Get ready for the gooiest, chewiest, chocolate chip cookie cake of your life! This recipe is loaded with chocolate chips and has become my new favorite way to eat chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate chip cookies are like a Chanel suit; they never go out of style (not that I own a Chanel suit, but I liked the analogy). The buttery goodness of a chocolate chip cookie combined with loads of chocolate chips make this cookie a classic that will never get old.
I have many chocolate chip cookie recipes on the blog, like soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies, tahini chocolate chip cookies, and even peanut butter pretzel milk chocolate chip cookies. I love them all equally!
So when it comes to birthdays, as much as I love making all kinds of cakes, sometimes it’s fun to switch it up and make a cookie cake. And that’s how this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe was born. This ridiculously delicious cake is basically a giant cookie baked in a pan. It is then sliced just like a cake, and every bite is soft and chewy and loaded with melty chocolate chips, plus the edges are crunchy so you get the best of both worlds.
The cake gets its wonderful flavor and texture from brown sugar, which adds moisture to the cake, and an extra egg yolk instead of a whole egg. In addition, I’ve added a bit of cornstarch, which is optional, but it does make the cookie cake ultra soft.
How to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C degrees and grease a 9-inch pie dish or cake pan.
- Sift together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars together. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes until creamy and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla extract. Beat until combined, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients and chocolate chips. Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined on low-medium speed. Then, gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Press cookie dough into your prepared pan. Then, bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown but still soft at the center, covering the cookie cake loosely with aluminum foil after 15 minutes so the edges won’t brown too much.
- Cool. Remove cake from oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Garnishing your chocolate chip cookie cake
Of course you can enjoy this cookie cake on it’s own, but why not dress it up a bit? Here are some of my favorite toppings and garnishes:
- Caramel Sauce
- Chocolate Ganache – drizzle it on or use it as a frosting. You can use a piping bag and piping tip (this one is my favorite) to create a border around the edges.
- Milk Chocolate Nutella Frosting
- Vanilla Buttercream
- No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
- Peanut Butter Ice Cream
- Whipped Cream
To make a chocolate chip cookie birthday cake, be sure to add some colorful sprinkles to your decorating.
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My top two tips for making the perfect cookie cake
-Don’t overmix your cookie dough. To ensure your cookie cake is perfectly soft, chewy, and not dense, be careful not to overmix your dough. Once you add the dry ingredients, mix the dough together gently just until everything incorporated. Overmixing will cause the flour to produce excess gluten, which will lead to a denser, tougher cake.
-Don’t overbake your cake. This is key! If you want that chewy, moist, and soft cookie texture, remove teh cake from the oven when the top and the edges appear just golden brown. As the cookie cake cools, the inside will continue to bake.
More of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes
- Vanilla Pudding Cookies Chocolate Chip Cookies: Ultra soft chocolate chip cookies.
- Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies: With a touch of cocoa powder and a gorgeous red color.
- Chocolate Cookies With White Chocolate Chips: Super gooey, chocolatey cookies loaded with white chocolate chips.
- Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies: When you want a warm and chewy cookie on the fly.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Recipe
This chocolate chip cookie cake is ultra chewy, gooey, and soft. It's loaded with tons of chocolate chips in every bite and makes a perfect birthday cake!
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch (optional, but makes the cake super soft)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 ¼ cup (200g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C degrees. Grease a 9-inch pie dish or cake pan. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
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In a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add flour mixture and mix just until combined. Do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips.
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Press cookie dough into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine is ready in 20) until golden brown but still soft at the center, covering it loosely with aluminium foil after 15 minutes so the edges won’t brown too much. Remove cake from oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream or chocolate frosting, if you like.
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Cake is best eaten the same day it’s made but will keep, covered tightly, for up to 2 days at room temperature or in the fridge. Leftovers can be frozen for up to 2 months.
dolores a urato says
Love your blog!
Layne Madsen says
Hi! I found your blog while searching for a recipe for Creme Patisserie (got it…thanks!). In looking further I stumbled across this recipe for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. My bro.-in-law absolutely ADORES Choc. Chip Cookies and his B-day is next month…perfect timing! He also ADORES Brownies. My question is this…do you have any ideas or suggestions on how to turn this cake into a Brookie cake without making a separate cookie cake & pan of brownies & layering them together with frosting? My b-i-l positively HATES frosting! I’ll have to incorporate a little bit of fudge frosting for my sister but not an entire layer’s worth! I look forward to hearing what you have to say. Thanks for your time and consideration! ?
Shiran says
Hy Layne, you can make one of my brownie recipes (or your favorite recipe), and pour the brownie batter on top of the cookie dough, and bake it together as one cake. Baking time will be longer, but I can’t tell you exactly how long as I haven’t tried it. If you’re an experienced baker, you can give this a try!
Jennifer says
This cookie cake was amazing! I made this for first time at the request of my 12 yo for her 13 birthday dinner. The entire family loved it! I’m so glad I picked this one over the others! The cake was so moist and packed with chocolate chips.
Yna Mendoza says
Hi there! Could I make the same amount of cookie dough but bake it in an 8” springform pan? Many thanks for your reply!
Shiran says
It’s better to bake it in a shallow pan, but if that’s all you have then you can use it. The cake would be slightly taller, and you’ll need to add a few additional minutes to the baking time.
Kirsten says
I want to make this for my dauggter’s birthday party for 20 kids. Can I double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 pan?
Shiran says
I recommend checking out my article on how to convert pan sizes to alter the recipe 🙂
Fendi says
This sounds wonderful! I wanted to put ice cream on top of this and make it a two layer cake because my BIL loves cookie cake and ice cream. I know you said that the cake is moist. If I leave out the cornstarch will the cake be good for me to put the ice cream layer on top or will it get soggy under the ice cream?
Shiran says
You can leave the cornstarch out even if you put ice cream on top 🙂
maria says
can i use almond flour instead off regular ? i did it today superrrrrrrrrrrr
Shiran says
It will change the entire flavor and texture, so no 🙂
Michella says
This chocolate chip cake is soooo delicious! Best chocolate chip cake I have ever tasted. Thank you so much!
Ziva says
Can I substitute oil for the butter here?
Shiran says
I wouldn’t recommend it.
Harshi says
Hi what can be replaced instead of eggs as want to make it for family who don’t have egg
AURA says
can i use gluten free flour instead?
Iyana says
can I not use any cornstarch or brown ?
Shiran says
You don’t have to use the cornstarch.
Valerie says
Can you prepare the recipe before hand (a day or 2) prior to baking? And leave in fridge?
Any help would be appreciated
And btw thanx for the extra info re pan sizes! Truly helpful ❤️
Shiran says
Yes you can 🙂
Valerie says
Just gotta say … I made 3 batches and baked as one for my sons 13th birthday
It turned out fantastic
Thanks for posting ❤️
Crystal says
Can I use light brown sugar insteaf of dark sugar??Thanks
Shiran says
Yes you can 🙂
Ilana Brand says
Your blog is amazing! I love it! Everything is so diversified and so tasty! I made a few of these recipes and they all turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing with us you talent!
Teresa Brennan says
this cake is absoloutely amazing
Jesz says
Hi is there a way of substituting some flour for cocoa powder and making this a chocolate based Cookie??
Shiran says
I recommend using my chocolate cookie recipes for the best result!
adela Uribe says
Hi Shiran i just make it its great i double the recipe and put it in a 14 x 1 1/2 inch round pizza pan it came out great i put chocolate chips on top instead of in the dough thanks again.
Hope Gorecki says
I used the optional Tbs of cream of tartar and it came out looking just like the picture. Scrumptious! I made it for my husband’s birthday today, The neighbors took a couple slices, then two friends stopped by to socially distance drop off a present. They ate a slice and took home a slice. A winner of a recipe.
Caitlin says
Is it okay to substitute the butter for crisco instead?
Shiran says
It’s possible, but I recommend sticking to butter for the best flavor.
Molly Balaguer says
Hey how much dough does it make? I need to now the grams for a bug party
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Molly, you can add up the ingredients in the recipe to get the total weight 🙂
Gillian says
Can i use M & M’s instead of chocolate chips??
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Hi Gillian, you can use whatever mixins you like 🙂
Tina says
What is the nutritional value of this? I need a calorie count please
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Tina, whenever I need to figure out nutritional value and calories for a recipe, I input it at https://www.verywellfit.com/
I did that with this recipe for you. If you divide the cake into 8 servings, each serving is approximately 475 calories.
Pat says
Can I use cake flour instead of regular flour and leave out the cornstarch?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Pat, although I haven’t made this recipe with that exact substitution, I’m sure that would work out well!
Pat says
I made this for my husband’s birthday. It was fabulous! I substituted cake flour for the regular flower and corn starch. I used an 8 by 8 Pyrex square pan and cooked it about 10 minutes longer. Nice and brown on top and texture was so smooth and perfect! I will make it again and again. So much better than store bought and made with simple ingredients. Thank you for this recipe!!!
Debby Fields says
I wanted to change things up a bit for the latest birthday cake I was making, so I hunted on the internet and found this recipe. I’ve made the Toll House chocolate chip cookie & cake, and they were fine, but THIS recipe got rave reviews from everyone at the party! It was truly the best chocolate chip cookie anyone of the 30 or so guests had ever eaten. Seriously, this is the ONLY chocolate chip cookie & cookie cake you should ever make! I’ve now made it three times and learned that I need to take the cookies or cake out earlier than expected as they do crisp up quite a bit if you don’t. I like a crispy cookie, so that was fine with me, but the cookie cake needed to be softer, and I overbaked it. Since cookie cakes are all the rage right now, I’ll be making another one tomorrow and will bake it exactly 20 minutes. Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Awe, thank you so much Debby! Your comment absolutely made my day. I’m so so glad you and your guests loved this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and helpful comment, too.
Billie J Wilson says
Hi. Where can I buy that type of chocolate chips please? Nestles is good but those look yummy!
Thanks in advance
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Billie! These were semisweet chocolate chunks as opposed to chips. They work just the same. Many brands carry chocolate chunks, but I believe this is what I used for this particular recipe: https://worldwidechocolate.com/shop/guittard/600-count-semisweet-dark-chocolate-baking-chunks/?attribute_pa_weight=25-pound-case&nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ax%3A17809749528%3A%3A&nb_adtype=pla&nb_kwd=&nb_ti=&nb_mi=117016111&nb_pc=online&nb_pi=gt-340-25lbCASE&nb_ppi=&nb_placement=&nb_li_ms=&nb_lp_ms=&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw68K4BhAuEiwAylp3kkh2TEs7krJoX1_qkkE1eQade0nctuzxYP3pj5eFBAtisyM7MKzm-RoCZOkQAvD_BwE
Tammie says
Was excited to try this out! Feel free to use less chocolate chips. We love chocolate, but it was a little overwhelming. I followed the instructions and even baked the cake for 25-26 minutes, and only the outer rims were cooked (to perfection!) May suggest covering around 17 minutes.
Tasty, but it should be better next time with a few adjustments.
Sierra says
Hi! I recently made this recipe & it turned out amazing! I plan to use it again soon, and I was hoping to get your opinion on an issue I ran into. Upon taking the cookie cake out of the oven, it slowly sunk in from the edges slightly. Is this supposed to happen? I just realized I did not cover it with foil when baking, so I’m not sure if that would be why or if I did something wrong. It tasted amazing but would like to get it to have a flat appearance next time. Thank you!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Sierra, yes the edges end up being a little higher than the center. If you think it sunk too much, it might be underbaked. But if the texture is perfect, don’t worry about the sinking.