September 2, 2020

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

For my birthday, I always pick a cookie cake over a regular cake. I absolutely love cookie cakes, especially from Great American Cookie Company. But there is no Great American Cookie Company in Boston, so I created this copycat Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe and now I can have it any time I want!

top down view of cookie cake with alternating brown and white frosting dots around the outside, and one slice pulled out part-way and angled. Multi-colored sprinkles are on the cookie as well as the marbled surface the cookie is on.

What You’ll Need

This super easy recipe needs just a bowl and a spoon or spatula for prep. If you have a round cookie sheet (usually pizza-sized, but not a pizza stone), that is what I used, but you can easily make a rectangular cookie cake on a regular, rimmed baking sheet.

Ingredients

This recipe uses melted butter because melted butter makes a softer, moister cookie. I also use brown sugar instead of white because it brings a deeper flavor and also contributes to a chewier cookie. Of course the standard vanilla, egg, flour, and, of course, chocolate chips are included. There are two unique ingredients here – cornstarch helps makes the cookie soft and corn syrup gives it that Great American Cookie Cake texture we all know and love. I also want to make a note about salt here. All salts are not created equal. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt in this recipe. This is not an ad or a sponsored post, but it’s important that you know this so that you can adjust based on the type of salt you use. Most Kosher salts will be pretty close, though Diamond Crystal is the least salty of them, so you may want to reduce a bit if you’re using another Kosher salt. You’ll want to reduce significantly if you’re using table salt (probably somewhere around half a teaspoon).

top down view of whole chocolate chip cookie cake with alternating brown and white frosting dots around the edge, on top of a marbled surface

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

You’ll want to line the baking sheet with parchment paper. If you’re using the round sheet, I place the parchment on the baking sheet and then cut the overhang around the outside of the sheet so the parchment is round and won’t hang down onto the oven rack.

In your bowl, you’ll first mix together the melted butter and brown sugar. You’ll then stir in the vanilla and egg. Following that you’ll stir in flour, cornstarch, and salt. Once you have your batter, you’ll stir in the chocolate chips. Lastly, you’ll want to stir in the corn syrup. Make sure this is well combined, and then spread onto the lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes – the cookie will be golden brown when done.

Decorating the Cookie Cake

Let the cookie cool completely before decorating or the frosting will melt. You can certainly make your own frosting, but I think the best cookie cakes are topped with canned frosting. I used alternating Dark Chocolate and White frosting, but you can use any flavors you’d like.

Most traditionally, cookie cakes are decorated around the edge with words in the center. I used a starred piping tip and piped little flower-like dots around the outside, alternating the chocolate and white icings. I considered writing happy birthday in the middle, but didn’t trust myself to make it look good! However, if you’re writing in the center, using a thicker tip to pipe the word in white icing as background, and then a thinner tip to pipe the word again in chocolate on top of the white icing. This is the most traditional cookie cake approach.

angled shot of a chocolate chip cookie cake with alternating brown and white frosting flowers around the outside of the cookie, with a slide in the bottom right of the cookie cut and sitting on a cake server, pulled slightly out, on a marbled surface

Instead of writing words, I used sprinkles. Lots and lots of sprinkles. Sprinkles make everything more fun and festive! And if you, like me, aren’t artistic, this is a good alternative to writing! But also, if you’re making the cake for yourself, who cares what it looks like, just cover that cookie with frosting (and if we’re being honest, I added a lot more frosting after I took my photos)! There are no rules to decorating, so just have fun with it! It’s going to taste amazing, no matter how it looks!

How to store chocolate chip cookie cake

The cookie cake can be stored at room temperature. If you want to keep it in its full form, I would cover it with foil. You can also cut it into pieces (I do triangles, like a pizza, but there are no rules! You can cut it however you would like!) and store it in airtight containers.

What makes cookies cakey or chewy?

The melted butter, brown sugar, cornstarch, and corn syrup all contribute to this cookie cake being a soft, chewy cookie. Colder butter and white sugar make for a crispier cookie.

round white plate with a slice of chocolate chip cookie cake with the tip of the slice bitten off, and the alternating white and brown frosting dots along the bottom of the slice. To the right of the slice is a rose gold fork. The plate is on top of a white marbled surface.

How do you know when cookie cake is done?

When the cookie cake is golden brown, it’s done. It may still look a bit soft and gooey, but as it cools, it will hold it’s shape.

What can I use if I don’t have chocolate chips?

You can use anything! Chop up a candy bar, add some m&ms, whatever excites you!

So celebrate anything and everything with this fun and delicious recipe! Get the kids involved and make it a family activity! It’s super quick and easy and the result is extra yummy! If you give this a try, I’d love for you to leave me a comment or a review below!

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angled view of cookie cake with alternating brown and white frosting dots around the outside, and one slice pulled out part-way and angled. Multi-colored sprinkles are on the cookie as well as the marbled surface the cookie is on.

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5 from 2 votes