Cookie Cake Recipes That Beat a Birthday Cake: 14 Giant Bakes Inspired by the Try Guys Showdown 1.7 Million People Watched

Cookie cake recipes are having a moment, and a group of YouTube comedians helped prove why. The Try Guys, a channel with about 7.86 million subscribers, opened a new run of their Without a Recipe series by asking each member to bake a cookie cake from memory, and the video passed 1.7 million views. Some ideas landed, like mint chocolate and key lime, and some, like a pizza flavored cookie cake, did not. The lesson for home bakers is simple: one giant, sliceable cookie feeds a crowd, needs no layers or stacking, and is almost impossible to mess up. Below are the cookie cakes families actually bake, from the classic with piped frosting to skillet, brookie and fruit pizza versions, plus holiday twists for Thanksgiving and Christmas..

Classic Cookie Cake Recipes Start With Chocolate Chips and a Frosting Border

This is the cookie cake most of us remember from mall birthday parties: a thick, chewy chocolate chip cookie the size of a pizza, ringed with swirls of buttercream. It is also where the Try Guys started their challenge, each guessing at butter, sugar and bake time without a recipe card, with funny and messy results you can see in the Try Guys cookie cake episode on YouTube. The secret they kept circling back to is underbaking slightly, so the center stays soft for days..

You will need: 1 cup softened butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 cups chocolate chips, 1 batch vanilla buttercream tinted red and left white.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and line a 12 inch pizza pan with parchment. 2. Cream the butter and sugars, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. 3. Stir in flour, soda and salt, then the chips. 4. Press into the pan, leaving a small gap at the edge. 5. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until golden at the edges and just set in the middle. 6. Cool fully, then pipe red and white rosettes around the border.

Deep Dish Skillet Cookie Served Warm With Ice Cream

If a cookie cake is a birthday dessert, a skillet cookie is a Friday night one. The dough goes straight into a buttered cast iron pan, bakes until the edges are crisp and the middle is barely set, then goes to the table still hot with scoops of vanilla ice cream melting into it. Everyone gets a spoon, which is why it ranks high among cookie cake recipes for small families. Because cast iron holds heat, pull it from the oven a few minutes early; it keeps cooking on the counter while you find the ice cream scoop.

You will need: 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 egg plus 1 yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 cup chocolate chunks, vanilla ice cream.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and butter a 10 inch cast iron skillet. 2. Whisk the melted butter and sugars, then the egg, yolk and vanilla. 3. Fold in flour, soda, salt and chunks. 4. Spread in the skillet. 5. Bake 20 to 24 minutes until golden at the edge and soft in the center. 6. Rest 10 minutes and serve warm with ice cream.

Peanut Butter Monster Pan Cookie Loaded With Candy

Monster cookies are the everything cookies of the Midwest: peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips and candy coated chocolates all in one dough. Baked as one big pan cookie and finished with a layer of melted chocolate, it slices into wedges or squares that hold up well for school parties and tailgates. Chop a few peanut butter cups over the warm chocolate if you want an extra layer of flavor. It is naturally a little denser than a classic cookie cake, so it travels well, a big plus among cookie cake recipes for road trips.

You will need: 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 cups quick oats, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 3/4 cup chocolate chips, 3/4 cup candy coated chocolates, 1 cup melted chocolate for the top.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×13 pan. 2. Beat the butter, peanut butter and sugar, then the eggs and vanilla. 3. Mix in flour, oats and soda, then the chips and half the candies. 4. Press into the pan and top with the rest. 5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. 6. Spread melted chocolate over the cooled cake and let it set.

Brookie Cookie Cake With a Fudgy Brownie Layer Underneath

Can’t choose between a brownie and a cookie? The brookie settles the argument. A layer of fudgy brownie batter goes into the pan first, then spoonfuls of chocolate chip cookie dough are pressed over the top, and the two bake into one tall, sliceable cake. The cut side is the best part: dark and dense below, golden and chewy above. A pinch of flaky salt on top makes the chocolate taste even richer, and it pairs perfectly with a cold glass of milk. Of all the cookie cake recipes here, it is the richest.

You will need: Brownie layer: 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cookie layer: half a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough. Flaky sea salt.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and line a 9 inch round pan. 2. Whisk the brownie ingredients and spread in the pan. 3. Flatten pieces of cookie dough and lay them over the batter, leaving small gaps. 4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden and a toothpick shows moist crumbs. 5. Sprinkle with flaky salt. 6. Cool completely before slicing for clean layers.

Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizza With Cream Cheese Frosting

The fruit pizza is the cookie cake that shows up at summer showers and church potlucks, and it disappears every time. A soft sugar cookie crust is baked in a pizza pan, spread with sweetened cream cheese and covered in rings of fresh fruit. It looks impressive but it is mostly arranging. Pat the fruit dry so the frosting stays creamy, and brush the top with a little warm apricot jam for that bakery shine. It is the lightest of these cookie cake recipes, and the most colorful.

You will need: 1 batch sugar cookie dough (or 1 roll store-bought), 8 oz cream cheese softened, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, mandarin orange slices, 2 tablespoons apricot jam.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and press the dough into a 12 inch pizza pan. 2. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until lightly golden, then cool completely. 3. Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. 4. Spread over the crust. 5. Arrange the fruit in circles from the edge inward. 6. Warm the jam, brush over the fruit and chill 1 hour before slicing.

Oatmeal Cream Pie Cookie Cake With Marshmallow Filling

Remember the soft oatmeal raisin sandwich cookies from the lunchbox? This is that snack blown up to party size. Two big, chewy oatmeal cookie rounds flavored with cinnamon and molasses are stacked with a thick layer of fluffy marshmallow cream in the middle. It slices like a cake, tastes like childhood and keeps well in the fridge. Bake the cookie layers a day ahead and fill them the morning you serve, so the cream stays tall and the layers stay soft. Few cookie cake recipes feel this nostalgic.

You will need: 1 cup softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon molasses, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 cups quick oats, 1/2 cup raisins (optional). Filling: 1/2 cup butter, 1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and line two 9 inch round pans. 2. Cream the butter, sugars, eggs, molasses and vanilla. 3. Mix in flour, cinnamon, soda and oats. 4. Divide between the pans and bake 18 to 20 minutes. 5. Cool completely. 6. Beat the filling ingredients until fluffy, spread over one layer and top with the second.

Double Chocolate Giant Cookie for Serious Chocolate Lovers

For the person who always picks the darkest piece, this double chocolate version uses cocoa in the dough and two kinds of chips on top. It bakes up like a giant, soft brownie cookie with a crackly surface. A scoop of espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee. Serve it with milk for the kids and with a little whipped cream for the grown ups. It is also the easiest one to decorate, because a white frosting border pops against the dark cookie. Chocolate fans rate it top among cookie cake recipes.

You will need: 3/4 cup softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon espresso powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 cup semisweet chips, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and line a 12 inch pizza pan. 2. Beat the butter and sugars, then the eggs and vanilla. 3. Whisk the flour, cocoa, espresso, soda and salt and mix in. 4. Stir in the chips. 5. Press into the pan and bake 16 to 20 minutes, just until the edges are set. 6. Cool in the pan before sliding onto a board.

Thanksgiving Cookie Cake Recipes Start With Pumpkin Spice

Not everyone at Thanksgiving wants another slice of pie, and this is the dessert that wins over the kids’ table. Pumpkin puree and warm spices go into a soft cookie dough with white chocolate chips and toasted pecans, then it is finished with a ring of cinnamon cream cheese frosting. It tastes like pumpkin bread in cookie form. Blot the pumpkin puree on paper towels first; removing extra moisture keeps the cookie chewy instead of cakey, and it slices cleanly. It is one of our favorite fall cookie cake recipes.

You will need: 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (blotted), 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, cream cheese frosting with a pinch of cinnamon.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and line an 11 inch round pan. 2. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the pumpkin, yolk and vanilla. 3. Mix in the flour, spice, soda and salt. 4. Fold in the chips and pecans. 5. Spread in the pan and bake 22 to 26 minutes. 6. Cool, then pipe the frosting around the edge and top with pecan halves.

Confetti Birthday Cookie Cake With Sprinkles and Candy

Sprinkles in the dough and sprinkles on the frosting: this is the birthday cookie cake kids ask for by name. A vanilla sugar cookie base gets a handful of rainbow jimmies folded in, so every slice shows confetti. After baking, add a frosting border, pipe a name across the middle and finish with more sprinkles or a handful of candy coated chocolates. Use long rainbow jimmies rather than tiny nonpareils in the dough; nonpareils bleed color while baking. It is a cheerful swap when the birthday kid does not love regular cake, and one of the most requested cookie cake recipes at parties.

You will need: 1 cup softened butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg plus 1 yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup rainbow jimmies, plus frosting and extra sprinkles for decorating.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and line a 12 inch pizza pan. 2. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg, yolk and extracts. 3. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt. 4. Fold in the jimmies. 5. Press into the pan and bake 16 to 18 minutes until pale golden. 6. Cool, then frost the border, pipe the name and shower with sprinkles.

Cookie Cake Recipes for a Crowd: Sheet Pan Cookie Cake Bars

When the guest list grows, bake the cookie cake in a sheet pan and cut it into bars. One batch makes 24 to 30 squares, which is easier to serve at potlucks, bake sales and team parties than wedges. The dough is the classic one, just spread thinner, so it bakes faster and stays chewy. Want to change the mix-ins? Our guide to chocolate chip cookies made many different ways has plenty of ideas, from brown butter to sea salt toffee, and all of them work in bar form. Most cookie cake recipes double easily this way.

You will need: 1 batch classic chocolate chip cookie dough (from the first slide), extra 1/2 cup chocolate chips for the top, optional frosting for piping.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and line a half sheet pan (13×18) with parchment. 2. Press the dough evenly into the pan. 3. Scatter extra chips on top. 4. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until golden at the edges. 5. Cool completely in the pan. 6. Lift out with the parchment, pipe a frosting zigzag if you like and cut into squares.

Mini Cookie Cake Recipes Baked in a Muffin Tin for Lunchboxes

Mini cookie cakes are the clever answer to the question of how to share one giant cookie fairly: everyone gets their own. Spoon the dough into a greased muffin tin and bake into thick little rounds that are crisp at the edge and soft in the middle. A swirl of frosting on top makes them party ready, and plain ones slip neatly into lunchboxes. They freeze well, too. Bake a batch on Sunday, freeze them unfrosted, and pull one out each morning; by lunch it is thawed. Almost any of these cookie cake recipes can be shrunk this way.

You will need: 1 batch classic chocolate chip cookie dough, mini chocolate chips, 1 cup buttercream for topping (optional), sprinkles.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and grease a 12 cup muffin tin. 2. Press about 3 tablespoons of dough into each cup. 3. Top with a few mini chips. 4. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until golden at the edges. 5. Cool 10 minutes in the tin, then run a knife around each one and lift out. 6. Pipe a small swirl of frosting on top once cooled.

Red Velvet Cookie Cake Recipes for Christmas Parties

Deep red and topped with white frosting, this cookie cake looks like Christmas on a plate. It has the soft, slightly tangy cocoa flavor of red velvet cake but in a chewy cookie form that is far easier to carry to an office party or a cookie swap. White chocolate chips in the dough make it extra festive. Gel food coloring gives the boldest red with the least liquid, which keeps the texture right. A red and white frosting border finishes it, and it belongs on any list of Christmas cookie cake recipes.

You will need: 1/2 cup softened butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring, 1 1/2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 cup white chocolate chips, cream cheese frosting.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350F and line a 10 inch round pan. 2. Cream the butter and sugars, then the egg, milk, vanilla and coloring. 3. Mix in flour, cocoa, soda and salt. 4. Fold in the chips. 5. Press into the pan and bake 18 to 20 minutes. 6. Cool completely and pipe cream cheese frosting around the edge.

A Giant Cookie for Every Finish Line and Celebration

Cookie cakes are not only for birthdays. They are the go-to treat for marathon finish lines, graduations, new jobs, retirements and the last day of school, because they are easy to personalize and easy to share. A single round feeds 12 to 16 people. Pipe the occasion in big letters, add a sprinkle border in team or school colors, and you have a celebration dessert in about an hour. Bake it the night before and decorate in the morning; most cookie cake recipes taste even better on day two.

You will need: 1 baked 12 inch classic cookie cake, 1 cup vanilla buttercream, red or school color gel food coloring, rainbow or two-color sprinkles, a piping bag with a small round tip and a star tip.

How to make it: 1. Bake and fully cool the cookie cake. 2. Tint half the frosting with gel color. 3. Use the star tip to pipe a border around the edge. 4. Press sprinkles into the border while soft. 5. Pipe your message across the middle with the round tip. 6. Chill 15 minutes so the decoration sets before slicing.

How to Write on a Cookie Cake and Keep It Soft for 3 Days

Writing on a cookie cake is easier than writing on a layer cake, because the surface is flat and firm. Practice your message on parchment first, then lightly trace the letters on the cookie with a toothpick. Use a small round tip and stiff frosting so the letters keep their shape. To keep the cake soft for up to three days, store it covered at room temperature with a slice of bread tucked under the wrap; the cookie draws moisture from the bread and stays chewy. That trick works for all the cookie cake recipes above.

You will need: Stiff buttercream (1/2 cup butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk), gel food coloring, piping bag with a #3 or #4 round tip, toothpick, parchment paper, plastic wrap or a cake box, 1 slice of soft sandwich bread.

How to make it: 1. Cool the cookie cake completely, at least 2 hours. 2. Write the message on parchment to check spacing. 3. Trace the letters onto the cookie with a toothpick. 4. Pipe slowly, holding the tip just above the surface. 5. Let the frosting crust for 30 minutes. 6. Cover loosely with a slice of bread under the wrap, and replace the bread when it hardens.