chocolate chip cookie cake

Who knew you could improve on the chocolate chip cookie? Flo Braker did, and that’s why she put this must-have recipe in her new cookbook, Baking for All Occasions. I baked this with my 6-year-old niece, who went wild for it. So did my 84-year-old father. So I can say with authority that this is a recipe that will make all ages happy. I adapted the recipe slightly by baking it in a glass dish rather than the metal quarter-sheet pan Flo uses and it was a cinch.

Update: I baked this and took it to a memorial gathering for Flo, who passed away in 2017. Her daughter-in-law thanked me for bringing it. “My son loves anything with chocolate in it,” she told me. He is one lucky kid to have had Flo for a grandmother.

ingredients

2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional, see note)

directions

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Have ready a 7×11-inch glass baking dish (do not grease it).

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon (if using), and baking soda and mix on the lowest speed just until blended. Add the butter and continue to mix on low speed just until small, moist crumbs form (they are larger than crumbs that don’t clump together) that look similar to streusel, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until the mixture begins to form a cohesive dough. Increase the speed to medium as you gradually add the chocolate chips and nuts, if using, and beat just until they are incorporated into the dough, 20 to 30 seconds.

Spoon dollops of the dough evenly over the bottom of the baking dish then spread out the dough with a rubber spatula. To distribute the dough evenly, lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough and tamp it with the heel of your hand.

Bake the cake until golden brown and it feels more solid than soft when pressed in the center, about 40 minutes. Be careful not to overbake; it will firm as it cools. Let cake cool completely on a rack, then cut into squares or rectangles with a sharp knife and serve.

note: Flo says to use chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts, or a combination, but I left the nuts out entirely. Flo says you can add 1 more cup of chocolate chips in place of the nuts; this makes the cake extra chocolaty.