chocolate chip cookie cake, with chocolate frosting.

I love birthdays! Because birthdays need cake. And they provide an easy excuse to bake.

I also love those cookie cakes you can get at, for example, Shoprite. They're alway so attractive looking and so darn tasty.


As good as those baked goods from grocery stores look (and sometimes are), I would still much rather make my own, ESPECIALLY for my brother's birthday. Initially, I was going to make some fancy thing involving honey and pistachios, but my mom suggested I make a cookie cake. I remembered that my brother is in 7th grade. And he's a guy, so I quickly agreed with my mom.

I set out looking for a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I could simply adapt into a cookie cake. Everyone in my family likes the soft, thick, and slightly crispy top and edges version of the chocolate chip cookie; I am aware that there are a ton of variations, and people have different preferences, ranging from thin and crispy, to fluffy and cake-like.

But the recipe I found was for monstrous cookies exactly the way my family likes them. Emily from Visions of a Sugar Plum created this recipe; I have a personal blogroll that I followed (and still follow) with dedication for years before beginning this blog. I feel like that's what always happens .. anyway Emily's blog is funny and has really interesting items.

I halved this recipe and actually followed it almost word for word. I did not include the candied walnuts, although they would have been delicious. I wanted to keep it simple. The only other change I made was to pile the dough into a single round, 9-inch cake pan. This produced a dense chocolate cookie cake. An important tip is to take the pan out of the oven the second the majority of the cake begins to look done. I made cookie layers like this once before, with a different recipe, and they came out hard because I was waiting for the inside to appear done. However, TRUST ME, the middle will look as if it is unbaked. Take it out, give it some time, and it will be fine. Nothing worse than dry or hard baked goods ...


Since there aren't really any good pictures (it was eaten almost immediately), I will again give a brief verbal description.

Imagine a thick, 3-inch high slice of chocolate chip cookie goodness. The cookie part is golden, with a slight crispy layer at the edges. Large chocolate chips stud the cake, with a few small pockets of just melted chocolate that is spilling out now that they're revealed. On top, there is a thick layer of the best chocolate frosting ever.

That wasn't a wonderful description, but really do they need a description when the name alone should make you salivate?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with Chocolate Frosting

• 1 1/2 sticks (or 3/4 cup) butter
• 2 1/4 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half white, for health purposes ... or as healthy as you can get for a cookie cake.)
• 1 1/4 tspn baking soda
• 1 1/2 tspn salt, sea salt if available
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tspn vanilla extract
• 1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 325 degrees with convection settings on). 
2. First you want to brown some of the butter. Put one stick (1/2 cup) butter into a saucepan. Melt and heat at medium-ish heat, until it starts to foam. Stir frequently. Continue heating until the foam dissipates somewhat, and the butter starts to look and smell toasted. Take care to prevent burning! Once butter has browned, remove from heat.
   
3. Stir together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. Cream both sugars with the remaining 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter until very fluffy.
5. Add in browned butter and continue beating.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
7. Slowly mix in the dry mixture. Mix until there are still streaks of flour left.
8. Mix in chocolate chips by hand until just mixed. Do not overmix.
9. Pile the cookie dough into a greased 9-inch cake pan. Bake until only the very middle of the cake still appears slightly unbaked. Once the cake is removed, it will bake through. Do not overbake! 
10. Cool in pan until the pan is cool enough to touch. Then remove the cookie cake carefully and cool completely on a wire rack.
11. Make half of this chocolate frosting recipe. It will be the perfect amount to slather over the top of the cookie cake.

People sometimes ask me how I make and eat all these things without becoming grossly rotund. I eat whatever dessert I want. And for actual meals, I eat extremely healthy. Things like spinach enchiladas for lunch/dinner. And regular oatmeal made with skim milk & bananas, walnuts, cinnamon, and flaxseed for breakfast.