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! If you've never had a cookie cake from Great American Cookie Co, it is a bit different from your usual chocolate chip cookies. It is a flat, dense, giant chocolate chip cookie, decorated with chocolate and vanilla frostings.
What You'll Need
This super easy recipe needs just a bowl and a spoon or spatula for prep. If you have a 12" round cookie sheet (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 quarter sheet pan. If you use a quarter sheet pan, the cookie will be a bit thicker so will need to bake longer.
Ingredients
Butter - This recipe uses melted butter because melted butter makes a softer, moister cookie. Unsalted butter is generally ideal for baking, but if you use salted butter be sure to reduce the salt a bit.
Brown Sugar - Using light brown sugar instead of white brings a deeper flavor and also contributes to a chewier cookie. Dark brown sugar will work too.
Corn Starch - Cornstarch helps makes the cookie cake soft and velvety.
Ingredient - Corn syrup gives this cookie cake recipe that chewy and incredible Great American Cookie Cake texture we all know and love.
Salt - 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 the measurement based on the type of salt you use. Most Kosher salts will be similar, though Diamond Crystal is the least salty of them, so you will want to reduce the salt a bit if you're using another brand of Kosher salt. You'll want to reduce the salt added significantly if you're using table salt (probably somewhere around half a teaspoon), but I would highly recommend not baking with table salt.
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 press cookie dough onto the lined cookie sheet using a spatula, or even your hands. Bake for about 20 minutes - the cookie will be golden brown when done. If you are using a quarter sheet pan, you will need to bake for about 30 minutes.
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, but the options for cookie cake designs are endless. 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.
Instead of writing words onto this big cookie cake, 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!
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 at room temperature.
The melted butter, brown sugar, cornstarch, and corn syrup all contribute to this cookie cake being a soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie. Colder butter and white sugar make for a crispier cookie. Over-mixing your flour will cause your cake to be too chewy, almost gummy, so be cautious to mix as little as possible after adding the flour.
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.
For this recipe, I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can also use milk or dark chocolate chips. You could even pick another flavor chips like peanut butter or butterscotch! Or 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!
Pin this recipe for later:
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Equipment
- Sheet pan
- Mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula (a wooden spoon works too!)
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt Diamond Crystal, see notes
- 10 oz chocolate chips
- ¼ cup corn syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper (I used a round pizza baking sheet, but you can use a rimmed rectangular baking sheet if you don't have a round one).
- In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar.
- Add vanilla and egg and stir.
- Stir in flour, cornstarch, salt.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Add corn syrup and mix until well combined.
- Spread batter on to lined cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Cookie should be golden brown.
- Cool and decorate!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated so should only be used as an estimate. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Did you try this recipe? Review and comment below, and share a photo on Instagram and tag @flourdeliz!
Looking for other cookie recipes? Check these out:
Cast Iron Cookie
Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fluff Oreo
Coffee Milk Cookie Sandwiches
Perfectly Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Looking for other cake recipes? Check these out:
Flourless Chocolate Cake
No-Bake Prosecco Cheesecake
Raspberry Rosè Cake
This post was updated in May 2021 with an improved recipe and new photos, and in September 2021 with additional information about the recipe.
Tacy says
Have you tried to freeze the dough? I want to mix this and bake it when I get to where I’m going.
Liz Pollio says
Hi Tacy! I have not tested this, but it stores really well so should transport really easily once baked and cooled. If you're not transporting it hours away, you may also be able to refrigerate it on the baking sheet until you leave, and then baking it when you arrive. I hope this helps!
Kiley says
I so badly wish I could find a GACC recipe to remake at home, I have tried so many so clear it’s a me problem. I followed this to an absolute T, and the cookie is nothing like I thought it would be. It’s completely carmelized on the bottom, gooey in the middle, very crisp on the sides. The top is crackly, and the flavor is bad. What am I doing wrong?
Liz Pollio says
Hi Kiley, I'm so sorry to hear you're having issues! My initial thought based on what you've shared is that your oven temp may be too hot. This would cause the outside of the cookie cake to bake too fast while the middle doesn't have enough time to bake so it stays too gooey (not the good kind!) and underbaked. It may be worth looking into an oven thermometer (they're only a few dollars) or if you're up for experimenting, you could try the recipe again with your oven set to 300°F and see if it improves, but it may take a few rounds of trial and error to get it just right. I hope this helps, and please keep me posted if you try again and how it's going. I'm happy to try to keep troubleshooting!
BETH JENNINGS says
I cannot believe how good this cookie cake is. It is dense, soft, and chewy just like the expensive GACC. Everyone agreed that it was delicious.
I followed the recipe except I didn’t bother with adding any salt (but used salted butter). I will definitely make this again and again. It’s going to be my signature dessert!!!
Thank you so much!
Liz Pollio says
This makes me so incredibly happy to hear, Beth, thank you!!
London says
I have a quick question, whenever I do this recipe it comes out great texture! But it is not as sweet as i would like it. Could I add 1/4 cup of white sugar? Or what would you suggest? That is my only issue with the recipe.
Liz Pollio says
Hi London, I haven't tested adjusting the sugar measurements, but adjusting sugar can also impact texture, not just sweetness. I usually adjust for sweetness with the amount of frosting I add to it. If you're looking to not use frosting, I would be inclined to start with brown sugar over white, but in both cases the texture may be impacted. You could also try reducing the salt measurement which is added for both flavor and to balance out the sweetness so less salt may make the cookie cake taste sweeter. If you try adjusting it, let me know how it goes!
Amanda says
Does the sugar have to be packed ? My cookie cake is coming out very dark and caramelized. I think I’m putting too much sugar. Help please!
Liz Pollio says
Hi Amanda, I do not pack the brown sugar for this recipe. The other thing that comes to mind if it's coming out too dark is to reduce the bake time. You certainly don't want it to be raw, but this is a soft and chewy cookie cake and should not come out crispy. I hope that helps! Please let me know how it goes or if I can help troubleshoot more!
William says
Is it possible to use premade dough for a cookie cake with the same consistency as this by adding flour or anything?
Liz Pollio says
Hi William, I haven't tried this with a pre-made dough. You may just want to press the pre-made dough into a baking sheet and see how it bakes. You could also try stirring in the corn syrup to the pre-made dough for a more similar texture. I don't think pre-made dough is very adjustable (I wouldn't add flour to pre-made dough) so it will be difficult to replicate the consistency exactly, but depending on the dough it may work well as it is. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it goes!
Karla says
I tried this recipe and it came out super liquid. Is that the consistency it's supposed to have?
Liz Pollio says
Hi Karla, the cookie dough is a bit softer than a typical cookie dough that you would scoop into individual cookies, but it shouldn't be completely liquid. And once it's baked it certainly shouldn't be liquid! Without knowing more, it's hard to make suggestions, but my first instinct would be to check that you've measured the flour correctly. I hope it works out!
Karla says
Hi!
It baked for over 40 minutes and it still came out kind of raw looking/sticky. I agree I think that maybe it was missing flour. I measured a cup. Do you have a weight for the flour? I'd love to try again. It tasted really good but was not the texture. It also barely browned, it was pale. I think I messed it up but I'm not sure where it went wrong.
Karla
Liz Pollio says
I'm so sorry it didn't come out right! The flour should come out around 140g. I haven't tested it by weight, but I hope to soon. The other thing that comes to mind is checking your oven temperature. If it didn't brown, the oven may not be getting hot enough. If you don't have an oven thermometer, you could try letting it bake for longer and see if it starts to brown, or maybe try upping the temperature to 350 F and see if that helps, just keep an eye on it so it doesn't over-bake!
Sierra says
This recipe really hit the spot! I was worried at first when the dough seemed very liquidy and I had to bake it for a bit longer but I had faith and it came out great. I used mini chocolate chips and mini mnms but followed the recipe besides that and a different pan. I used a 9x13 glass bakeware pan.
Liz Pollio says
Mini chocolate chips and mini m&ms sound so good! I'll have to try that!! I'm so glad you liked it, Sierra!
CHRISTY PRUITT says
Looking to make this today and have a 11x17 Cooke sheet. Is this too big or could I do 1.5 the recipe?
Liz Pollio says
Hi Christy, I hope I'm not too late! I would suggest doing 1.5 of the recipe. For the egg, the best way to do this would be by weight if you have a kitchen scale. You'll want about 75 grams of egg for 1.5. Let me know if you have any questions about it and good luck! I can't wait to hear how it turns out!