Valentine’s Cookie Cake
Bake and share this heart-shaped Valentine’s Cookie Cake with someone you love for the sweetest treat! It’s a giant chocolate chip cookie that you can decorate with frosting, sprinkles, M&Ms, or any other candies your heart desires.
Today I’m sharing the sweetest little heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie cake that is completely perfect to bake and share with anyone you cherish for Valentine’s Day–or any other day you want to spotlight your love! This is super quick and easy to make, and can be decorated as simply or as elaborately as you like. And, of course, it’s delicious and fun to eat, too!
Pro Tip
I use and love this 10-inch Wilton heart shape aluminum cake pan. This silicone version is the same size and as of my writing this, a bit cheaper and eligible for Amazon Prime.
Can I make this without a heart-shaped pan?
Yes! Although having a heart-shaped baking pan certainly makes this quick and easy, you can improvise with foil folded and shaped into a heart shape and arranged on a baking sheet. Watch this YouTube video for specifics. You can do this for nearly any specialty shape, not just hearts!
Ingredient Notes
Here are a few notes and shopping tips about the ingredients you’ll need. Find full amounts in the print-friendly recipe card below.
- Butter, brown sugar, and white granulated sugar to cream together as the base.
- Wet ingredients: egg, vanilla extract.
- Dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and table salt.
- Mix-ins: dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, M&Ms (optional but fun).
- Frosting or sprinkles to decorate as you like.
Why add cornstarch to cookie dough?
My favorite trick lately for making a tender cookie cake? Adding a smidge of cornstarch to the dough! There’s science to this. Cornstarch softens the rigid proteins in flour, which helps to make your cookies lighter and more chewy.
This is the same principle as underpins my stay soft chocolate cookies, only those rely on instant pudding mix to achieve the same effect. Instant pudding mix is made up primarily of sugar, flavorings, and a modified cornstarch. You can achieve the same amazing tenderizing effects just by adding cornstarch directly to your cookie dough.
How To Make a Valentine’s Cookie Cake
This is a straightforward one bowl recipe! Bonus, it’s actually faster than making individual cookies because there’s no need to portion or roll.
- Make a quick cookie dough. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla, sprinkle over the dry ingredients and mix just until even.
- Press into the pan – or follow the foil alternative.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes, just until lightly golden.
- Cool completely and decorate to your heart’s content. (I couldn’t resist!)
You’ll know the cookie cake is done when the top is lightly golden and fully set, and the edges are very slightly puffy. If you want to be sure, insert a very sharp knife into the center; it should come out clean, without a streak of dough.
Decorating Ideas
Second to eating it, decorating this cookie cake is the best part! There’s really no wrong or right way to do it, so get creative and use whatever you have on hand. Some ideas:
- Buttercream frosting. Chocolate, vanilla, or colored with gel food coloring; store-bought or homemade.
- White, pink, or red sprinkles – or a curated Valentine’s sprinkle mix!
- Sparkling sugar or sugar pearls.
- Chocolate jimmies.
- M&Ms. Mini or regular.
- Red Hots or other candies you love.
- A big scoop of ice cream. You can scoop this right in the center of the whole heart for a fun kind of mess, or add a scoop on top of individual servings. Chocolate, caramel sauce, and cherries for an added bonus!
I decorated this cake with frosting leftover from a batch of football cupcakes, the pink M&Ms of course, and pink sprinkles I had leftover from my daughter’s Minnie Mouse birthday cupcakes. Simple and cute!
Serving & Storage
Serve From the Pan: For my family or an everyday occasion, I find it simple enough to just leave this cake right in the pan and slice from there. If you have a nice sharp knife, it’s easy enough to slice straight to the bottom and get clean wedges that can be easily transferred to individual plates.
Serve on a Platter: If you want to put this cake on a large platter or plate for serving, consider lining the pan with parchment paper prior to baking. This makes the cookie cake very easy to remove all in one piece. I would also recommend lifting the cookie cake out of the pan prior to decorating, so none of your pretty frosting gets smudged in the process!
Store: Cover this cookie cake very tightly with plastic wrap and it will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days. It can be stored in the baking pan or lifted out to store or serve in a large, flat plastic container.
Related Recipes
In the market for more Valentine’s-themed desserts? Heart-shaped brownies, strawberry-frosted chocolate sugar cookies, double chocolate Valentine cookies, Valentine’s bark, and a rich flourless chocolate cake are some of our favorites.
Some of our other most-loved treats include bakery-style chocolate chip cookies, mini M&M chocolate chip cookies, and this easy chocolate chip cookie that stays soft for days.
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Valentine’s Cookie Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 and 1/2 sticks, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar light or dark
- 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 3/4 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup M&Ms optional
- frosting and/or sprinkles optional for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 10” heart-shaped baking pan with cooking spray, and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together on medium-high speed until they are light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again, scraping down the sides if needed to make sure everything is evenly mixed.3/4 cup unsalted butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated white sugar, 1 large egg, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Sprinkle the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt over the butter-egg mixture. Beat on low just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- Stir in the chocolate chips and M&Ms by hand, reserving 1-2 Tablespoons of each to press into the top of the cookie after baking.3/4 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/4 cup M&Ms
- Scrape the dough out into the prepared pan, then gently press it into an even layer that covers the full surface area. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cookie is lightly golden, set on top, and slightly puffy on the edges. Right after removing the cookie cake, press a few extra M&Ms and chocolate chips into the top.
- Let cool to room temperature then decorate with frosting and sprinkles, as desired. Slice and enjoy!frosting and/or sprinkles
Notes
- Heart-Shaped Pan: I use and love this 10-inch Wilton heart shape aluminum pan. This silicone version is the same size and slightly cheaper.
- Storage: Cover this cookie cake very tightly with plastic wrap and it will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days. It can be stored in the baking pan or lifted out to store or serve in a large, flat plastic container.
