Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
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With all of the different chocolate chip baked goods I have on Kroll’s Korner, I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to create one for a Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake! I love how fun cookie cakes are for birthday parties and other celebrations.
Sure, you can pick one up from the grocery store bakery, but those just aren’t ever quite as good as a homemade one.
If you love my Kroll’s Kookies, Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Sheet Pan Chocolate Chip Cookies then you HAVE to try this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake to add to your baking rotation! 🍪
Table Talk with Tawnie
When I started developing the recipe for this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake I wanted to make something that was fun for kids’ birthday parties, but easy to make. Cookie cakes are such a fun way to mix things up from a traditional birthday cake. A giant, soft, and buttery chocolate chip cookie, topped with creamy chocolate buttercream frosting, and sliced into individual slices… what’s not to love?!
- Flour: Make sure to use the spoon and level method to properly measure your flour. Too much flour can result in a dense, dry cookie cake.
- Cornstarch: Adds softness and helps create the cookie cake’s thick, chewy texture.
- Nutmeg: Just a pinch adds warmth and enhances the cookie cake’s brown sugar flavor.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter for this recipe and allow the butter to soften to room temperature before creaming with the sugar. (If the butter is still cold straight from the fridge, it won’t cream well with the sugar and can mess up the texture of the cookie cake.)
- Sugars: You’ll use both dark brown sugar and granulated sugar in this cookie cake. In most of my chocolate chip cookie recipes, I like using a mixture of both sugars to enhance the flavor of the cookie and add a bit of the warm, caramel flavor from the molasses in the brown sugar.
- Eggs: Let your large eggs sit at room temperature before adding to wet ingredient mixture, as this will allow them to blend easier with the other ingredients.
- Chocolate chips: I prefer using semisweet chocolate chips, but feel free to try milk or dark chocolate if you’d like!
- Other ingredients needed: baking soda, salt, vanilla extract
For the chocolate buttercream frosting:
- Butter: Use unsalted butter and allow it to soften to room temperature before beginning to beat it for the frosting. Butter straight from the fridge doesn’t get to the correct consistency as well as room-temp butter.
- Powdered sugar: To ensure a smooth texture for your frosting, sift your powdered sugar in a fine sieve before adding to the beaten butter.
- Cocoa powder: Gives the frosting its rich chocolate flavor. Use unsweetened, high-quality cocoa powder for the best taste and smooth texture.
- Heavy cream: Adds richness and helps create a smooth, fluffy texture. Use as needed to adjust the consistency of the frosting for spreading or piping.
- Other ingredients needed: vanilla extract, salt
Step by Step Directions
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
Mix dry ingredients
Mix the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl.
Prepare wet ingredients
Cream the butter and sugar for about two minutes. Then add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients
Add the dry ingredients on low speed and mix just until almost fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Bake & cool
Pour cookie dough into the prepared pan and bake for ~20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 30-40 minutes, then cool completely in the fridge (about 1 hour more).
Mix frosting & decorate!
Beat the softened butter on medium, then add remaining frosting ingredients on low, continuing to mix until light and fluffy. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star decorative tip, like a Wilton 1M. Pipe the frosting around the edges of the cookie cake. Decorate with sprinkles on top if desired. Slice and enjoy!
There are a handful of options you can use to bake the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. I like to use a 10-inch round for a large, thick cookie cake. If you only have a 9-inch round pan, your cookie cake will be thicker than the ones pictured in this blog post, and will likely need to bake a little longer.
- 10-inch round cake pan – this is my favorite!
- 10-inch round springform cake pan – this one is also great for making cheesecakes!
- 10-inch pie pan – the bottoms will have a little bit of a slant to them, but still works great!
Expert Tips
- Do not overmix the dough! When you add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mix until just combined. Overmixing can activate too much gluten which can result in a dry, crumbly cookie cake instead of a soft, chewy one.
- Top with chocolate chips: After spreading the dough in the pan, press a handful of extra chocolate chips on top before baking. It makes the finished cookie cake look bakery-worthy!
- Line your pan: I like lining my pan with these parchment paper rounds to help with a clean transfer from the pan. Spraying a tiny bit of cooking spray before you put the parchment paper in the pan can help it stick to the pan and make it easier to spread the cookie dough.
- Cover the top: At the 10-15 minute mark, place a piece of foil over the top to prevent the cookie cake from getting too brown on the tops and edges.
- Do not overbake! You can use a toothpick to check for doneness, I always recommend slightly underbaking so you get a soft, chewy, cookie cake!
- Cool before frosting: Let the cookie cake cool fully before piping or spreading buttercream. This prevents melting and keeps the frosting looking clean and defined.
Variations / Substitutions
- Mix up your chips! Try adding peanut butter, white chocolate, or caramel chips in the dough alongside the chocolate chips, or on their own.
- Try other mix-ins! Mini M&Ms, chopped peanuts, macadamia nuts, or raisins could all be fun options!
- Peanut butter buttercream: Make peanut butter buttercream frosting and either top with just that flavor, or alternate with chocolate and peanut butter as you pipe around the outside of the cake. Add 1 cup of creamy peanut butter to the bowl with the soften butter and cream those together before adding the powdered sugar and remaining ingredients. Check out some other fun buttercream alternative flavors here!
- Vanilla buttercream + food coloring: Make my Favorite Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and add some food coloring to decorate the cookie cake in your favorite colors. Think: school colors for a graduation party, team colors for a sport event or party, etc.!
Storage / Freezing
- To keep leftover cookie cake fresher longer, wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap then place in an airtight ziplock bag or container. You can store it at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- To freeze the whole cake, wrap the completely cooled, unfrosted cookie cake tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil and place it in a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before decorating or serving.
- Or, you can freeze individual slices by wrapping each slice in plastic wrap and storing in a freezer bag. This is a great idea for great for grab-and-go treats!
- For best results, freeze without frosting. You can make the buttercream fresh once thawed for the best texture.
FAQs
This could be for a number of reasons. One possibility is that too much flour was added. Make sure to use the spoon and level method. Another is that you could have overmixed the dough when bringing the dry and wet ingredients together. Make sure to only mix until combined. Another possibility is that the cookie cake baked for too long. Take it out of the oven when the edges are golden brown, even if the center looks a bit under-baked, it will keep baking when you let it rest in the pan.
Definitely! Bake it a day in advance and store it covered at room temperature. Wait to frost the cake until just before serving for the freshest look.
While I haven’t personally tested it, this recipe should work fine using a 1:1 substitute with a gluten-free flour.
Make sure you let the cookie cake cool completely before slicing. For extra clean cuts, use a sharp knife and wipe it between cuts.
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Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- ¾ tsp. salt
- pinch nutmeg
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 ¼ cups chocolate chips (1 ¼ – 1 ½ cups, more or less depending on preference)
Chocolate Buttercream Ingredients:
- 8 tbsp. unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Pinch salt
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1-2 tbsp. heavy cream
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat and prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 10-inch round cake pan, 10-inch pie plate, or springform pan with nonstick spray, and then line with parchment. Set aside. (I use this pan and these circular pre cut parchment sheets.)
- Mix dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.2 ½ cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. cornstarch, ¾ tsp. salt, pinch nutmeg
- Beat butter and sugars: In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars for about 2 minutes, just until smooth. Start Timer¾ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Add eggs & vanilla: Add the eggs and vanilla extract until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed.2 large eggs room temperature, 2 tsp. vanilla
- Add dry ingredients: On low speed, add the dry ingredients just until almost fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.1 ¼ cups chocolate chips
- Turn out into pan: Spread the cookie dough in the prepared pan in an even layer. You can sprinkle the top with more chocolate chips if you’d like!
- Bake: Bake for ~20-25 minutes. Start Timer Place a piece of foil over the tops around the 10-15 minute mark if it’s getting too brown on the tops of edges. You can use a toothpick to check for doneness, I always recommend slightly underbaking so you get a soft, chewy, cookie cake!
- Cool: Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 30-40 minutes. Start Timer Then place in the fridge to cool completely, about 1 more hour. Start Timer
- Frosting: Beat the softened butter on medium speed, then add the remaining frosting ingredients on low, gradually increasing back to medium speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Start Timer8 tbsp. unsalted butter, 1 tsp. vanilla, Pinch salt, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup cocoa powder, 1-2 tbsp. heavy cream
- Piping bag: Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star decorative tip, like a Wilton 1M.
- Decorate: Remove the cake from the pan (use a butter knife to run around the edges to loosen, it should pop right out). Pipe the frosting around the edges of the cookie cake. Decorate with sprinkles on top if desired. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- To store: wrap the cookie cake in plastic wrap then place in an airtight ziplock bag or container. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- To freeze: wrap the completely cooled, unfrosted cookie cake tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil and place it in a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before decorating or serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
📸 Photography by Creating Kaitlin
So fun to make with my oldest! We worked on adding fractions! We added m&ms as we didn’t have enough chocolate chips. I added a pinch of cinnamon instead of nutmeg because I couldn’t find any nutmeg. Lastly, used chocolate milk instead of heavy cream in the frosting. I also made frosting by hand and next time will use a mixer. Otherwise, we all love it! Great treat after dinner! Oh, our cookie says “Hello Summer!”
Adorable!! Thank you sooo so much. Hope you enjoyed! 🙂
HAD to make this ASAP when it was posted. So good and easy. My 4yo helped decorate it 🙂
I only had a 9” pan so had to bake a little longer but not much. Delicious!
Aww I love that! What a fun way to spend time together 🙂 thank you!! enjoy!