Our family has a few birthdays all bunched together. I love birthday cake, but there’s only so much cake one family can eat! This is how the Cookie Cake was born. It’s basically a huge chocolate chip cookie, served in wedges, warm and gooey, and crisp on the edges. It feels like a special occasion desert because it is enormous and decadent looking, and is served with two homemade sauces, and the best vanilla ice cream. But, like all my recipes, it is simple and no fuss. And, (although this is not necessarily a good thing) there is NO limit to how much Cookie Cake one can eat. Leftovers will be grabbed in chunks as you walk by. You will accidentally finish off the whole thing. You will have to make more!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with Two Homemade Sauces: Salted Caramel, and Dark Chocolate

Ingredients

For Cookie Cake

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter

11/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups four

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cups chocolate chips

Optional:

1 or 2 cups toasted walnuts

(We have one child with a nut allergy, so I don’t usually include them, but lightly toasted walnuts are so delicious in this!)

For Salted Caramel Sauce

2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup (half a stick) butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

(To be honest I never measure any of this. It’s impossible to mess it up. You can add more cream if you want it runnier, more salt or vanilla if you like those flavors)

For Dark Chocolate Sauce

2 cups Dark chocolate chips, or bar cut in chunks – I love Callebaut or Valrhona

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

(Again – I just eyeball all of this. As long as you have more chocolate than cream, you can’t go wrong!)

Instructions
For Cookie Cake

Preheat oven to 350

Spray a something inch spring form pan with baking spray (or butter and flour).

Cut a circle of parchment paper slightly larger than the pan, put in bottom of pan.

Cream together:

Room temperature butter

Brown sugar

White sugar

Then add, and cream again:

Eggs

Vanilla

Add all powders on top of creamed mixture:

Flour

Baking powder

Baking soda

Salt

As the powders are sitting on top of the creamed ingredients, mix JUST the powders around with a spoon or spatula. (I do this instead of mixing them in a separate bowl before adding them, because I hate doing extra dishes, but it’s a good idea to distribute the baking powders and salt in the flour. So this is my compromise.) Then mix the dough completely together with the electric mixer.

Add chocolate chips, and toasted walnuts if you like.

Mix once more.

Spread dough into springform pan. Don’t worry about making it too even – it will even out on its own.

Chill (if you have time)

Bake at 350 until crispy brown on edges but still soft in the middle.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Add sugar to saucepan and stir in high until all sugar has melted and liquid is turning light brown.

Quickly take off heat and add cream. (If you wait the melted sugar will continue to brown and turn burned.)

Be careful! It will bubble up and steam when you add the cream. Stir until it mixes smooth with heat proof spatula. It will be VERY hot.

Add butter, vanilla, and salt to taste (some people prefer really salted caramel).

Dark Chocolate Sauce

Add chopped chocolate, cream, and corn syrup to glass bowl.

Microwave, on low, for 45 seconds at a time, stirring between, until chocolate is melted and cream mixes in. It will be a glossy dark chocolate sauce at this point.

Be careful not to let the chocolate scorch in the microwave.

Stir in a pinch of salt, and vanilla.

Serve warm with bowls of sauces. Enjoy!