Follow this easy tutorial to make & decorate the cutest Halloween jack-o-lantern cookie cake using frosting & m&m's! The recipe for my popular chewy chocolate chip cookie cake (+ more flavor ideas!) is below.
½cupunsalted butter (1 stick)You will be melting this
¼cupgranulated sugar
½cuplight brown sugar
1large egg
1 ½teaspoonvanilla extract
½teaspoonbaking soda
¼teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonsalt
1 ½cupsall-purpose flour
1cupsemi-sweet chocolate chips(You'll be chopping ½ cup and adding the remaining ½ cup whole).
Orange Frosting
½cupunsalted buttersoftened to room temperature
1 ½cupspowdered sugar
1 ½teaspoonsvanilla extract
Pinch of Salt
2-4tablespoonsmilk
10dropsWilton Orange Food Coloring
Decorating
M&M's or chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
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.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)for 20-30 seconds until JUST melted.
Add in ¼ cup granulated sugar and ½ cup light brown sugar and use a spatula to stir until combined (* do not use a mixer!). Add in 1 large egg and 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, then mix.
Add in ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt and mix until just combined. Add in 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and mix until all the flour disappears into the dough.
Add the chopped chocolate chips(½ cup) from earlier and whole chocolate chips (½ cup) 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).
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. 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).
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 (I LOVE these cute paper trays and the largest one in the pack is perfect for a 10" cookie cake).
Once the cookie cake has cooled, spread the orange frosting (instructions below) over the top.
Follow the photos above to decorate the jack-o-lantern cookie cake design.
To Make Frosting:
Beat softened ½ cup unsalted butter on medium-high speed for 2-minutes until smooth. Turn the mixer to low speed then add the 1 ½ cups powdered sugar slowly. You may need to stop and scrape down sides. Add 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract and Pinch of Salt and turn mixer to medium speed. One tablespoon at a time, add 2-4 tablespoons milk, as needed. Add 10 drops Wilton Orange Food Coloring , and combine. 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. This will make just enough frosting to cover the top of the cookie cake or 1 ¾ cups frosting.
Notes
Don't have a round 11" pan? You can bake in a 9x13 pan (they'll be a little thinner) OR Create a DIY cookie cake pan.Freezing/Make Ahead Tip: I don't typically like freezing chocolate chip cookies because I feel like they get dry and not as chewy in the freezer. If you do need to make this in advance, you could wrap the baked, unfrosted cookie in plastic wrap and when you're ready to eat it, let it thaw to room temperature then frost and decorate.You don't want to add the m&m's and then freeze or refrigerate or the candy colors will bleed onto the frosting.Gluten-Free: For those asking, I turned this popular recipe into the best Chewy Gluten-Free Cookie Cake!Nutrition information is just an estimate but based on 12 servings.