If you haven’t had a cookie cake before, then you haven’t been living! This cake has been a classic birthday cake in my family since I can remember. It was my brother’s favourite cake and he’d have it almost every year. My parents used to wrap coins in foil and push the money into the cake. It was such a fun surprise to see how much money you could make in your slice of cake.

The stakes got bigger once the loonie was introduced (now we are talking big money for us kids), there was always a competitive nature to see who would make the most money. We were competitive about everything, and possibly still are! Sadly, there would be the odd person who didn’t get anything in their slice at all. Now that I’m thinking about it, I wonder if this was really my brother’s favourite cake or did he just want the money?!

Either way, there was never any cookie cake left, again… was this because of the money or the cake?

Well, I do know that I still serve the cookie cake without the money now (heck, I can’t afford that these days, the stakes got higher with toonies) and there is still nothing left on the plate. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t like a giant cookie?

Sometimes it’s hard to please everyone’s tastes at a birthday party, especially when it comes to dessert. Not everyone is a big cake fan and my other brother really isn’t into sweets. So for his birthday this year, I made him an old family classic, minus the foil coins. We topped each cookie cake slice with Kawartha Dairy ice cream and extra sprinkles for the kids.

My nephew turned to me and asked while eating his cake “Auntie Al we get to take the rest of the cake home, right?”

I’d say a successful choice even without the money, but I didn’t tell him that. Or my brother just might have to make this cake for the rest of his son’s birthdays and empty his pockets of change for the next 10 years!

Hope you love this cookie cake as much as my family does.

Happy Birthday Matt!

Cookie Cake

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

This giant chocolate chip cookie cake is soft yet crisp and is fun and easy to make. It’s perfect to celebrate a birthday party topped with ice cream and sprinkles.

Author: Alie Romano
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 18 mins
Total Time: 28 mins
Yield: 1 – 10 inch cake 1x
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: Canadian

Ingredients

Units Scale

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs room temp. lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup each of milk and dark chocolate bits
1 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Set out a 11-12 inch cake pan, preferably a springform cake pan (a cake pan with sides that remove) or a large pizza pan (see notes below).
Using a mixer cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
Gradually add eggs, beating well after each addition.
Add in the vanilla, flour and baking soda and mix to combine.
Mix in chocolate bits and pecans.
Add cookie dough to your cake pan and press the dough out so it’s level and even.
Bake for 18 – 22 minutes, or until lightly golden (don’t overbake).
Let cool for 5 minutes then remove the sides of the pan.
Decorate cake once cooled completely. See notes for decorating and icing recipe.

Notes

Use a large 11 – 12 inch springform cake pan for a thicker cookie cake. If you don’t have a large pan you can divide the dough in half and make 2 smaller 8 inch cakes (or one cake and use the rest of the dough to make regular cookies).

Or use a pizza pan for a thiner cookie cake approx. 15 inches. Watch baking time as the cookie cake will bake faster when it’s spread out in a larger pan.

Decorate cake with vanilla buttercream icing, chocolate buttercream icing, whipping cream or ice cream.

Decorating is optional and depends on how much decorating you’d like to do for the amount of icing. You can double, triple etc. the recipe below for as much or as little as you’d like. You can also add melted chocolate to make chocolate icing.

Basic Buttercream Icing Recipe
1 1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
3 Tablespoons of soft butter
1-2 Tablespoons of whipping cream or milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using a mixer, whip sugar and butter together, add one tablespoon of whipping cream at a time. Add vanilla extract. Whip until light and fluffy.
Add more sugar to thicken icing, or more butter for smoother icing.