This brown butter chocolate chip cookie cake is a riff off of the childhood classic with a gooey texture, notes of caramelized butter, and a variety of chocolate chips!
This brown butter chocolate chip cookie cake was inspired by those Nestle Toll House cookie cakes that seemed to be all the rage when I was a kid. Unlike the Nestle cookie cake, my version bakes up extra thick, soft & gooey, and loaded with various sizes of melty chocolate chips.
Oh and the brown butter make this cookie cake absolutely irresistible. I went with a simple buttercream piping decoration, but you can absolutely go all out with colored buttercream and sprinkles. It's basically a giant chocolate chip cookie, making it perfect for birthdays, festive parties, or just because!
For more celebratory bakes, try Small Vanilla Cake, Fudgy Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes, Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Brownie Blondies.
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Why you'll love this cookie cake
- Soft & Gooey Texture: Unlike store-bought cookie cake, this version bakes up with a soft texture & gooey center, just as any homemade cookie should be!
- Notes of Brown Butter: Just when you thought the combination of flour, butter, and sugar couldn't get any better... The depth of flavor that brown butter brings to this cookie cake is unreal.
- Customizable Toppings: Decorate this cake however your heart desires! Pipe your favorite buttercream on top, add sprinkles or candy, top with ice cream - the options are endless.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter: You'll need 170g of brown butter, so start with a couple extra tablespoons to account for the water evaporation. Keep in mind that European-style butter has less water content, so if you're using American-style butter you might want to start with even more butter.
- Flour: Use high-quality, unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Leavening: All you need is baking powder to give this cookie cake the perfect rise and texture.
- Sugars: You'll need 1 cup of dark or light brown sugar and ½ cup of granulated sugar for the batter.
- Large Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing it a bowl of warm water. An extra egg yolk will add a dense, chewy texture!
- Vanilla: Use vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract to round out the flavor of this cookie cake.
- Chocolate: I used a variety of chocolate for visual appeal and a balance of chocolate flavors. I recommend Guittard bittersweet chocolate chips, Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, and Enjoy Life semi-sweet mini chocolate chips. A mix of dark and milk chocolate chips would also be delicious!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Instructions
Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this giant chocolate chip cookie cake recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
STEP 1: Brown the butter. In a small saucepan, add 204g (14 ½ tbsp) of unsalted butter and place over medium heat. As the butter melts, stir it with a rubber spatula to encourage even cooking. Once the butter has fully melted, it will alternate between rapid large bubbles and gentle small foamy bubbles. The butter will be ready once it turns a dark golden color and the fat solids have darkened and settled at the bottom of the pan. Immediately pour into a large bowl, scraping out the fat solids at the bottom, and weigh out to 170g (¾ cup). Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
STEP 2: Combine dry ingredients. in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
STEP 3: Whisk together wet ingredients. To the brown butter, whisk in the sugars and salt until fully combined. Then, mix in the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla.
STEP 4: Fold in flour & chocolate. Add in the dry ingredients, and gently fold with a rubber spatula until just combined. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips.
STEP 5: Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top, as desired. Bake the cookie cake for about 30-35 minutes until evenly golden on top and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the pan.
STEP 6: Make the frosting. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low-medium heat. Once melted, turn the heat off, then add the chocolate, heavy cream, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Stir constantly until everything is melted and fully combined. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Place in the fridge to cool, stirring every 10 minutes or so until it reaches a spreadable consistency. Leave at room temperature until ready to use.
STEP 7: Decorate. Pipe the frosting onto the edges of the cookie cake, top with confetti sprinkles, and enjoy!
Expert Baking Tips
- A note on browning butter... Start with a few extra tablespoons of unsalted butter, since water evaporates as it browns. Also, keep in mind that European-style butter has less water content, so if you're using American-style butter you might want to start with even more butter.
- Completely cool the cookie cake. Be sure to let the cookie cake cool completely in the pan and before decorating or the frosting will melt!
- If the frosting is chilled too long... microwave it in 10 second increments until it softens up, then use an electric mixer to beat on low speed until smooth.
Recipe FAQs
To brown the butter, in a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat for several minutes, swirling to even out the color. It will alternate between bubbling and foaming. The butter will be ready once the fat solids have separated and darkened, and the butter is an even medium amber color. It should take about 10 minutes, depending on the amount of butter you're using.
Yes, though you will be missing out on the most incredible flavor! Simply use 170g of cooled melted unsalted butter and continue with the recipe as written.
Yes! Just add strips of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan to make it easy to pull the cookie cake out.
Storage Tips
Store this chocolate chip cookie cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other cake recipes to try
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📖 Recipe
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Ingredients
For the cookie cake:
- 170 g (12 tablespoon) brown butter, start with 204g or 14 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 213 g (1 cup) dark brown sugar
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 170 g (6 oz) chocolate chips, + more for topping
For the chocolate frosting:
- 42 g (3 tablespoon) unsalted butter
- 85 g (3 oz) dark chocolate
- 42 g (3 tablespoon) heavy cream
- 28 g (¼ cup) powdered sugar, sifted
- 5 g (1 tablespoon) dutch process cocoa powder, sifted
- pinch of kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- confetti sprinkles, for topping
Instructions
For the cookie cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add parchment paper to the bottom of a 9" springform pan.
- Brown the butter: In a small saucepan, add 204g (14 ½ tbsp) of unsalted butter and place over medium heat. As the butter melts, stir it with a rubber spatula to encourage even cooking. Once the butter has fully melted, it will alternate between rapid large bubbles and gentle small foamy bubbles. The butter will be ready once it turns a dark golden color and the fat solids have darkened and settled at the bottom of the pan. Immediately pour into a large bowl, scraping out the fat solids at the bottom, and weigh out to 170g (¾ cup). Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- To the brown butter, whisk in the sugars and salt until fully combined. Then, mix in the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Add in the dry ingredients, and gently fold with a rubber spatula until just combined. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top, as desired.
- Bake the cookie cake for about 30-35 minutes until evenly golden on top and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the pan.
For the chocolate frosting:
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low-medium heat.
- Once melted, turn the heat off, then add the chocolate, heavy cream, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Stir constantly until everything is melted and fully combined.
- Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Place in the fridge to cool, stirring every 10 minutes or so until it reaches a spreadable consistency. Leave at room temperature until ready to use.
- Pipe the frosting onto the edges of the cookie cake, top with confetti sprinkles, and enjoy!
Notes
- A note on browning butter... Start with a few extra tablespoons of unsalted butter, since water evaporates as it browns. Also, keep in mind that European-style butter has less water content, so if you're using American-style butter you might want to start with even more butter.
- Completely cool the cookie cake. Be sure to let the cookie cake cool completely in the pan and before decorating or the frosting will melt!
- If the frosting is chilled too long... microwave it in 10 second increments until it softens up, then use an electric mixer to beat on low speed until smooth.
Laurie says
5 stars!!!
I made this for my son‘s 18th birthday instead of a traditional cake and it was a hit! I made two layers in a 9inch square spring form pan with condensed milk frosting!
The recipe is perfect!!
A friend saw it and wants me to make one for their sons birthday now too!
My only question is - can I make the dough a day before actually baking and store it in the fridge?
Sloane says
So glad you loved the recipe, Laurie! Yes, you can definitely store the dough in the fridge for a day. But you may need to bake it for a few extra minutes if it's straight from the fridge.
Becca says
After scouting google forever for the best cookie cake recipe I decided to make yours and I’m SO GLAD I DID!!! My son requested a cookie cake for his 17th birthday, so I wanted it to be perfect. I baked it in a 9 inch springform pan around 30 minutes in my oven and it came out crispy on the edges and soft in the center just the way we like it. It was perfectly leveled all the way around the top! Decorating it was the only challenge 😂 I’m saving this one and I’ll definitely make it again! Thank you Sloan 😊🙏💝
Julia says
Easy recipe to follow and super delish! I had to bake mine about 10 minutes longer than the recommended time. Loved the constancy when it was done!