Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like the best chocolate chip cookie, with a sweet, classic birthday cake frosting on top.
Texture: The cookie itself is ultra chewy at the edges, slightly gooey in the center, and taken to a whole new level by the rich and creamy frosting.
Ease: Very easy! The cookie dough comes together in minutes without an electric mixer and can be made ahead of time.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Super fun for celebrations! Perfect for those who don’t love birthday cake.
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Get ready to enjoy the most delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake you’ve ever had.
This homemade cookie cake is perfectly chewy, gooey, and thick, with plenty of chocolate chips in every bite. Whether you’re having a party or it’s just a regular weekday, this recipe will add a little sparkle and fun to your dessert. No one will be able to stop at just one slice.
Growing up, I never really liked birthday cake. Don’t get me wrong, I loved a good fresh, homemade cake baked with quality, flavorful ingredients. But neither of my parents baked. Store-bought birthday cakes or ones made with cake mix and packaged frosting were sickeningly sweet and artificial tasting, even for my 10-year-old taste buds. And I’ve loved sweets my entire life!
Don’t even get me started on the actual bland, dry store-bought cakes.
This Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe is perfect for those who don’t like birthday cake. Or for when you just don’t have the time and patience to bake a cake! Or maybe for those times when you just want something fun and a little different.
Whatever you do, make sure you’re generous with the rainbow sprinkles for an extra festive cake!
I’ve formulated the chocolate chip cookie base recipe to be ultra-thick, chewy, and slightly gooey in the middle with tons of flavor. The melted butter, dark brown sugar, extra egg yolk, bread flour, and cornstarch all help to accomplish this.
If you’d like to know more about the science of cookie baking, check out my cookbook, The Ultimate Cookie Handbook!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Do I Have to Use Bread Flour in This Cookie Cake?
The bread flour in this recipe helps make the cookie cake ultra chewy and thick. If you don’t have any bread flour, feel free to use only all-purpose flour, though your cookie cake might lose some chewiness.
Do I Have to Use Dark Brown Sugar? What if I Only Have Light Brown Sugar?
- No need to panic! You can easily use light brown sugar in place of the dark brown sugar. Your cookie cake will be a bit lighter in color and slightly less rich in flavor.
- Dark brown sugar also brings additional moisture, thanks to its added molasses content, so using light brown sugar will slightly alter the final texture, too.
- If you’ve got white sugar or light brown sugar and molasses on hand, simply make your own dark brown sugar. You will need 1 ½ cups (300 grams) white granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons molasses. DIY Brown Sugar instructions here.
- I don’t recommend decreasing the amount of sugar in this recipe – learn about sugar’s role in baking here. For a less sweet cake, try topping with ice cream or whipped cream in place of the frosting.
Why is There Cornstarch in This Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake?
Along with bread flour, cornstarch is our magic ingredient for achieving that perfect thick, chewy, and soft texture. It can also aid in lift and height. I use cornstarch in my Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies. Don’t skip the cornstarch!
How to Decorate a Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
For this cookie cake recipe, I used a half batch of my go-to Best Buttercream. I’ve also listed other topping ideas below. If you’d like, you could also use a piping tip to pipe some beautiful buttercream swirls around the edges of your chocolate chip cookie cake.
More Topping Ideas for Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake:
- Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Homemade Caramel Sauce
- Chocolate Ganache
- Homemade Ice Cream (or cookie dough ice cream would be delicious)
- Whipped Cream
- Don’t forget extra sprinkles and/or chocolate chips!
The Best Pan For Baking Cookie Cake
- For this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake, I prefer to use a 9-inch springform pan because it makes it really easy to remove the entire cookie cake from the pan and place it on a pretty cake stand or serving plate.
- If you don’t have a springform pan, use a round cake pan or deep pie pan. You may need to adjust the baking time.
- I also recommend using these pre-cut parchment paper rounds with tabs, so you’ll more easily be able to remove the chocolate chip cookie cake from the pan.
- Avoid using glass or ceramic pans – learn why in my Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans article here.
Can I Make This Cookie Cake Ahead of Time?
Yes, Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake can be made ahead of time! You have a couple of options, depending on how far in advance you need to prep the cookie cake:
- The cookie dough can be prepared in a greased pan and stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bake straight from the fridge as directed below. You may need to add a minute or two to the bake time.
- If you need to prep the dough further in advance, check out my article on freezing cookie dough here.
- The buttercream can be prepped and stored in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature and re-whip in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. If it needs to be thickened, add a tablespoon or two of sifted powdered sugar.
- The baked cookie cake can also be stored for a few days – more on that below.
How to Store Cookie Cake
You can store this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake covered at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Amazing Birthday Cake Recipes:
- Best Birthday Cake (yellow cake with chocolate frosting! YUM!)
- Red Velvet Cake
- Best Chocolate Cake
- Funfetti Sheet Cake
- Chocolate Brownie Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Find all my best Birthday Cake Recipes here!
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Ingredients
For the chocolate chip cookie base:
- 1 1/4 cups (247 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar*
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (191 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups (159 grams) bread flour**
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups (340 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
For the buttercream:
- 1 1/2 cups (153 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Pinch fine salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoons cream or milk
- Sprinkles, for garnishing
Instructions
For the cookie base:
- Place sugars in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Add the butter to a small saucepan set over medium-low heat, swirling occasionally until melted. Alternatively, place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between bursts, until melted. Add hot butter to the sugars and stir to combine. Set aside to cool until just warm.
- Stir in the eggs, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla until well combined. Using a spatula, gradually mix in the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips. Bake now or cover the dough and refrigerate until ready to bake, up to 72 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch spring-form pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Press the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes for a gooey center or 35 to 40 minutes to cook completely. Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow the cookie cake to cool completely before removing from the pan and frosting.
For the buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the salt, vanilla, and cream and beat on medium for 1 minute, adding more cream if needed.
- Spread all over the cooled cookie cake then garnish with sprinkles. Serve or cover and let stand at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerated for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
This post was originally published in 2016 and has been updated with recipe improvements and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
I followed the recipe exactly. Made this for my son’s 14th bday. He said it was a bit too sweet. I need a cookie cake with less sugar.
Hi Susan! Next time, feel free to swap the chocolate chips for dark chocolate, or add in some nuts in place of the chocolate, to lower the sweetness level without compromising the cookie cake’s texture. You can always skip the frosting, or experiment with something a little less sweet, like a Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I hope that helps 🙂
Hi! Can I use a 9×13 cake pan? Do I need to adjust anything?
Hi Brittani! This recipe was formulated for a 9-inch springform pan, so it’s easily to remove. Check out Tessa’s tips in the Tip Box (above the recipe) for her suggestions for using regular cake pans. The volume of a 9×13-inch pan is larger than a 9-inch springform, so you’ll need to take that into account if you wish to use a 9×13-inch pan, either reducing the bake time to account for the thinner cookie cake, or adjusting the ratio of the recipe to adequately fill the pan. This Food Network conversion calculator post may help you with this. I hope that helps! Let us know how it goes. Happy baking 🙂
Oh my goodness!!! This cookie cake was delicious and such a hit with the family. Not a flat cookie cake like you typically see (it was about an inch and a half thick). Very easy to make and came out ooey gooey when baked for 30 minutes (I used convection bake). Skipped the frosting in the recipe … went with a mocha frosting that I like to use. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!!
The video shows it being mixed by hand but then up top
It says you recommend a stand mixer. Which is correct? Also don’t butter the sides of the springform pan or just use the parchment paper on the bottom?
Hi Cindy! The cookie cake can be mixed by hand, but the buttercream requires a mixer (stand mixer recommended for convenience). Feel free to use parchment paper, but as the recipe says, we just typically spray the springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Let us know how it goes if you give this recipe a try! 🙂
This cake was FABULOUS!!! I replaced all of the flour with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking flour and it turned out great, for a gluten free option. Thank you, Handle the Heat, for this awesome recipe!!
Can you freeze this after you make it? and then I would make the frosting the day I would use it. Thank you
Hi Michele! We haven’t tried that, but I don’t see why not! Let us know how it goes 🙂
Michele – If helpful, I spread the dough in the pan, wrapped it well, then froze it. The day before baking, defrosted in the refrigerator overnight, brought to room temp on baking day, then baked as instructed. It was so yummy!
I made this for my own birthday yesterday. As always with your recipes, it’s so good!
I do have a question though, how much are you supposed to let the butter/sugar cool? I didn’t know if it should just cook a little or to room temperature. I did it to just slightly warm, but this added about an hour to the prep time.
Hi Staci! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this cookie cake! The butter/sugar mixture needs to be cooled enough so the eggs don’t cook and essentially become scrambled eggs once you move on to the next step! Once you have melted the butter and mixed in the sugar, you can move the mixture to a fresh metal mixing bowl, to help the mixture cool down faster (glass bowls retain heat longer). You can always pop the mixture in the fridge for a few minutes, too! This normally doesn’t take longer than 10-15 minutes unless it’s super hot in your kitchen. I hope this helps! Happy baking 🙂
I need to make a cookie cake for about 25 people, Can I double the recipe and bake it in a sheet pan/cookie sheet? Everything I’ve made from your cookbook so far, has turned out perfectly! I’m thinking, as long as I adjust the time, it should turn out perfect also.
Hi Tina! We haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure, sorry! Feel free to double the recipe and bake in a pan that will hold 20 cups of batter comfortably (the recommended pan for this cookie cake holds about 10 cups), if you have one. If you don’t have a pan that large/deep, I would recommend simply making the recipe twice in two separate pans to feed your guests. Good luck and happy baking 🙂
The cookie cake turned out perfect! I doubled the recipe and put it in a 20 cup pan and baked for 40 minutes. I even had enough left over to make a few extra cookies to munch on!
My dad is turning 84 today, he’s going to love this!
I’d give it 5 stars, but for some reason, it won’t let me!
Hi Tina! So glad that worked so well for you 🙂 I was able to adjust your star rating on my end! Thanks so much for your comment and happy birthday to your dad!
Came out perfectly! I made it for my husbands birthday as his favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies (use your brown butter recipe!) This cookie cake is excellent. It was much taller than I was expecting. It did deflate some however leaving a nice outer edge. I have only had those flat grocery store cookie cakes before and this is MUCH more decadent. The top was crackly and browned beautifully and the inside was the perfect gooeyness in my opinion cooked for 35 minutes. Husband said it could’ve been a little less gooey but I think once it’s been in the fridge it’s going to be more his style. Buttercream was delicious also…I just piped his name onto the cake instead of using all of it.
I’m drooling just reading your comment, Sara! So happy you both enjoyed it!
My son loves Chocolate chip cookie cake for his birthday and this was a great one, very gooey middle!! Was a big hit and so easy to make.
I love the taste of this cake! However both times my center collapsed while cooling. Do you know why this could have happened? Would not putting the dough evenly into the pan cause that to happen?
Hi Kristin! It’s normal for cookie cakes to fall slightly in the middle after baking, but if your cookie cakes are falling significantly, it could be that they’re a little too underbaked. If that’s not it, I’d take a look at your leavening agents. If your baking soda/powder are not fresh and activethis could be the reason for your cookie cakes collapsing. Tessa talks about the science behind leavening agents, and how to test for leavener freshness, in this article here! Finally, just in case you live at a higher elevation, I encourage you to check out this King Arthur Baking article, for some great tips. Another common reason for cakes/cookie cakes sinking include incorrect/inconsistent oven temperature. I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer to verify that your oven temperature is accurate (most home ovens aren’t – it’s very surprising!). I hope something here helped, Kristin! Happy baking!
I’ve made this twice. It came out looking great both times but it is too gooey even after baking 40 minutes. I’m talking so gooey, the centre basically oozes out onto the plate after cutting it. I baked it using the metric amounts in the recipe. It’s delicious and rich.
Hi Ash! I’m sorry to hear that this cookie cake isn’t turning out as it should for you! What kind of pan are you using to bake this cookie cake? If you’re using glass/Pyrex, that would be your culprit – check out this article here to read more about Glass vs Metal pans. I also wonder if your oven temp is a little off. Most ovens are lying about the temperature they’re really at! Do you have an oven thermometer to check that? If your oven is running a little hot, or not keeping a stable temperature, this could be why the edges of your cookie cake are baking way before the center is done. Check out this article on ovens! I hope something here helps, Ash! Happy baking!