This 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 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
Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions.
- 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.
- Leaveners: 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.
- Egg: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing it a bowl of warm water.
- Vanilla: Use vanilla bean paste or 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.
Step by Step Instructions
This is a super easy bowl & whisk kind of recipe. There is the extra step of browning the butter, which requires a close eye. But other than that, this recipe is a basic cookie batter loaded with ALL the chocolate chips. So easy and such a fun celebratory dessert!
STEP 1: Start by browning the butter, then placing it in the fridge to cool down to room temperature.
STEP 2:Â Make the cookie cake batter by whisking together the melted, cool brown butter & sugars, then mixing in the eggs & vanilla, and folding in the dry ingredients. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips.
STEP 3:Â Pour the batter into the prepare pan, smooth out the top, and sprinkle more chocolate chips on top.Â
STEP 4:Â Bake for about 35 minutes until evenly golden. Allow to cool completely in the pan and before decorating.Â
Expert Baking Tips
- Start with an extra couple tablespoons of 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.
- Don't add ingredients to the hot brown butter. Chill it in the fridge for about 15 minutes to bring it to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
- I recommend using a variety of chocolate chip sizes, as well as a mixture of semi-sweet and bittersweet for visual appeal and balance of chocolate flavor.
- Be sure to let the cookie cake cool completely in the pan and before decorating or the frosting will melt!
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! The cookie cake will be just a little bit thinner, so it should bake a little faster.
Decoration Ideas
I used leftover swiss meringue buttercream to decorate this cookie cake, but you could use store-bought frosting or any of these recipes:
Storage Tips
Store this chocolate chip cookie cake in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days or in the freezer 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
Equipment
Ingredients
- 170 g (12 tablespoon) brown butter, melted & cooled, start with 204g or 14 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 213 g (1 cup) dark brown sugar
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 170 g (6 oz) chocolate chips, + more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease an 8" cake pan with softened butter and use two long, thick strips of parchment paper to line the pan, leaving the ends sticking up for easy removal of the cake. For extra assurance, cut out a circle of parchment paper to line the entire bottom of the pan.
- Start by browning the butter. You'll need 170g of brown butter, so start with about 204g (as the butter melts, water evaporates).*
- To brown the butter, in a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat for several minutes, swirling to even out the color. The butter will be ready once the fat solids have separated and darkened, and the butter is an even medium amber color.
- Pour the brown butter into a glass measuring cup and place in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.*
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Weigh out the cooled melted brown butter into a medium size mixing bowl.
- Whisk in the sugars until fully combined.
- 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 35 minutes until evenly golden on top and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely in the pan.
- Lift the cookie cake from the pan using the parchment strips onto a serving plate or cake stand.
- Decorate as desired and enjoy!
Notes
- Start with an extra couple tablespoons of 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.
- Don't add ingredients to the hot brown butter. Chill it in the fridge for about 15 minutes to bring it to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
- I recommend using a variety of chocolate chip sizes, as well as a mixture of semi-sweet and bittersweet for visual appeal and balance of chocolate flavor.
- Be sure to let the cookie cake cool completely in the pan and before decorating or the frosting will melt!
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!