This giant funfetti chocolate chip cookie cake is baked in a skillet and decorated with swirls of cream cheese frosting. It's an easy, fun alternative to birthday cake that's just as festive! Plus, it makes for an extra thick, dense, and chewy cookie - never a bad thing.
There are casual times that call for cookies and celebrations that call for cake, and then there's the dessert that meets you in the middle: a cookie cake. This chocolate chip cookie cake is everything you love about a cookie - gooey, chewy, loaded with chocolate chips, and easy to make - combined with the very thing that gives cake its flair - the frosting! It's a dessert that's simple yet celebratory, and perfect for pretty much any event (or non-event). There's never a bad time for a cookie cake.
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How to make a cookie cake
A cookie cake is exactly what it probably sounds like - a giant cookie, baked in a large circular shape (like a cake), and decorated with frosting (also like a cake). And the best thing about this is that it's SO easy to make.
You'll start out with a basic cookie dough, just like you would if you were making normal cookies. The main difference is that you can use melted butter in your cookie dough, since we're not concerned about individual cookies spreading and baking up flat. And because you're using melted butter, there's *zero* creaming together of butter and sugar, which means no mixer needed for this part. If you have a bowl, a whisk, and a spatula, you're good to go.
Once you've made your dough, just press it into a 12", oven-safe skillet (I used this All-Clad pan), pop it in the oven, and bake. Once the cookie has baked and cooled, you're ready to decorate it with frosting! It's that simple.
Ingredients
The basic components of this cookie are pretty similar to most typical cookie recipes, but there are a few ingredients that really play a key role in making sure this cookie cake turns out perfectly.
Here's what you'll need for the chocolate chip cookie:
- butter - I like to use a combination of salted butter and unsalted butter. The mixture helps bring out the flavor in your cookie while preventing it from tasting too salty.
- gluten-free all-purpose flour
- potato starch - A little bit of potato starch replaces some of the all-purpose flour to keep the cookie tender and help it retain moisture. Nobody wants a dry cookie!
- baking powder
- salt
- baking soda
- brown sugar - Brown sugar adds more flavor to cookies than granulated sugar alone, plus it adds moisture.
- granulated sugar - An equal amount of granulated sugar prevents the brown sugar from overwhelming the flavor of this cookie. Since I was looking for a funfetti taste here, I didn't want the brown sugar to be too powerful.
- eggs + an egg yolk - Egg whites act as a binder in cookies, but the yolks keep cookies soft and chewy. I almost always add an extra yolk to my cookie dough for this reason!
- vanilla extract
- almond extract - A combination of vanilla extract and almond extract help add that classic funfetti flavor to this cookie
- chocolate chips
- rainbow jimmies
And for the cream cheese frosting, you'll need:
- butter
- cream cheese
- confectioner's sugar
- whipping cream
- vanilla extract
- almond extract
- gel food coloring
- rainbow jimmies
Types of pans to use
As I mentioned above, any 12" oven-safe skillet/fry pan should work for this recipe. Depending on the type of pan, there may be slight differences in the way your cookie bakes. For example, a cookie baked in a cast iron pan may have a slightly darker crust, and the edges may cook faster. Check your cookie around the 25 minute mark to make sure you don't bake it for too long.
If you happen to have a 12" cake pan, that should also work.
Baking time
Bake this cookie cake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes. Err towards the shorter baking time for a truly soft and gooey cookie, or towards the longer time if gooey cookies aren't your thing.
Decorating
It's super easy to customize this chocolate chip cookie cake for different occasions depending on how you decorate it. I went for birthday cake vibes with the rainbow sprinkles and light pink cream cheese frosting, but there are so many options! Change up the frosting color, switch up your piping method, garnish with different sprinkles, or add a message written in frosting in the center of the cake.
Serving & storage
When freshly baked, the cookie will be soft and gooey; let it cool for at least a few hours if you're looking for a cookie that's more dense and chewy. Leftovers can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. The cookie cake keeps well and should be good for at least 3-5 days after baking.
Modifications
The great thing about this cookie cake is that it's easy to customize it and make it your own. You can use different types of chocolate chips, or pretty much any mix-in. Think white chocolate, dark chocolate, M&M's, or anything else you'd typically put in a cookie. Feel free to use different sprinkles too. You can even switch up the frosting flavor - use your favorite type! (I think a chocolate whipped cream frosting would be particularly delish).
More skillet desserts
Fry pans and skillets aren't just for cooking! Here are a few more dessert recipes baked in a skillet:
Nutella Chocolate Chunk Skillet Brownie - This is a fast, easy, one-bowl brownie recipe, made with Nutella! Top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make it extra-indulgent.
Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie - Your classic chocolate chip cookie, but baked in a skillet, and made with brown butter for an extra-rich flavor.
Skillet Peach Pie Crumble - This vegan fruit crumble is loaded with juicy peaches - perfect for the coming summer months! And - hint hint- it would also be made even better with a scoop of ice cream.
Recipe Card
Birthday Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake {gluten-free}
This giant funfetti chocolate chip cookie is baked in a skillet and decorated with swirls of cream cheese frosting. It's an easy, fun alternative to birthday cake that's just as festive! Plus, it makes for an extra thick, dense, and chewy cookie - never a bad thing.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Total Time: 60-65 minutes
- Yield: one 12-inch cookie cake 1x
- Category: cookies
- Method: baking
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Funfetti Chocolate Chip Cookie
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) butter*, cut into tablespoons
- 2 ¾ cups, spoon and level (11 ⅝ ounces) gluten-free all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) potato starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup, packed (7 ½ ounces) brown sugar
- 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature**
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup (4 ½ ounces) rainbow jimmies (sprinkles)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup (½ stick or 2 ounces) salted butter, room temperature
- 2 ounces full-fat cream cheese
- 1 cup (4 ounces) confectioner's sugar, sifted
- ¾ teaspoon whipping cream, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅜ teaspoon almond extract
- pinch of salt
- gel food coloring, optional
- rainbow jimmies (sprinkles) ,for garnish
Instructions
Funfetti Chocolate Chip Cookie
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Add sliced butter to a 12" oven-safe skillet and place in oven for a few minutes while preheating, just long enough for butter to melt. Once melted, remove from oven, whisk briefly, and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Grease skillet lightly with cooking spray to prep for baking.
In a second, medium mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, potato starch, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the melted butter and whisk until smoothly combined and slightly paler in color. Add the eggs and egg yolk one at a time, beating each in until fully incorporated. Whisk in the vanilla and almond extract.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold in with a spatula until mostly incorporated, with a few streaks of flour remaining. Add the chocolate chips and sprinkles and fold in just until all ingredients are evenly combined.
Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared skillet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the surface is golden and puffed up, and no longer looks wet or glossy. Remove from heat and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool to room temperature before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smoothly combined, wiping down the bowl and beater as needed.
Add the confectioner's sugar and beat in on low speed until fully incorporated, again scraping down bowl and beater as needed. Add the whipping cream, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt, and mix in just until the frosting is smooth. Add the gel food coloring (if using) in small amounts, mixing in by hand with a spatula until you're happy with the color.
Pipe frosting onto cookie cake as desired; I used a large star tip. Garnish with sprinkles and serve.
Notes
*Unsalted or salted butter will work. I used one stick of each for a balanced flavor.
** To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, you can place whole eggs in a bowl of warm water and let sit for about 5 minutes before using.
Keywords: chocolate chip cookie cake, funfetti chocolate chip cookie, cake batter chocolate chip cookie, birthday cake chocolate chip cookie, birthday cookie cake, chocolate chip sprinkle cookies
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Melitta says
I made this for my boyfriend's birthday and it was a huge hit with the family! The sprinkles really take it to the next level and make it great for a party. Delicious!
Mihaela says
This recipe looks amazing!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Thank you!