
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- ยพ teaspoon salt
- ยพ cup (1 ยฝ sticks, 170 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ยพ cup (150 g) packed light brown sugar
- ยผ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (190 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the frosting:
- 10 Tablespoons (141 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ยผ cups (141 grams) powdered sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (31 g) cocoa powder natural or Dutch process
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
To make the cookie cake:
- Prep oven and pans. Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (180ยฐC). Spray a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar. With an electric mixer (I use my stand mixer with paddle attachment), cream together the butter and sugars for 1 to 2 minutes on medium-high speed until well combined.
- Add eggs and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until fully combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add dry ingredients. Mix in the dry ingredients just until combined. Once the last of the flour has been mixed in, stop mixing. Stir in the chocolate chips on low speed, just until incorporated.
- Bake the cookie cake. Scoop the cookie dough into the prepared springform pan and press out into an even layer. I used my hands to get this part done, but you could also use a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray if the cookie dough is sticking, or a spatula lightly sprayed as well. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, or until the top of the cake is set and slightly browned on top. If the top is browning too much, cover loosely with tinfoil. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan.
Make the chocolate frosting
- Make the frosting. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment), beat the butter until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar (ยฝ cup at a time) with mixer on low speed, mixing in after each addition until well combined.
- Add remaining ingredients.. Add the cocoa powder and mix, on low speed, until fully combined. Add the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt and continue to mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Frost the cookie cake. Release the cake from the springform pan. Place the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip (I use Wilton 1M – a big, closed star tip) and pipe the chocolate frosting around the edges of the cake.
Video
Notes
- Storage: Store the cookie cake in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Freeze any leftover slices for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving. I haven’t tried freezing the whole cookie cake but again just cool and wrap well, and then thaw at room temperature before serving. Or if you wanted to try freezing it unbaked, again just wrap well and then I would bake frozen (no thawing) and add on a few extra minutes of baking time.
- Frosting: You can swap the chocolate frosting for vanilla, by leaving out the cocoa powder and reduce the heavy cream to 1 tablespoon, or serve with ice-cream or whipped cream instead and skip decorating the edges!
- Recipe slightly adapted from Live Well Bake Cookies
Wow- I have to tell you I and the kids loved this Cookie cake recipe. It was super easy to make. I was wondering if this would freeze well? If so next time I am making two. Let me know!
Hi Heidy, glad you and the kids loved it. Yes you can freeze – freezing instructions are at the bottom of the recipe.
This was so fun to make. The Cookie Cake turned out perfect. It was so delicious. Everyone loved it.
Thank you! โค๏ธ
This cookie cake looks so soft and tasty and like the perfect texture as well. Looking forward to trying this.
You had me at chocolate chips and your cake was easy to make and a big hit with my family!!
This is genius!! My husband can’t make a cake to save his life, and he always wants to bake me a cake for my birthday. I am going to send this recipe his way because this looks a lot more manageable than what he typically tries ๐
Oh yum! What a delicious cookie cake. I think I never tried this recipe. I will bake it this weekend. Can’t wait.
This choc chip cookie cake is such a creative dessert! Everyone around the table was wowed when I put it down. The addition of the super delicious frosting border didn’t hurt ๐
This is such a lovely cookies cake idea. Love your recipe and love the chocolate frosting too. yum
I do not like cake so this is perfect for me!
This cookie cake was a hit with the kids, and I LOVE the chocolate frosting with it!
Thank you Thank you Thank you! This is my husband’s favorite cake and this recipe made me look good! I will definitely be making this recipe again and again.
You’re very welcome Michele.
This chocolate chip cookie cake looks amazing! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Looks great!