A giant cookie cake made with M&Ms, chocolate chips and sprinkles, this dessert cake recipe is the perfect party food! Baked in the oven then frosted with buttercream, this easy cookie cake is ready in just 35 minutes.
Whether you're craving cookies or cakes, you'll love this delicious recipe! Looking for more? Try my Crispy, Chewy Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies, Classic Yo Yo Biscuits Recipe or my White Chocolate Mud Cake!
What is a cookie cake?
Sometimes, I really can't decide what's better -- a delicious cake or a batch of cookies. At some point, I realized that I didn't have to choose! And so my giant cookie cake filled with tasty M&Ms and chocolate chips was born.
So no need to choose between cookies and cake, now you can have both! Crunchy on the top, then soft and chewy on the inside, you really do get the best of both worlds with this easy dessert recipe.
Plus, because it's baked as one whole cake, you don't need to worry about rolling separate cookies. This cuts down on so much baking time! Not to mention, this giant cookie cake is the perfect cake for decorating.
It really couldn't be any easier to make a giant cookie cake. Just a few minutes and one bowl is all you need. You can use hand-held beaters, a stand-mixer or a Thermomix -- whatever you like!
Why You're Going To Love This Cookie Cake
- Ready in 30 minutes – This giant cookie cake is ready in just a half an hour! Time is cut down because you don't have to roll out individual cookies. You can even make a sweet, homemade buttercream frosting while the cookie cake bakes in the oven. Extra decoration, but no added time!
- Easy to decorate – Cookie cakes are perfect for birthdays, barbecue get-together's, and really any occasion! Once your cookie cake is baked, decorate to your heart's desire with buttercream frosting, sprinkles, candles -- you name it.
- Simple ingredients – Luckily, the ingredients needed for our cookie cake recipe are super basic! You probably already have them in your pantry and fridge, which means no need for a special trip to the supermarket.
What You Need
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.
- Wet ingredients – You will need butter, an egg, vanilla extract and milk for your cookie cake batter.
- Dry ingredients – Additionally, you'll need to sift in brown sugar, plain flour, bi-carbonate soda (baking soda) and just a pinch of sea salt.
- Add-ins – You really can choose any fillings that you like! For this recipe, I used chocolate chips, M&Ms and sprinkles.
- For the buttercream – If you're going to make your own buttercream frosting (which I highly recommend), you will also need a couple of drops of pink food coloring and icing sugar mixture.
How To Make A Giant Cookie Cake
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method!
Step 1 – Prep Oven And Cake Tin
First preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, fan-forced (356 degrees Fahrenheit). Next grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking or parchment paper and set aside.
Step 2 – Begin Cookie Cake Batter
Now cream together the butter and brown sugar on high speed with hand-held beaters or a stand mixer in a large mixing bowl until pale and creamy. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.
Step 3 – Add Dry Ingredients
Next sift over the plain flour, bi-carbonate soda and sea salt, then beat on low speed until just combined.
Step 4 – Stir In M&Ms
Now stir through the chocolate chip and M&Ms.
Step 5 – Bake Your Giant Cookie Cake
Finally, bake for 25 minutes or until just golden. Afterwards, remove the cookie cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
How To Make Buttercream
The best part about a cookie cake is that you can decorate just like a normal cake! In our giant cookie cake recipe, we used a basic buttercream frosting recipe with pink food colouring.
What You Need
Making homemade buttercream is so easy - and you only need 5 ingredients!
- Butter
- Icing sugar mixture
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Food colouring
To Make The Buttercream
While the cookie cake is baking, go ahead and make the frosting! Firstly, beat the butter in a bowl until pale and fluffy (approximately 5 minutes).
Add Food Colouring
Then slowly add the icing sugar mixture, milk, vanilla extract and food colouring (careful, only 2 drops!) Continue to beat until smooth and creamy.
Decorate
Now pipe the frosting over the outside of the cookie cake and decorate with sprinkles. Finally, it's time to serve and enjoy your giant cookie cake!
Recipe Tips and FAQ
If you don't own a frosting kit, don't worry! Simply place your buttercream frosting into a sealable plastic bag, snip off a tiny section from one corner and squeeze the frosting through the hole. It's such a super cheap and easy way to frost a cake!
There are a few things you can do! First, make sure you're using plain or cake flour. It's always important not to over mix your batter -- fold it in gently to ensure a fluffy cake!
You can mix and match the add-ins with any of your favourite chocolates you like.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost before consuming.
More Cookie Recipes
Once your try this Giant Cookie Cake, you'll be wanting to make more and more delicious cookie recipes!
Here are my most popular cookie recipes:
- Twix Cookies – The perfect combination of delicious gooey caramel, smooth silky chocolate PLUS a light shortbread base makes these Twix Cookies absolutely impossible to resist! Made from just 5 basic ingredients, these cookies are a fun take on the favourite Twix chocolate bar.
- Classic Anzac Biscuits – These sweet golden biscuits are ready in less than 20 minutes and have the perfect amount of chewiness and crunch. This particular recipe actually shows how to make these biscuits either crunchy or chewy, so you can bake exactly to your own tastes.
- Honey Joys – Honey Joys are crunchy, sweet little snacks that have become part of our Australian culture for decades. With the goodness of Corn Flakes, honey, butter and sugar, they couldn’t be easier to make.
- Homemade Mini Jam Tarts – These simple homemade mini jam tarts with buttery pastry and a sweet jam filling make a great lunch box treat or after school snack!
- Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies – The most delicious Nutella Cookies EVER, these soft, gooey and chewy cookies are loaded with chocolate chips, sprinkled with sea salt, and swirled with creamy Nutella.
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Giant Cookie Cake
Ingredients
- 175 g butter
- 200 g (1 cup) brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 250 g (2 cups) plain flour
- 1 teaspoon bi-carbonate soda (baking soda)
- pinch of sea salt
- 100 g chocolate chips
- 100 g M&Ms
- sprinkles
For the buttercream frosting
- 185 g butter, softened
- 300 g (1 ¼ cups) icing sugar mixture
- 2 tbs milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 drops pink food colouring
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper and set aside.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar on high speed with hand-held beaters or a stand mixer in a large mixing bowl until pale and creamy.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.
- Sift over the plain flour, bi-carbonate soda and sea salt and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Stir through the chocolate chip and M&Ms.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until just golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter in a bowl until pale and fluffy (approximately 5 minutes).
- Slowly add the icing sugar mixture, milk, vanilla extract and food colouring and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.
- Pipe the frosting over the outside of the cookie cake and decorate with sprinkles (optional).
Thermomix Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper and set aside.
- Insert the butterfly into the Thermomix bowl. Add the softened butter and brown sugar and cream for 1 minute, Speed 4 (scraping down the sides occasionally) or until pale and creamy.
- Reduce to Speed 2 and add the egg and vanilla extract. Continue mixing for 15 seconds. Remove the butterfly.
- Add the plain flour, bi-carbonate soda and sea salt and mix for 10 seconds, Speed 4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat for a further 5 seconds.
- Add the chocolate chips and M&Ms and mix for 10 seconds, REVERSE, Speed 3, 10 (using the spatula to help mix).
- Bake for 25 minutes or until just golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, place the icing sugar into the TM bowl and mix for 10 seconds, Speed 9.
- Add the butter, milk, vanilla extract and food colouring to the bowl. Mix for 30 seconds, Speed 4.
- Pipe the frosting over the outside of the cookie cake and decorate with sprinkles (optional).
Amy says
Hi I was just wondering if I could sub the egg in this recipe for something else at all?
Lucy Mathieson says
Hi Amy, I personally haven't used anything other than egg - but you could try googling 'egg substitutes' and see if you like nay of them! xx