A soft, super chewy snickerdoodle cookie cake coated in cinnamon sugar! Perfectly sliceable and can be topped with a cookie cake frosting, if desired!
Why I Love These Snickerdoodle Cookie Cake
- Classic snickerdoodle flavor: If you're a snickerdoodle lover you'll love this delicious recipe! This giant cookie is also great for serving a crowd this holiday season!
- Super easy to make: By using simple ingredients, melted butter and mixing this recipe by hand you can whip this giant snickerdoodle cookie in less than 30 minutes!
- No cream of tartar required: Unlike a traditional snickerdoodle recipe, this recipe doesn't use cream of tarter. I find that it adds a little too much puff to the cookie cake, whereas I want it soft & chewy.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Butter: I use unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of added salt.
- Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: this combination gives a soft & chewy texture while giving the cookie cake the sturdiness to hold a slice. I don't recommend substitutions.
- Egg: Whole eggs keep our cookie chewy and moist!
- Baking Essentials: vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt (skip the salt if using salted butter).
- Baking Soda: we're using baking soda not baking powder!
- All-Purpose Flour: we have not yet tested this recipe with gluten-free flour but be sure to let me know if you give it a try!
- Powdered Sugar: To help stabilize our cookie cake frosting.
How to Make Cookie Cake
Step 1: Melt Butter & Add Ingredients
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt unsalted butter (1 stick, ½ cup) for 30-45 seconds until fully melted (no chunks).
- Add in light brown sugar (½ cup) and granulated sugar (¼ cup) and use a spatula to stir until combined.
- Add 1 large egg and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), then mix.
- Add baking soda (½ teaspoon), cinnamon (½ teaspoon), and salt (½ teaspoon), then mix until combined. Add all-purpose flour (1 ½ cups) and mix until all the flour disappears into the dough.
Tip: Make sure to mix this snickerdoodle cookie cake batter by hand. Do NOT use an electric mixer. Using a hand or stand mixer will whip too much air into the cookie cake batter resulting in a cookie texture that is too light and fluffy.
Step 2: Press Dough Into Pan
- Grease a 11" metal cookie cake pan (don't have a round cake pan? 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.
- Use a spatula or your (greased) hands to press down the dough into a smooth cookie layer (being sure to get all the corners).
Step 3: Mix Topping & Add To Cookie Cake
- Mix the topping by combining granulated sugar (3 tablespoons) and cinnamon (¾ teaspoons) in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the cookie dough until fully covered, then shake off any excess.
Step 4: Bake and Let Cool
- Bake at 350°F degrees for 12-14 minutes - do NOT overbake or your cookie cake will not be soft. You want the cookie cake to be very lightly golden brown on the edges and look slightly underbaked in the center (my oven was perfect at 12 minutes).
- Remove from oven and place entire pan on a cooling wire rack. Allow the cookie cake to cool completely before removing, decorating, and slicing (see notes below).
Step 5: Make Frosting
- Beat the softened unsalted butter (½ cup, i.e. 1 stick) on medium-high speed for 2 minutes until smooth.
- Turn the mixer to low speed then add the powdered sugar (¼ cup at a time, 2½ cups total). You may need to stop and scrape down sides.
- Add vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), salt (⅛ teaspoon) and cinnamon (¼ teaspoon) turn mixer to medium speed. One tablespoon at a time, add milk (2-3 tablespoons). Beat on high for 2-3 minutes until creamy and the frosting is at a good consistency to pipe.If it looks too runny, add more powdered sugar. If it looks too stiff, add a tiny bit of milk until you get to the desired consistency.
Step 5: Frost and Enjoy!
Once cookie cake has cooled completely, use a large star piping tip to pipe around the edges then immediately add sprinkles (the frosting will start hardening quick, so add sprinkles right away!).
Tips & Variations
- Don't have a round cookie cake pan? Use this DIY aluminum foil ring trick!
- Use melted butter and mix by hand: The melted butter in this snickerdoodle cake recipe makes it super smooth and helps it bake up into the perfect chewy, yet sturdy cookie. Rather than whipping air into the cookie cake batter and making the dough light and fluffy, mixing by hand allows it to have a denser texture (and also makes it easier to press into the pan as it's not sticky!).
- Do Not Overbake: This is the trick to the perfect, SOFT, chewy cookie cake. Take it out when the top is slightly brown and the center looks like it is baked through. My oven bakes the perfect cookie cake in 12 minutes in my 11" pan, but you just want to keep a close eye on it to prevent it from baking too long (no one likes crunchy cookie cakes!).
- Allow to FULLY cool before removing from pan: The easiest way to remove from the pan is to use a knife to go around the outside of the cake. Then place a flat platter or baking sheet on top (must be larger than the cake and not be indented in the middle), 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.
Storage & Freezing
- Storing: This snickerdoodle cookie pie is best stored on the counter at room temperature, but once it's frosted, it will need to be refrigerated after a day since the buttercream contains milk (and I prefer it chilled as it's even chewier!). If you want to make a cookie cake in advance, I recommend baking it first, then frosting it the day you plan on serving it. Leftover cake is best eaten within 2 days for the chewiest, softest texture.
- Freezing: If making ahead of time, wrap the unfrosted cookie cake in plastic wrap and place in airtight container. Freeze up to 1 month. When ready to serve, let thaw completely before frosting.
Frequently Asked Questions:
If you don't have a 11-inch metal cookie cake pan, use a 9×13-inch metal pan for a rectangular cookie cake. This will result in a thinner cake, so it will finish baking a bit earlier. You can also make a DIY cookie cake pan or make a thicker cookie in a smaller 8" or 9" pan. You'll just need to bake it longer.
This recipe is also great for snickerdoodle cookie bars, if you are just looking for a fun treat!
You sure can! To do this, make two 11" cookie cakes, double the icing recipe. Then spread half of the frosting between the two cookie cake layers and the remaining to pipe on top. With a layered cookie cake being a little richer in flavor with the additional frosting, you can cut it into smaller squares or wedges.
If you want to write a message on your cookie cake, you will likely need to thin down the frosting a bit. To thin, add a little more milk (not much though, only a teaspoon or two!).
Although cream of tarter is found in traditional snickerdoodle recipes, when I was testing this recipe I found that it make this cake too light and puffy compared to the thick and chewy texture we want in a cookie cake. I think the cinnamon sugar topping gives this enough "snickerdoodle" flavor but try these if you're looking for a traditional snickerdoodle cookie recipe.
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Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookie Cake
Ingredients
Tools
⭐️ Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor afterwards and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) for 30-45 seconds until fully melted (no chunks).
- Add in ½ cup light brown sugar and ¼ cup granulated sugar and use a spatula to stir until combined (* do not use a mixer).
- Add 1 large egg and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, then mix.
- Add ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt, then mix until combined. Add 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and mix until all the flour disappears into the dough.
- Grease a 11" 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. Use a spatula or your (greased) hands to press down the dough into a smooth layer (being sure to get all the corners).
- Mix the topping by combining the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and ¾ teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle on top of the cookie cake until fully covered, then shake off any excess.
- Bake at 350 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 (I LOVE these cute paper trays and the largest one in the pack is perfect for a 10" cookie cake).
- Beat the softened ½ cup unsalted butter, i.e. 1 stick) on medium-high speed for 2 minutes until smooth.
- Turn the mixer to low speed then add the 2 ½ cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup at a time. You may need to stop and scrape down sides.
- Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspon cinnamon turn mixer to medium speed. One tablespoon at a time, add 2-3 tablespoons milk. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes until creamy and the frosting is at a good consistency to pipe.If it looks too runny, add more powdered sugar. If it looks too stiff, add a tiny bit of milk until you get to the desired consistency.
- Once cookie cake has cooled completely, use a large star piping tip (included in my bundle) to pipe around the edges then immediately add sprinkles (the frosting will start hardening quick, so add sprinkles right away!).If you're feeling fancy, you can double the frosting recipe to have enough to pipe phrases like "Happy Birthday" on the top.
Notes from Melissa
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Can I add chopped pecans you think?
Yes, that would be just fine!