Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake is soft, thick, and perfectly chewy with just the right amount of crispy on the edges. It’s the perfect dessert when you need something extra quick and extra delicious. Make this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe for birthdays, celebrations, or a simple weeknight dessert!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
What’s better than a dozen or two freshly baked cookies? One giant chocolate chip cookie cake, of course!
It’s everything you love about the center of a cookie — soft, chewy, gooey perfection with tiny melted morsels throughout.
Except, each bite is thicker than any cookie could hope to be.
Cookie cakes are a great option for birthdays if your guest of honor doesn’t like traditional birthday cake or if you don’t have time to assemble all those layers.
And, cookie bars are the best of both worlds when you need a quick single-pan recipe that makes dozens of treats at a time!
My snickerdoodle s’mores bars are a new favorite around here.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Butter – Salted sticks make this recipe even easier! Be sure to soften the butter before getting started.
Either leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes, or microwave for 10 seconds at 50% power.
If using unsalted butter, add ½ teaspoon salt with the dry ingredients. - Sugar – Use a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar for a tender dough with a hint of caramel flavor.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – It wouldn’t be much of a chocolate chip cookie cake without a thick slice!
Use both powder and soda to create enough lift in the dough for the thickest, chewiest bite. - Chocolate Chips – I like to use mini chocolate chips so there are little bits scattered more evenly throughout the dough, but regular size work just as well.
We tend to rotate dark, semi-sweet, and milk chocolate varieties when making cake like chocolate chip cookies. Feel free to use your favorite or a mixture of two!
Tips and Tricks to Make Cake Like Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Measure your ingredients properly.
If there’s too much flour, the texture will be tough and dry. And if there’s not enough brown sugar, it won’t be as soft.
Gently spoon flour into your measuring cups, keeping it loose instead of compact. Then, level it off with a butter knife or the handle of your spoon.
NEVER scoop the flour directly out of the container. You’re guaranteed to end up with too much.
On the other hand, you’ll want to press brown sugar into the measuring cup so it’s “packed” — filling in the tiny gaps that happen naturally with granulated sugar.
- Don’t overmix OR press to firmly into the pan.
You might be tempted to toss everything into your mixing bowl to save some time. Trust me, it’s not worth it!
Butter and sugar need to be creamed together — this allows the sugar to dissolve and incorporates much-needed air into the dough.
Work your way up to high speed to help it along.
Once you add the dry ingredients, keep your mixer on low. Mix just until there are no more clumps or streaks of flour before folding the mini chips in by hand.
Then, press the dough gently into the springform pan, enough to fill in the edges and level it out without compacting it. Every step is crucial to getting the perfect soft and chewy texture!
- Cool on a wire rack.
If you don’t plan on digging in right away, remove the ring portion of the pan and let your baked cookie cake cool on a wire rack.
Leave it on the round base to start, then slide it off with a spatula after about 10 minutes. This prevents it from continuing to bake in the pan.
Prep Ahead
- Grease springform pan or line with parchment
- Soften butter
- Preheat oven to 375°F
Kitchen Tools You Will Need
- Springform Pan – You’ll need a 9-inch pan for this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe. The removable sides make it much easier to get the cake out of the pan!
- Parchment Paper – Optional, but you can line your pan with this instead of greasing it.
- Stand mixer or large mixing bowl with Hand Mixer for mixing the dough.
- A sturdy Silicone Spatula is perfect for folding chocolate chips into thick dough.
Serving Suggestions
This giant chocolate chip cookie cake is a bit like a pizookie when it’s fresh out of the oven!
If you prefer to let it cool, it will have more of a class cookie texture — and it’ll be much easier to slice. Either way, it’s extra tasty!
Top with a scoop of your favorite ice cream or a drizzle of caramel sauce for an extra gooey bite.
And for special occasions, why not add some frosting? You can pipe a border around the outside or write a message across the middle, just like a professional bakery!
Vanilla is easy to dye, but chocolate or peanut butter frosting would be extra delicious.
How to Store a Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Cover your springform pan tightly with plastic wrap or transfer the chocolate chip cookie cake to an airtight container, though you may need to slice it first.
Leftovers will keep for 4-5 days at room temperature or a bit longer in the refrigerator.
You can nibble on this cake like chocolate chip cookies or warm a slice in the microwave to make it soft and gooey again!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Recipe FAQ
Basically, the size. The dough is typically the same, with cookies being baked in small rounds on a baking sheet while a cookie cake is baked in a large round pan or skillet.
The texture can be a bit different too… because of that size difference! Cookie cakes tend to be softer and chewier since there’s more of the “center” to go around.
Yes, though the texture will be a bit different once thawed. If you want to make this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe ahead of time, I suggest freezing the dough instead.
Wrap it tightly in several layers of plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe storage bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then press into the pan and bake as directed!
Get creative with chopped nuts, different types of baking chips (peanut butter or butterscotch, for example), or dried fruit.
Just keep the total amount of mix-ins at 2 cups — including the chocolate chips.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and coat a 9-inch springform pan in butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- Use an electric hand mixer to cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl for 3 minutes. Start on a low speed and work up to a high speed as the ingredients become incorporated to prevent the butter and sugar from flying out of the bowl.
- Add the eggs and vanilla. Keeping the mixer on a high speed, mix for an additional 2 minutes.
- Lower the speed of your electric hand mixer and add the baking powder, baking soda, and flour. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Make sure that no clumps of flour remain unincorporated.
- Use a large spoon or silicone spatula to fold in the chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Press your cookie dough firmly into the springform pan, making sure the top is flat. Bake your cookie cake for 20 minutes.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Donna’s Notes
I like to use mini chocolate chips since you get more scattered pieces of chocolate in the cake; however, regular chocolate chips will work as well. Feel free to use your favorite kind of chocolate. We like to rotate between dark, semi-sweet, and milk chocolate.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published June 2024
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The best cookie cake recipe I’ve ever tried. Simple and turned out great!
Hi Lillian!
We’re so glad you enjoyed.
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn