About My Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
My best chocolate chip cookie cake recipe makes a 10-inch chocolate chip cookie with a giant, fudgy center and crisp edges. The cake is then decorated with a classic American buttercream frosting and lots of sprinkles. All in all, it tastes like the chocolate chip cookie cake I remember fondly from my childhood!
Over my many years of blogging, I’ve tried many chocolate chip cookie cake recipes from trusted sources like Bon Appetit magazine and America’s Test Kitchen. Both recipes were good, but felt short of what I was looking for. The resulting cookie cakes were too crispy, and both used “elevated” ingredients like brown butter and gourmet chocolate. I wanted something more similar to the chocolate chip cookie cake I remembered from my childhood. Specifically, a giant chocolate chip cookie with a fudgy, rich texture, all topped with sweet buttercream.
I’m happy to report that this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe is IT.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Decorating Ideas
In addition to tasting like the chocolate chip cookie cakes from my childhood, I made sure to decorate this cake to look like one of them, too. The chocolate chip cookie cakes from my childhood always had a piped border of American buttercream frosting dotting their edges. If celebrating an occasion like my birthday, my mom or best friend would commission the bakery to spell something like “Happy Birthday, Michelle!” in frosting in the center of the cake.
Sadly, there hasn’t been too much to celebrate this year thanks to COVID-19. Many of the things I was looking forward to—a trip to New York City to celebrate my future mother-in-law’s birthday, a girls’ trip with my mom to Japan to see the wisteria blooms, heck, even our freaking wedding—were outright cancelled as a result. Right now, we’re about a month into the social distancing measures that were put in place in my city to help fight the pandemic. Although I advocated fiercely for following the restrictions, I’m definitely feeling the isolation of it all.
So I decided to channel all that despair and frustration into this cake! I’m pretty sure the chocolate chip cookie cake says everything about how I feel. But here’s the best part: decorating my cake this way cheered me up a LOT. I texted a photo of this cake to many of the good friends I hadn’t seen in weeks and we all had a good cry/laugh/vent session together. Later, I biked around the city to get some much needed exercise, all while doing a contactless drop-off of leftover chocolate chip cookie cake slices on my friends’ porches.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that stress baking isn’t a real thing.
Why You Should Make The Recipe
In addition to being a fun #stressbaking #quarantinecake-making project, there are other reasons to make this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe, too:
The recipe is delicious and tastes like your childhood.
I mentioned earlier that I was unhappy with the previous chocolate chip cookie cake recipes I’d tried. But this one knocks it out of the park!
The chocolate chip cookie cake results in extremely dense and fudgy slices, all topped off with just the right amount of sweet buttercream frosting. Honestly, it’d almost be too much if it didn’t exactly like the supermarket chocolate chip cookie cakes that I loved so much as a kid.
Be sure to check out the ingredients below for more on how I managed to achieve these flavors!
The recipe comes together quickly.
Most chocolate chip cookie recipes, cake or otherwise, instruct you to bring butter down to room temperature to be able to cream it with sugar for the dough. Good news! There’s no need to do that for this recipe.
Instead, I instruct you to melt the butter instead. Doing so results in the extremely fudgy and dense texture of this giant chocolate chip cookie cake. You can read more about the science of why in this epic Serious Eats post about developing the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe.
It also turns out that baking a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough as one giant cake significantly reduces your Bake Time. Most cookie recipes require you to bake multiple batches of cookies. While it takes only around 10 minutes or so to bake each batch, most recipes make around 4 batches. This significantly increases your total Bake Time to 40 minutes!
However, with this chocolate chip cookie recipe, you’ll only need to bake the cookie dough as one giant chocolate chip cookie cake for 20 or so minutes.
The cake stores well.
Individual chocolate chip cookies get stale faster than a giant chocolate chip cookie cake. I have no idea why. It’s just some kind of magic, lol.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Now that I’ve convinced you to make this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe, here’s the shopping list for the recipe:
Shopping List For My Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Recipe
- salted OR unsalted butter
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- kosher salt
- dark OR light brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- large eggs
- pure vanilla extract
- semisweet chocolate chips
- confectioners’ sugar
- whole milk
- food coloring (optional, for decorating)
- sprinkles (optional, for garnish)
And here’s a secret: it’s actually the chocolate chip cookie recipe from my cookbook, but with a few important ingredient changes! These changes are responsible for making them taste like the supermarket chocolate chip cookie cakes I remember so fondly from my childhood. Let’s talk about them below:
Salted Butter
My best chocolate chip cookie cake recipe needs ½ salted OR unsalted butter to make the cake.
99% of baking recipes instruct you to use unsalted butter in your baked goods. Why? The level of salt in salted butter varies from brand to brand. Using unsalted butter allows the baker to control the EXACT amount of salt in their baked goods without worrying about which brand to use.
But here’s a secret: you can get away with using salted butter in a LOT of baking recipes. In fact, some folks argue that all that extra salt from the salted butter makes them even better. I personally find that it’s best to use salted butter with bold flavors like chocolate and peanut butter.
For this recipe, I used salted butter because most commercial bakeries use a shocking amount of fat and salt in their recipes. It’s the secret to why everything tastes so dang good, really. I also wanted a lot of salt to balance out the sweetness of the buttercream frosting topping.
Can I use unsalted butter instead?
Yes, absolutely! You can use unsalted butter in place of the salted butter in this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe. Follow the rest of the ingredients and recipe exactly as written; there’s no need to make any changes as a result!
Chocolate Chips
My best chocolate chip cookie cake recipe needs 1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips to make the cake.
If you own my cookbook, you may have noticed that I rail against chocolate chips a LOT. Why? Cheap chocolate chips contain additives like palm oil and paraffin wax that help them retain their shape after being baked. Unfortunately, it also affects their flavor. As a result, I rely on fancy chocolate bars, feve discs, or wafers for most of my baking.
But supermarket bakeries don’t make chocolate chip cookie cakes with that kind of gourmet chocolate. And I’m going for nostalgia with my best chocolate chip cookie cake recipe, remember? The truth is, this recipe just doesn’t taste right with fancy chocolate.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Icing Recipe
To be honest, the icing was the trickiest part to nail in this recipe. The chocolate chip cookie cakes from my childhood always had garishly colored buttercream frosting—the kind that’s usually made from shortening, and dries to create a stiff, hard “crust”.
For my cookie cake, I used a simple American buttercream frosting made with powdered sugar, butter, and a splash of milk and vanilla. It comes together in 5 minutes and tastes like the frosting you liked best as a kid—unapologetically sweet and simple. The key is to whip the buttercream for at least 5 minutes to until it is light and airy. At first, the frosting will be soft and pipeable. But this frosting will harden and crust the longer it sits, making it the perfect frosting for the chocolate chip cookie cake.
Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ
FAQ: Tools To Make The Recipe
Do I need a special chocolate chip cookie cake pan?
No! Like I said above, I developed this recipe specifically for a 10- or 12-inch skillet. You can also bake the chocolate chip cookie cake in traditional cake pans or a springform pan.
Traditional cake pans are usually 8- or 9-inches wide, while springform pans are typically 9- or 10-inches. If you make this recipe in a smaller cake pan, your cookie cake will come out thicker than mine. You may also need to increase Bake Time for a few minutes to adjust for this thickness. In general, thicker baked goods take longer to bake.
Alternatively, note that I made this recipe in this 10-inch skillet. If you’re using a 12-inch skillet, your chocolate chip cookie cake will likely be thinner than mine. You may need to decrease Bake Time; check for doneness at 18 minutes instead of the 20 minutes listed in the recipe.
FAQ: Questions About The Recipe’s Techniques
Can I use store-bought cookie dough to make a chocolate chip cookie cake?
You can! Look for a tube or packet of chocolate chip cookie dough that makes around 16 cookies (or clocks in at around 16 ounces). Follow the instructions in my recipe to press the cookie dough into the skillet or cake pan of your choice and bake accordingly.
Can I use this cookie dough to make cookies instead?
Yep! Though I’m not sure why you would, especially when I have many chocolate chip cookie recipes already available (see links for them below!). But if you insist, use a 3-tablespoon cookie dough scoop to portion the dough into cookies. You’ll end up with around 16 cookie dough balls. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. Place the cookie dough balls at least 3 inches apart on the prepared sheet pans. Bake one pan at a time at 350℉ for 10 minutes. The cookies will look puffed when you pull them out of the oven, but will fall and crack into the perfect cookies as they cool.
How long to bake a chocolate chip cookie cake?
Most chocolate chip cookie cake recipes are baked for between 20 to 25 minutes. In general, it’s better to pull out the cookie cake when the center is still gooey but the edges have set. If you wait until the center is fully set, it’s likely that your cookie cake will be too crispy and hard. Why? The residual heat from the pan will continue to bake the cookie cake even after its pulled out of the oven. Test for doneness by sticking a toothpick in the center of the cookie cake—if it comes out with few crumbs, it’s perfect!
FAQ: Questions About The Recipe’s Results
How big is this giant chocolate chip cookie cake?
Truth be told, most supermarket chocolate chip cookie cakes clock in at larger sizes and are usually between 12 to 18 inches wide… or at least they were in Texas, where I grew up (and everything is bigger in Texas, am I right?!).
However, my recipe makes a chocolate chip cookie cake that is smaller than that. My chocolate chip cookie cake is around 10 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. Why? Most folks don’t have a 12-inch+ cake pan in their home kitchen. But a lot of folks have a 10-inch or 12-inch cast iron skillet. As a result, I decided to develop a recipe for that pan.
That being said, if you are the proud owner of a 12 inches+ cake pan, feel free to bake this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe in it! You may need to shorten the Bake Time. Because the cake pan is bigger, the dough will spread more thinly across the pan and require a shorter Bake Time.
Help! My chocolate chip cookie cake tasted super salty. What did I do wrong?
Here’s the thing: although I instruct you to use salted butter for the cookie dough in this recipe, it’s always a little bit risky to do so. Why? Different brands add varying levels of salt to their salted butter. That means that the flavor of your dessert will vary widely depending on whatever brand of salted butter you happened to use. And if you found this chocolate chip cookie cake too salty, it’s likely because you used an extra salty type of salted butter.
If you want to try making this recipe again with the same type of salted butter you used, I recommend decreasing the amount of kosher salt in this recipe to a ½ teaspoon. Alternatively, you can also avoid this sort of risk in the future by baking the recipe as is but with unsalted butter instead. Baking with unsalted butter will give you more control over the final taste of the product since you’ll be adding all the salt in the recipe yourself.
FAQ: Questions About Storing The Cake
Can I freeze the unbaked chocolate chip cookie cake?
Yes, you can! To freeze the unbaked cookie dough, follow the recipe to make the dough as instructed. Instead of pressing the cookie dough into the skillet, mold it into a rough ball and press down to make a disc. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake into a cookie cake, thaw the disc overnight in the refrigerator and follow the instructions in the recipe to press it into the skillet and bake.
Can I freeze the baked chocolate chip cookie cake?
Yes, you can! To freeze the baked cookie cake, follow the recipe’s instructions to cool the chocolate chip cookie cake completely and decorate. Once the frosting has “crusted” (it should harden to the point that your finger won’t leave an indent in the frosting when it’s gently poked), slice the cookie cake into wedges. Tightly wrap the individual wedges in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. To enjoy, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then for a few hours at room temperature.
Best Recipe Tips
Best Ingredient Tip
- Note that while the chocolate chip cookie cake dough instructs you to use salted butter, you’ll need to use UNSALTED butter for the frosting. In general, it’s not a good idea to use salted butter for frosting. Frosting recipes usually require a LOT of butter. Using salted butter at that volume will definitely make your frosting taste salty.
In a pinch, if you only have unsalted butter on hand, don’t worry! Simply follow the recipe. There’s no need to increase the amount of salt in the cookie dough. If you only have salted butter on hand, feel free to use it in the frosting recipe. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if you find it to be too salty and weird! You may also want to skip the “pinch of salt” I instruct you to use.
Best Technique Tip
- The easiest way to spread the cookie dough across the skillet is to use a stiff rubber spatula, a wooden spoon, or even your hands to press the dough into the pan. Don’t dump the cookie dough all at once into the center of the pan! Instead, transfer the dough bit by bit, pressing it into the pan as you go. Doing so will make it easier to get it across the pan, I promise.
Best Decorating Tip
- To pipe the border, I used a star tip from this Ateco jumbo piping tip set. To make the letters, I borrowed a trick from my friend Molly and dyed some white marzipan with food coloring. I then rolled it out into a slab and used these cursive cookie cutters to stamp out the letters. But you can also use fondant, or even cookie or pie dough! Alternatively, if you’re feeling ambitious, pipe the words with frosting like Alanna or Becca. You can’t go wrong.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
- Brown Butter and Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
- S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
My Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) salted (preferred) OR unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, plus more for pan
- 1 ⅔ cups (7.5 ounces or 213 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup tightly packed (5.65 ounces or 160 grams) dark OR light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (1.75 ounces or 50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (8 ounces or 227 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Icing
- 4 Tablespoons (2 ounces or 57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoons whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- a pinch of kosher salt
- food coloring
Instructions
For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- Melt the butter. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, about 10 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent the butter from getting too hot—at no point should it sizzle, crackle, or pop.
- Prep the oven and pan. While the butter melts, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.
- Make the cookie dough. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugars.
- Once the butter has melted completely, pour it over the sugar in the mixer bowl and beat on low until just combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more, and beat on low for an additional 30 seconds. Increase the mixer to medium-low, add the chocolate chips all at once, and beat until the chips are evenly distributed throughout, about 1 minute.
- Transfer the cookie dough into the prepared skillet by scraping a small portion of the dough into the pan and using a wooden spoon, stiff rubber spatula, or your hands to press the dough down into the skillet. Press the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the cookie cake. Bake the chocolate chip cookie cake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the edges are set but the center is still gooey. Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting. The cookie cake can be stored by slicing it into wedges after frosting. Store the wedges in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Icing
- Make the icing. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-low until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer to low and add the confectioners' sugar ¼ cup at a time, beating until combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the milk, vanilla, and salt all at once and beat on low just to incorporate the liquid. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl once more, then beat on medium-high until the frosting is creamy and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Decorate the cake. Use immediately by scraping into a piping bag fitted with the piping tip of your choice. At first the frosting will be creamy and smooth, but will harden the longer it sits. The frosting can also be made for up to 1 week in advance. Transfer to an airtight container with a lid and refrigerate. Before using in a recipe, bring to room temperature and beat on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Notes
- Note that while the chocolate chip cookie cake dough instructs you to use salted butter, you’ll need to use UNSALTED butter for the frosting. In general, it’s not a good idea to use salted butter for frosting. Frosting recipes usually require a LOT of butter. Using salted butter at that volume will definitely make your frosting taste salty. In a pinch, if you only have unsalted butter on hand, don’t worry! Simply follow the recipe. There’s no need to increase the amount of salt in the cookie dough. If you only have salted butter on hand, feel free to use it in the frosting recipe. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if you find it to be too salty and weird! You may also want to skip the “pinch of salt” I instruct you to use.
- The easiest way to spread the cookie dough across the skillet is to use a stiff rubber spatula, a wooden spoon, or even your hands to press the dough into the pan. Don’t dump the cookie dough all at once into the center of the pan! Instead, transfer the dough bit by bit, pressing it into the pan as you go. Doing so will make it easier to get it across the pan, I promise.
- To pipe the border, I used a star tip from this Ateco jumbo piping tip set. To make the letters, I borrowed a trick from my friend Molly and dyed some white marzipan with food coloring. I then rolled it out into a slab and used these cursive cookie cutters to stamp out the letters. But you can also use fondant, or even cookie or pie dough! Alternatively, if you’re feeling ambitious, pipe the words with frosting like Alanna or Becca. You can’t go wrong.
Did you make this recipe?
Please leave a comment and rating for the recipe using the form below!
Your ratings make it easier to find the recipe online, and I’m always looking for ways to improve Hummingbird High.
NEVER miss a recipe
NO TIME TO BAKE?!
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
Kelly | Maverick Baking says
Hahaha love this!
Kim says
I can’t wait to make this!!
Your recipes, in your book, are amazing! So much work has gone into all the recipes to perfect them. I swore off cookbooks but ran across yours at the library and after reading it cover to cover, just had to get my own copy! Absolute perfection!!
Then I had to find your blog… not technically savvy. So I asked my daughter. She found you! Love your posts as well. Thank You for all your inspirations!! My neighbours have been very happy during social distancing while I try all your recipes! Stress baking IS a thing!!!!
Abby says
Looooove this, Michelle! This cake takes me back to elementary school birthdays, when kids would bring in a cookie cake (always from Mrs. Field’s) for the entire class. I was the weird kid that didn’t *love* them, though… I was more into the frosting. I remember literally trading the cookie portion of my slice for the frosting on top of someone else’s haha. Anyways, now that my palate has *matured* (lol) I think I’d be obsessed with this, cookie part and alll. And um, yes: FUCK COVID x 100000000!!!!!
Michelle says
abby you are my favorite lol
Kristin says
My cookie batter is dry! What did I do wrong? Like sand!
Michelle says
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that! When did the dough become dry? Did it happen after you added the dry ingredients? If so, it’s likely that it was overmixed—the best way to make the dough is to just mix ONLY until the dry ingredients have disappeared. At this point it’s even okay to have one or two streaks of flour still visible since you’re going to be adding the chocolate chips and mixing them in, too.
Sanya says
Do you think I could use light brown sugar ?
Michelle says
Yes! You can use light brown sugar in place of dark brown sugar no problem!
Sanya says
Hi Michelle! I don’t have a 10 in skillet but I have an 11 in round pan. Do you think if I adjust the time a little jt could work?
Michelle says
Absolutely! I would just start checking for doneness around 2 to 3 minutes ahead of the recipe’s Bake Time. Maybe even 5 minutes ahead?
Marie says
Soooo good! I loved how easy it was to put together and bonus, no chill time. Delicious and pretty!
Kristen says
How long would you suggest letting the cookie cook before adding the icing? I’ll be using a 12”cast iron skillet.
Kris says
Truly so easy to do and used a 9″ springform pan. I only wished I had a bigger pan so I could write a longer message!
Jen says
Just ate the last piece for second breakfast with coffee. This cookie cake was SO GOOD. Exactly like the ones I remember from the cookie shop in my small town’s mall (that’s a good thing folks). My modifications: used unsalted butter so I upped the salt addition to the batter, used light brown sugar, & I used an 8″ cake pan. I like how thick it was in the smaller pan, only needed about 5 extra minutes in my oven. Edges were crisp, inside was almost fudgy.
I got impatient and made the frosting too early, then tried to decorate when the cake was still warm so it didn’t look great, but really this was my favorite bake I’ve made in a long time! Planning to make it again for my son’s 3rd birthday in July!
Melanie says
This recipe was so easy and so delicious! Turned out perfectly and reminds me of all the cookie cakes I’ve enjoyed through my life. The steps were laid out super clearly and the icing makes the perfect amount for the size. Made for my birthday this year and will be making again soon!
Michelle says
Out of curiosity, what brand chocolate chips did you use? I wouldn’t be surprised of it was the chocolate chips—sometimes cheap chocolate chips have more sugar (and other stabilizers and preservatives) in them than necessary. The extra sugar leeches into whatever you’re baking and can affect its texture. Like, have you ever chopped up a cheap candy bar like a Butterfinger or Hershey’s bar and thrown it into a chocolate chip cookie? You’ll notice those chocolates don’t melt in the same way as baking chocolate — the extra sugar/stabilizers/preservatives in them are the culprits!
Kay says
The profanity ruined my desire to try this recipe.
Michelle says
luckily google exists to give you plenty of other options that don’t offend your sensibilities 👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼
Ashley says
This cookie was amazing! The sweet and salty combo was incredible🙌🏼 I used land of lakes salted butter and my 10” Caphalon pan x 18 min. I’m not kidding, I had dreams about this cookie afterwards.
Allyson says
The profanity heightened my desire to try this recipe.
Allison says
Haha 🙂 My thoughts exactly!
Amie says
Mine too! 😂
Ashley says
This cookie is incredible! The sweet and salty combo is so tasty and such a nice surprise. Both of my boys have asked for this cookie in lieu of a birthday cake. Thanks so much!
Carey says
Hi HH, This recipe turned out fantastic! I made it for my sons birthday. I doubled the recipe, put it in a large round tart pan. I baked it the same temperature and time you listed. The cake slightly sunk in the middle and I believe it’s because I may have packed it too much with the spatula when I put the raw dough in the pan. However, I added a cute Buttercream border and it looked fine. It tastes exactly how you described. I cut the cake in slivers, shared with neighbors, and portion froze the leftovers. Thank you for sharing your recipe with the world.
M says
I would love to try this recipe. Can I substitute chocolate chips with cranberries and white chocolate with a white chocolate drizzle?
Michelle says
Yes! That sounds great!
Brienna says
Can you use a flat round pan for this? Or does it need to have edges to prevent it from spreading too much?
Michelle says
Yeah, the sides of the pan need to be there—otherwise you’ll just end up with a blob that’s too thin around the edges!
Sarrah says
Hey there, love this recipe and have made it quite a few times now!
However sometimes when I bake it the cookie ends up rising too much at the edge which makes it difficult to decorate, what could be the reason for this? Normally this happens once I take it out of the oven, it seems to shrink almost?
Also sometimes I get these big cracks in the cookie, could that be explained by something?
Thank you!
Michelle says
hi!
so glad you are enjoying the recipe!
re: the cookie edges rising too much. this is actually a pan issue! if your oven runs hot, the sides of the cookie cake bake up faster then the center, causing them to rise more. i recommend getting an external oven thermometer to see if your oven is running hotter than 350. if it is accurate and at 350, try reducing the temperature to 325. you may need to bake for 1 to 2 minutes longer than the OG recipe.
re: the cookie cracks. i’m really not sure! it would be helpful to see a pic to help diagnose the issue.
Sarrah says
Thank you! I will try baking the cookie at a slight lower temperature next time!
I would be happy to show you picture but unfortunately I’m not sure how to include a picture in my comment!
David S says
I made this for an office birthday and it was a huge hit. The recipe was well written and it turned out perfectly in my 12″ cast iron skillet. The only change I made was I did 1/2 milk chocolate and 1/2 semi-sweet chips. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Aryana says
So I only have a 12″ cast iron skillet, is that okay, and if so how long should I bake it for and is there anything i should change in the recipe
Michelle says
Yes, you can make this recipe in a 12-inch cast iron. However, since I don’t own one myself, I’m not sure what the Bake Time would be. Sorry! I would check 5 minutes before the recipe says it’s done?
Gayle says
I plan on baking this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe in a deep dish 9 inch ceramic pie pan. Do I need to change the baking time and oven temperature? Thanks so much
Michelle says
I’m so sorry! I don’t own a deep dish 9 inch pan. I’ve only ever made this recipe in a cast iron pan.
Gayle says
Hi Michelle. I just made the chocolate chip cookie cake for my husband’s birthday. I baked the cake in my 9 inch deep dish ceramic pie pan for 18 minutes at 350 degrees. It was delicious…gooey inside and nicely done outside. I probably will reduce the sugar and chocolate chips when I make the recipe again, as we tend to like baked goods a little less sweet.
N says
Hi Michelle,
Just wanna ask you if you are using fan-forced function for this recipe? Or without? Kindly advise! Thank you!
Michelle says
No convection/fan-force; just regular heat!
Pinda says
I made this recipe to the tee and the dough is really dry
Navree says
Hi, I wanted to make this for my daughter’s recipe so testing it out tonight. Is it ok to sub the all purpose flour with self raising flour? If so should I not add the baking powder?
Thanks
Michelle says
I’m sorry, I don’t have too much experience baking with self raising flour! I’m not sure how to substitute it in this recipe. 🙁
Jenn says
I made this cookie cake for my husband’s birthday – it was really easy (my young kids assisted in making/ decorating it) and very delicious – highly recommend!
Georgia says
I made this recipe and it came out of the oven looking so good!
However clumsy me somehow broke the cookie in half when getting it out of the cake tin 😭
Still tastes amazing
Brilyn says
I have Celiac’s and haven’t had my beloved chocolate chip cookie cake since being diagnosed 15 years ago. Today that changed, thanks to this incredible recipe! I used a GF rice flour blend and it tasted just as I remembered. The frosting is so divine, too. I also appreciated the thorough recipe instructions so that perfection can be replicated for next time. This recipe is a definite keeper and one that will have a forever spot in my recipe box. Thanks so much!
Nicole Wilkinson says
Made this for my husbands birthday and it turned out beautifully! I purchased the script letter cut outs and sprinkles from Fancy Sprinkles (with your discount!) – thank you SO much for posting where you get all of your products from and all of the detailed instructions. It’s one reason I love this blog so much!!
Anar says
Hi,
I am looking to make the chocolate chip cookie cake for my husband’s birthday. I have a 9in circle pan at home. How long do you suggest cooking for?
Meryl says
Is this buttercream recipe shelf stable, meaning it can sit out at room temp with no problems? This cookie cake itself was absolutely delicious! I made it to take with us to the zoo for my son’s 2nd birthday using 1:1 GF flour and no one noticed. All rave reviews! I made another the same week for a co-worker’s farewell party, and I was pumped there was one piece left for me to enjoy.
Michelle Lopez says
Yes! It is shelf stable at temperatures 65 degrees and colder and can be kept at room temp for up to 1 day.
Meryl says
Thank you so much!
Elena Saenz says
Can I make 1.5 recipes for a larger pan so that it doesn’t bake too thin?
Michelle Lopez says
What size pan did you have in mind?
Elena Saenz says
A 14”
Adam says
I’m trying to master this for my daughter’s pre-K birthday party and ran into some trouble after pulling it out of the oven.
After pulling the skillet from the oven, I tried to turn the skillet upside down in order to drop the cookie cake into a plate for cooling. I was worried the cookie cake would continue to cook if I left it in the skillet. This went badly for me as the bottom of the cookie cake ended up sticking to the skillet and the top fell into the plate, thus separating at the gooey middle 🙁
When you pull it from the oven, do you let it cool in the skillet? If so, for how long? If not, how quickly do you get it to the wire rack? Also, how do you get the cookie cake out of the skillet without messing it up like I did :0) Thank you in advance!!!
Michelle Lopez says
Don’t turn it out while it’s still warm—it won’t come out of the pan cleanly! I usually just let it cool in the skillet. The recipe is designed for this—I actually pull it out of the oven way early so it doesn’t overbake!
Dillbail says
This recipe is my go to cookie cake recipe, I make it all the time and it always comes out perfect! I wanted to make it for my coworkers that are gluten free, can you use this recipe but sub gf flour? Thank you!
Michelle Lopez says
Yes, in theory, you can use a 1-1 GF flour replacer like Bob’s Red Mill. However, I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t guarantee the results!
Erin Vaughan says
I’ve made many cookie cakes in my day this one happens to be one of the easiest most delicious recipes I’ve used. I will be using this one from now on.
Cookie tips:
1. trust the process
2. butter the iron skillet. Do not use any other non-stick method. The butter gives the bottom of the cookie a delicious browned crunch that compliments the warm soft center.
3. Highly recommend using an iron skillet. Glass bakeware and/or non-stick pans do not deliver the same results. While they will still work the bottom of you cookie will not get that delicious browned result.
4. My oven isn’t a convection so I turned the skillet halfway through baking time to ensure a more even bake.
Icing tips:
1. I echo the tip to use UNsalted butter. Do not use salted!
2. Must use room temperature butter
3. Whip the room temperature butter for at least 8 minutes on medium-high or until butter is light in color and has stiff but spreadable peaks. This gives the butter lots of lift and air and will make your piping full and beautiful.
4. Sift your powdered sugar. This gives the icing more lift and air making the piping experience even more manageable and ensures the icing maintains the intended form and shape.
5. Add food coloring milk and vanilla at the same time. This prevents too much moisture in the icing and prevents your icing from losing the nice fluffy structure.
*you may want to beat on Med-high a few minutes after adding the color if you must add color after adding milk and vanilla.
*use clear vanilla if you desire white icing
Carrie says
Awesome cookie! I made this in a 12 inch oven friendly frying pan. Baked it for 24 minutes. Turned out perfect. Crispy and chewy.
Carrie says
Not a bad cookie recipe. Followed the recipe but wish mine came out fudgier. I baked it for 20 minutes and next time I would probably start checking it at 17-18 minutes to see if I could pull it out a little sooner. The icing is spot on!! It is delicious and the perfect balance. Not too buttery and not too sugary! I have made a lot of buttercream frostings before but I would definitely use this one for future cake recipes!
Joe says
Omg, the recipe instructions was super easy to follow and was literally one of the best tasting cookies I’d ever had! Definitely remaking this. I love how detailed the instructions/information were. My cookie cake was soft, chewy, and had that crisp edge, just perfect lol!!