Red Velvet Cookie Cake

This red velvet cookie cake is soft, chewy, slightly cakey, and filled with white chocolate chips, and topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting! It's the perfect birthday treat for red velvet lovers or as a festive Valentine's Day dessert!

Course Dessert

Keyword birthday cookie cake, Cookie Cake, giant birthday cookie, red velvet cookie cake

Prep Time 10

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 415kcal

Author Melissa Rose

Cost 8

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter you will be melting this
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon salt If using unsalted butter, don't skip the salt!
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoon cocoa powder I used Hershey's brand
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white chocolate chips (+ more for topping) I highly recommend Ghiradelli or other higher quality brand
½ teaspoon red gel food coloring feel free to use less, if desired!

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting (optional)

½ cup unsalted butter cold, softened in microwave for 10 seconds
4 ounces cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract use clear extract for pure white
Pinch of salt
2 ½ cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. While preheating, be sure to read tips & tricks in post above for recipe success.
Warm the unsalted butter (½ cup, i.e. 1 stick) in a microwave-safe bowl or saucepan until it’s just melted.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted unsalted butter with the light brown sugar (½ cup) and granulated sugar (¼ cup). Stir until combined. (I recommend mixing this by hand rather than a mixer.)
Stir in the egg (1 large) and vanilla extract (1 tablespoon), followed by the baking soda (½ teaspoon), baking powder (½ teaspoon), and salt (¾ teaspoon). Stir in red food coloring (½ teaspoon).
Mix in cocoa powder (3 tablespoons), cornstarch (1 tablespoon), and all-purpose flour (1 ¼ cups), followed by the white chocolate chips (1 cup). Mix the dough until well-combined.
Generously grease a cookie cake pan. If you plan to invert the cake onto a tray (rather than serving in the pan), I highly recommend lining the bottom with parchment paper in order for the cookie cake to invert out of the pan easily.
Spread dough into an even layer in pan. Press in some extra chocolate chips for added presentation. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until center looks slightly "dry" (my oven is perfect at 12 minutes). Do not overbake; it might look a little under-baked, but the residual heat from the pan will continue to bake the cookie even after you take it out of the oven.
Cool completely and top with cream cheese frosting. If your cookie cake is not slicing clean, refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
To decorate, use a piping bag and large star tip to create a simple border.

To Make Frosting:

Beat the softened unsalted butter (½ cup, i.e. 1 stick), cream cheese (4 ounces), vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), and a pinch of salt on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until smooth (it's okay if it looks a bit curdled, this will smooth out when you add the powdered sugar).
Turn the mixer to low speed then add the powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time (2 ½ cups total). You may need to stop and scrape down the sides. Beat on high for 1-2 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. This will make enough frosting to pipe a generous border along the edges.

Notes

Cookie Cake Pan: If you don’t have a 11.5-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).

Removing the cookie cake from the pan: When the red velvet sugar cookie cake is cool to the touch, run a knife along the edges of the pan to help loosen it. Then, place a flat platter or cutting board on top of the pan and quickly flip it over to release the cookie cake. Put your serving platter over the cookie cake and flip it again. Now you’re ready to decorate!

If you do plan to invert it, I highly recommend lining the bottom of the pan with parchment.

White Chocolate Chips: While I use generic chips all the time, white chocolate chips are one that I don’t like to cut corners on. The generic ones often taste waxy and artificial, which will affect the overall flavor of you cookie (trust me, I tried it and it was not good). I use Ghiradelli white chocolate chips, which are well worth the extra dollar!

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