Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
I absolutely love a cookie cake. Whenever I was looking for a sweet treat in college, I’d make a run to the grocery store and grab one, with a ring of icing and sprinkles of course, and then pop a slice into the microwave for a few seconds. It was all the perfect ooey gooey-ness my heart desired.
This is not your grocery store cookie cake. Packed with peanut butter and chocolate flavors, each slice is a decadent celebration not to mention she thickkkk. Between the peanut butter cookie filled with loads of chocolate chips in every bite and the creamy peanut butter buttercream frosting, your world is about to be rocked.
For my peanut butter chocolate chip lovers, this one is for you (or for you and your friends if you so choose to share, you do you either way).
WHAT IS COOKIE CAKE?
A cookie cake is basically a giant cookie, which makes it all the more magical. Depending on the recipe, the cake may be as tall as your average bakery cookie, or on the thicker side. This recipe yields a thicker cookie cake, that is still all things gooey (not raw!) in the middle. You can decorate however you like too! Personally, I love a rim of frosting that I can smear over my slice. A cookie cake is the perfect way to make a lot of cookies at once, by throwing your dough into a single pan and baking off. To be clear though, cookie cake dough has a slightly different consistency than your average cookie dough since it needs to be able to evenly bake in its designated pan versus as individual cookies.
How should I frost my cookie cake? Totally up to you! The below recipe will allow two layers of frosting along the outside edge. If you prefer more, feel free to double it! I placed my frosting in a piping bag with an Ateco Leaf 113 piping tip to give it that ribbon effect, but if you prefer to spread it on with a spatula, that’ll be equally as delicious!
INGREDIENTS
- Creamy Peanut Butter – We’re not looking for chunky peanuts in this cookie or the buttercream! Be careful with natural peanut butter for baking, as it needs to be stirred really well to ensure an even “butter” before measuring for this recipe
- Unsalted Butter – Offers that rich buttery flavor to the cookie cake and makes for the perfect buttercream frosting
- Brown Sugar – The molasses in brown sugar provides both moisture and flavor that I love in a chocolate chip cookie and works perfectly in this peanut butter cookie cake version. Make sure you press your brown sugar into the cup to pack it when measuring!
- Granulated Sugar – Where the moisture from the brown sugar will add chew, the granulated sugar will add crunch, balancing the texture of this cookie cake beautifully
- Egg – You need an egg plus one egg yolk for this recipe. The fat from the extra egg yolk adds richness and moisture to your cookie!
- Vanilla – A little flavor goes a long way and is a lovely add to this cake. If you’re averse to vanilla flavorings, feel free to omit
- All-Purpose Flour – A key ingredient in most baked goods that provides structure and stability to this cookie cake
- Baking Soda – The only rising agent you need for this “cake” as we’re looking for a cookie texture versus a fluffy cake
- Salt – A little goes a long way to bring up all the yummy flavors in this recipe
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – You can easily swap these for your chocolate of choice or do half and half (part semi-sweet, part milk chocolate, etc)
- Powdered Sugar – The easiest sugar for a creamy buttercream frosting as you simply sift it in and mix, to avoid any grainy textures
- Whipping Cream – Helps to loosen the frosting, making it easily pipable. If you prefer a thicker frosting you can skip this ingredient!
Why do a lot of baking ingredients need to be at room temperature? Room temperature ingredients are warmer and more pliable than cold ingredients. This allows them to blend more easily into your batter, which ensures everything is evenly mixed. You can also whip more air into your batter when your ingredients are at room temperature, which helps the overall texture and consistency of your final bake.
HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE CAKE
Start by preheating your oven to 325F so it’s hot once your cake is ready. Then grease and line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. If you don’t have a springform pan, you can use a 9-inch cake pan, the springform just makes it really easy to remove the cake from the pan. You’ll need to be really careful removing it from a cake pan, as the cookie will be softer in the center and more likely to crack as you take it out of the pan. To note, I only made this cake in a springform so would recommend you just leave the cake in the cake pan if using one instead of a springform.
For the cookie cake dough, cream together your butter and peanut butter until whipped and lightened in the bowl of a mixer or a larger bowl using a hand mixer. This should take about 2 minutes. Then add in both your brown sugar and granulated sugar and continue to beat until nice and fluffy before mixing in your egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. That’s your wet ingredients mixed!
For your dry ingredients, grab another bowl and whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt. I am a big fan of sifting but sometimes it’s not in the cards timewise, and whisking will do the trick. The whisk will work to break up any flour or baking soda clumps!
For the chocolate, I like to have an assortment of sizes in each bite of cookie. You can buy a bar of chocolate and cut it yourself but most people likely have semi-sweet chips on hand. Once you measure out your chips, pour half of them onto a cutting board and chop them into smaller pieces, so you have a nice mix of small and large bites.
Now pour your bowl of dry ingredients into your wet along with your chopped chocolate chips, and mix until just combined. I recommend mixing with the mixer briefly, until a few flour streaks remain, and then using a spatula to finish combining.
Add your dry ingredients into your wet as well as all of your chocolate chips, mixing until just combined. Do not over-mix! I recommend mixing with the mixer briefly, until a few flour streaks remain, and then using a spatula to finish combining.
Add your dough to your greased and lined pan and use a spatula to spread it evenly within. Place in your preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, until the center is set and the edges are lightly golden. Be very careful not to overbake, you want the “cake” to be soft but firm enough to slice. I would highly recommend using a digital thermometer for this, inserting it into the center of your cake to check for a 190F internal temperature.
Once baked, remove your peanut butter chocolate chip cookie cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the sides of the springform pan and then use a spatula to gently lift the parchment paper underneath the bottom of your cake, off of the base of the pan, and move the cake (along with the parchment paper) to a wire rack to cool completely.
While your cookie cools, make your frosting using a mixer to beat your softened butter until smooth. I find that a standing mixer works best for buttercream, since the frosting itself is quite thick to beat with a hand mixer (and I may have broken one trying in the past). Add in your peanut butter and beat until smooth before sifting in your powdered sugar and whipping. Finally, mix in your vanilla and cream and beat until combined. At this stage you can add your frosting to a piping bag with tip (or not)!
Once your cake has cooled, decorate with your frosting and any peanut butter cups or chocolate chips as desired!
3 reasons you’ll love this cookie cake
TIPS & VARIATIONS
- Make sure your ingredients are room temperature. For the cookie, this ensures everything blends together smoothly and air is incorating as you mix your batter. For the frosting, this will give you a creamy buttercream without… well chunks of butter in it.
- Don’t skip the “creaming” part of this recipe. We’re not making a fluffy cake here but you do want to whip some air into your butters and sugars to get that perfect, final cookie texture!
- Chop up half of your chocolate chips (or buy a bar and chop it into different sized pieces) before adding to your batter for a mix of chocolate bites in every slice.
- Highly recommend a springform pan for this cookie cake, as it will still be fragile when you move it from the pan to the wire rack. If you don’t have one, you can use a 9-inch cake round but be very careful if you remove it from the pan, I might recommend you leave it in, as it could crack when you move to cool it.
- Use a digital thermometer to check the doneness of your cookie cake, before removing it from the oven. Because of it’s thickness, it will need to set more than an individual cookie, so checking for a 190F internal temperature will ensure your cookie cake is baked but still deliciously gooey in the middle.
- Frost this delicious baby as desired but if you’re curious I used the Ateco Leaf 113 piping tip to make those rippled frosting layers you’ll see in the pictures.
MAKING AHEAD & STORING
If you make your cake batter a day in advance, I’d recommend placing it into your greased and lined springform pan before covering tightly in foil and placing it in the fridge. The day you want to bake it, remove it from the fridge about 30 minutes in advance, to allow the dough to come back to room temperature which will ensure an even bake.
You can also make your peanut butter buttercream frosting in advance, just store in the fridge and take out 30 minutes ahead of when you want to frost your cake. The frosting will harden (all that BUTTERRR) in the fridge so you want to let it warm a little at room temperature to make it easier to pipe and/or spread.
Store your baked and frosted cookie cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, though it’s best within the first 2-3 days. If you’re taking it somewhere, I would recommend frosting it upon arrival unless you have a snazzy storage container that won’t smush your decoration.
MORE COOKIE RECIPES
If you’re looking for more peanut butter recipes, this No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Peanut Butter Pie falls into the top 5 things I’ve ever made category. It’s that good. I also love these Dark Chocolate Oat Pantry Cookies packed with chocolate, oats, coconut, SPRINKLES, and more!
Equipment
- 9" Springform Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Mixing Bowls
- Spatula
- Mixer
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Whisk
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Food Thermometer
- Fine Mesh Sieve
- Piping Bag optional
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter room temp
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- 5 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 tsp whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325F and grease and line a 9-inch springform pan
- For the cookie base, in a bowl cream together your butter and peanut butter until whipped and lightened, about 2 minutes
- Add in your sugars and continue to beat until fluffy then mix in your egg, egg yolk, and vanilla
- In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt
- Chop half of your chocolate chips on a cutting board, cutting them into smaller pieces. This will give you a mix of small and large chocolate bites
- Add your dry ingredients into your wet as well as all of your chocolate chips, mixing until just combined. Do not over-mix! I recommend mixing with the mixer briefly, until a few flour streaks remain, and then using a spatula to finish combining.
- Spread the dough evenly into your pan and bake for 45 minutes, until the center is set and the edges are lightly golden. Don’t overbake, you want the “cake” to be soft but firm enough to slice. If desired, you can insert a thermometer into the center to check for 190F internal temp
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling completely on a wire rack
- While your cookie cools, make your frosting by beating your softened butter in a bowl with a mixer to smooth it out. Beat in your peanut butter before sifting in your powdered sugar and whipping until smooth. Mix in your vanilla and whipping cream until combined and add to a piping bag
- Decorate your cookie cake as desired and enjoy!
