½cupunsalted butter (1 stick)You will be melting this
½cuplight brown sugar
¼cupgranulated sugar
1large egg
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspooncinnamon
½teaspoonsalt
1 ½cupsall-purpose flour
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
3tablespoons granulated sugar
¾teaspooncinnamon
Instructions
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 (* do not use a mixer).
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.
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. 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 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and ¾ teaspoons 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 cookie cake will not be soft. You want the cookie cake to be very lightly 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 rack. Allow the cookie cake to cool completely before removing and slicing (see notes below)
Notes
Don't have a round cookie cake pan? Use this DIY foil ring trick!Removing baked cookie cake from pan: 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.Frosting Tip: If you want to jazz it up, use my cookie cake frosting recipe.Nutrition information is just an estimate but based on 12 servings.