Easy Baseball Cookie Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Chop ½ cup of the chocolate chips. The goal here is to have a mixture of tiny chocolate flakes throughout the dough, while still have the whole chunks in there for texture. Set aside.

3. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter for 30-60 seconds until JUST melted. 

4. Add in granulated sugar and brown sugar and use a spatula to stir until combined (* do not use a mixer!). Add in egg and vanilla extract, then mix. Next, add in baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix again. Add in flour and mix until all the flour disappears into the dough.

5. Add the ½ cup of chopped chocolate chips and ½ cup of whole chocolate chips into the dough and mix. Immediately proceed to pressing into pan (you don't want the dough sitting out or it will set too much with the melted butter).

6. Grease a 11.5" metal cookie cake pan (don't have one? See notes below). Although this cookie removes cleanly, if you are worried about it sticking, line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper first. Using a spoon or your clean hands, drop the dough into small chunks in the pan. This will help disperse everything so that you can easily smooth it out. Once all dough as been added, use a spatula or your hands to press down the dough into a smooth layer (being sure to get all the corners).

   Tip: If you notice 2-3 chocolate chips are stuck together, separate them before baking. This will allow the chocolate to be evenly dispersed and prevent the cookie from having a giant clump of chocolate in one spot (which could cause it to more easily break while cutting).

7. Bake at 350°F degrees for 12-14 minutes – do NOT overbake or your chocolate chip cookie cake will not be soft. You want the cookie cake to be slightly brown on the top and look slightly underbaked (my oven was perfect at 12 minutes). Remove from oven and place entire pan on a cooling rack. Allow the cookie cake to cool completely before removing.

   Tip: To remove from pan, use a knife to go around the edges, place a flat platter on top, then flip over the pan to remove. If you used parchment paper, this should come out rather smoothly. After flipping over the cookie cake, flip it over again on the final decorate plate or platter.

To Make Frosting:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed using a hand or stand mixer (with paddle attachment) for 1-2 minutes (until light and creamy).

2. Keeping the mixer on medium speed, slowly add in vanilla extract, almond extract and powdered sugar. Once incorporated, turn mixer to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add milk and beat for 30 seconds. Add an additional 1 tablespoon of milk if frosting seems too thick to spread.

3. Spread half of the frosting on top of the cake.

4. Add the licorice strings or red M&Ms to create the baseball design immediately after frosting, before it begins to harden. You can use a thin-rimmed plate and skewer to create indentations to use as a guide.

5. Add a border around the cake with a large star tip.

   This frosting recipe will make just enough frosting to cover the top of the cookie cake and create a border.

Storage:

1. If not eating same day, cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for 2-3 days. This sugar cookie cake is also amazing frozen for 1-2 months (any longer and it tends to dry out).