If you’re looking for a delicious way to show your special someone a little extra love this Valentine’s Day, look no further than a Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. Unabashedly rich, decadently sweet, and featuring the soft-yet-chewy texture of a baked-to-perfection cookie, this cake is sure to win the hearts of your family and friends!
If you’ve never heard of a “chocolate chip cookie cake,” basically it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a large cookie that has been baked in a cake pan, and then frosted and decorated like a cake. The cookie (cake?) is made with all of the same ingredients as a regular chocolate chip cookie, but the dough is pressed into a cake pan and baked into a single large cookie. As a result of baking it like a cake, the interior of the cookie (the cake?) is generally quite soft and chewy, as opposed to crisp. Basically, think of this as a giant ‘soft baked cookie.’ Yes, it’s as delicious as it sounds.
The best part of all is that it’s not intimidating to make! If you can make chocolate chip cookies, you can definitely make a chocolate chip cookie cake. It also ‘pairs’ like a cookie. That means today’s cookie-cake goes great with things like homemade hot chocolate, specialty coffee such as Turkish Coffee, or homemade ice cream.
If this has whet your sweet tooth, read on for tips and an ingredient checklist. With just a few simple steps and ingredients, you’ll have a delicious dessert that’s sure to impress your special someone this Valentine’s Day.
What You’ll Need – The Ingredient Checklist
- Butter. For this recipe, I do suggest using butter over shortening or other fat sources. Stick to unsalted butter for this recipe.
- Light Brown Sugar. This gives the cookies a nice ‘caramel’ or ‘molasses’ sweetness, and a delightful golden-brown color.
- White Sugar. Plain granulated sugar is all you’re looking for.
- Eggs. For added fat and moisture, and to help give the cookie-cake ‘structure.’ They also provide ‘lift’ during baking.
- Vanilla. For this recipe, I would stick to extract over paste or pods.
- All-Purpose Flour. Basic all-purpose flour is the way to go. Baking flour will result in a cookie-cake with far too little body, while bread flour will result in a hard, dense confection. Not fun.
- Salt. To bring out the sweetness of the chocolate chips.
- Dark Chocolate Chips. I’m using dark chocolate as a matter preference. Milk chocolate will work just fine. I do suggest using chocolate chips over baker’s chocolate or chocolate-substitutes.
- Frosting. I’m using strawberry frosting as a matter of preference. Feel free to get creative, or to mix and match.
- Sprinkles. For garnish. Here again, get creative.
Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yes, these tips can be applied to today’s cookie cake.
- Use Real Ingredients. Use high-quality ingredients. Use real butter, opt for chocolate chips instead of baker’s chocolate or ‘chocolate substitutes,’ and – unless you’re following food guidelines for health reasons – use real flour. This does make a difference for the end product.
- Low Temps. Use cold butter and chill the cookie dough. This will help the cake keep its shape through baking, resulting in a more ‘cookie like’ cake.
- Don’t Overmix. Mix just enough to combine the ingredients and then stop. This cannot be stressed enough. Don't overmix the dough. This will make the cookies (and this cake) tough.
- Mix and Match. If you’re looking to get festive, particularly for a holiday such as Valentine’s, consider using two different types of chips. Mixing white and dark chocolate chips can make your cookies even more delicious.
- Don’t skip the salt. Instead, Add a pinch of sea salt to the cookie dough. This will bring out the sweetness of the chocolate chips.
- Parchment. If baking the dough as cookies, bake the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. This will help keep them from sticking and make them easier to remove. If baking the dough as a cake, you can line the inside of the baking pan with parchment to keep the cake from sticking to the pan.
- Measurement Matter. Precise measurements are a must in baking. Measure all of your ingredients as accurately as possible. Remember to use bone-dry measuring cups for dry ingredients, and a liquid measuring cup for wet ingredients.
- Don’t Overbake. Bake the cookies for the minimum time that the recipe calls for, or slightly less. This will ensure that the cookies (or cake) are soft and chewy.
- The Interior WILL be Gooey. This applies mostly to this cake. The interior of the cake, after coming out of the oven ‘will’ be very gooey. This is normal. It will solidify as it cools. This brings us to our next point…
- Let it cool. Let the cookies (or cake) cool for a few minutes before serving. They will continue cooking, and will hold their shape better.
Tips for Decorating a Cake for Valentine’s
- Festive Frosting. When frosting, choose festive colors such pink, red, and white, and if possible use them in combination. Consider frosting the cake in pink, for example, while using a border of white frosting.
- Candy Border. As we did today, get creative with candies, edible glitter, or sprinkles, particularly around the edges of the cake.
- Chocolate Roses. Consider creating small ‘bouquets’ of chocolate roses around the cake, or perhaps in the middle of the cake, particularly over a bed of frosting.
- Fresh Fruit. Especially if you’re using white frosting, or whipped cream, considering adding some fresh fruit, such as blueberries, cherries, or sliced strawberries into the decorative mix.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Heart Cake
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups AP flour
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- Strawberry frosting, for decorating
- Sprinkles, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line your cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until combined.
- Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix until whipped and airy.
- Add chocolate chips and mix until incorporated.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepare cake pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.
- Remove and let cool on a wire rack. Carefully transfer to a serving dish and pipe the edges with your desired frosting. Top with sprinkles and serve. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
Keywords: cake, cookie, chocolate chip cookie, heart cake, valentine's day, dessert
And that’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Heart Cake. We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you, and that it helps give a little something extra to this year’s Valentine’s Day.
We'd love to hear about your experiences and see your creations, tag on social media, or leave your feedback in the comments below. We love hearing from you!
Happy Baking!
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Kelly says
Oh how delicious do these look. When it comes to cookies not overriding your dough is essential.
Annabel Beales says
This looks amazing 😊
I will be trying this the weekend, I'm going to try with gluten free flour as we're a bit tolerant.
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Marta says
My kiddos had an early Valentine's Day party for their college friends and I made this chocolate chip cookie heart cake. They fell in love with how soft and tasty it was. I'll definitely be making this again and again.
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beth says
It can be intimidating to bake cakes but the good thing about your recipe is its not intimidating at all. With the easy steps, we can make a cookie heart cake successfully.
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Samantha Donnelly says
I love the sound of this and need an excuse to do some baking, will be trying this out
Sarah Stockley says
This is such a cute looking cookie. You can't go wrong with a chewy chocolate cookie with frosting. Perfect for Valentine's day
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Melanie E says
This cookie heart cake sounds delicious. It would be perfect for Valentine's Day.
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Melanie E says
This cookie heart cake sounds delicious. It would be a perfect treat for Valentine’s Day.
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Enri Lemoine says
This mega cookie was a hit in my house. I baked it, but I skipped the frosting. I'll do it again for Valentine's. Your cookie dough is a masterpiece!
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Rhian Westbury says
I used to get giant cookies instead of cake from Millie's Cookies in the UK for my birthday, and the way this has been done looks just like that. It looks so tasty x
Luna S says
I love this idea for Valentines, and I know my kids would be excited to get one of these.
Easher Parker says
This is SO cute. I can see someone creative really having fun with this one. xo -easherparker.com
DAVID J MYERS says
Catherine, Very creative and romantic too! Love the idea and that gooey center... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Yeah Lifestyle says
I love to bake at home, this would make a really cute Valentine's treat for my family to share together. I could even get the kids to help decorate the cookie.
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Dana says
I love this so much! Never been much of a cake person but this one cannot be denied. Such a great flavor and texture!
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Irena says
Great idea for Valentine's Day! Did a trial and this was really yummy, cakey texture but with the flavors of choc chip cookie.
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justin says
This was great for my daughters birthday at school.
Gina Abernathy says
This is so cute and perfect for Valentines Day.
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Amy Liu Dong says
Who doesn't love to eat a good cookie?
This one is so cute and looks so delicious, my kids will def love this!
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Kat says
Simple, delicious and easy to make perfect for this upcoming valentine's day!
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Kathryn says
This heart cookie cake is so CUTE and perfect for Valentine's day! I love heart shaped treats all year round so I'll be making this often. Thanks for a great dessert idea!
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Sean says
This cookie heart was so good! I made it for some friends as a birthday "cake" since she doesn't like cake and it was a total hit! Will be making this again soon.
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Veronika says
Oh, this cookie cake looks amazing! Going to make it for Valentines day for my hubby 😉
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LaKita says
This cookie cake is so tasty, cute, and festive for Valentine’s Day! I love how simple it is to make and I’m sure that I will be making it again to share with someone special 🙂
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Lauren Michael Harris says
My kids would absolutely love this giant cookie heart for Valentine's Day - it's so cute and fun!
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Jessica says
Oh yeah, that's my kind of cake!! This is an adorable idea for Valentine's day - I'm soooo over cupcakes. My kids will be over the moon with the frosting border....so everyone wins 😉
Veronika says
This is such cute idea for Valentine's Day! I've never made a cookie cake before but yours looks amazing, I'm definitely making it this weekend.
★★★★★
Laura Side Street says
Oh wow this cake looks amazing and I bet is tastes incredible too! This is perfect for valentines day
Laura x
Monidipa says
I find it easy to bake and cute. I can definitely try it out for Valentine's Day.
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