This Peppermint Sugar Cookie Cake is soft and chewy in the center, crunchy around the edges, and filled with plenty of white chocolate/peppermint chunks. The silky peppermint vanilla buttercream makes this a perfect holiday dessert!
Perfect for any holiday cookie tray, and so easy to make! We love simple holiday sweets like my Crockpot Candy and Christmas 7 Layer Bars, and this is one of my Desserts you’ll definitely want in your holiday baking rotation!
Sugar cookie cake recipe
Growing up, my Mom would always make us whatever we wanted for our birthdays. In fact, she still does 🙂
I remember quite a few times my brother would ask for a giant cookie cake. There’s something just so ridiculously delicious about a huge perfectly cooked cookie.
And that’s exactly what this recipe is… ridiculously delicious! A thick, chewy cookie that’s 9 inches in diameter. Soft and tender in the middle and a little crisp at the edges, and loaded with little pockets of pepperminty white chocolatey flavor.
Plus, how can we forget the delicate swirls of peppermint vanilla buttercream all around the edge? I mean, I’m getting super hungry just writing about it!
The great thing about this recipe is that even though it’s a cookie, there’s no chilling the dough! When making traditional cookies, the dough usually needs to be chilled so the cookies will hold their shape and not spread too much on the baking sheet.
But since this cookie is baked in a springform pan, it doesn’t matter if it holds it’s shape, since the pan IS it’s shape 🙂
How to make peppermint sugar cookie cake
- Cream together butter and sugar. I really recommend using a mixer of some kind, as it’s pretty hard to cream them together using just a whisk.
- Add eggs and vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients. Mix in flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt until just combined.
- Stir in baking chips. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the chips into the dough.
- Add dough to springform pan. Press it in a bit, so it’s in an even layer and goes all the way to the edges.
- Bake. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 30-35 minutes.
- Cool. Cool for 10-15 minutes before removing the sides of the springform pan, then let cookie cake cool completely before frosting.
- Beat the butter and sugar. Again, you’ll really want a mixer for this; but mix the butter and powdered sugar together until combined into a sort of ball.
- Add most of the liquids. Add the salt, vanilla, peppermint, and 1/2 of the heavy cream, and mix until well combined and a frosting appearance forms.
- Add more cream if needed. Add more cream, 1 Tbsp at a time, until you get the consistency you want. If piping, you’ll want smooth but still stiff enough to hold shape. I normally use 2 Tbsp total, but this will vary from person to person.
- Frost and sprinkle. Pipe or spread on frosting, then top with peppermint sprinkles if desired.
Additional cooking tips
- Cornstarch – the cornstarch in this recipe does two things. First, it makes the cookie texture soft, and secondly, it keeps the cookie thick. Thick, soft, chewy cookie texture is perfect!
- Peppermint Chunks Baking Chips – I’ve linked to the brand I used down below, but at the time of writing this post, they were out of stock nearly everywhere. A good substitute would be Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark, roughly chopped.
- Springform Pan – I love the uniform size and edge when this cookie cake is baked in a springform pan. I’ve linked to my favorite pan down below. If you don’t have one, you could also use a deep dish 9″ pie pan.
- Mixer – if you don’t have a stand mixer, or would rather not clean it afterwards, you can use a hand-mixer. I do recommend using a mixer of some kind to make sure the ingredients are properly mixed. You can use a sturdy whisk and your good ol’ arm muscles to mix the ingredients if that’s all you have available, but you’ll have a difficult time.
- Room Temperature Ingredients – for the best results when baking these cookies, your cold ingredients (like the butter and eggs) should be at room temperature so it can easily be whipped and creamed.
- Use Real Butter – this isn’t the time to use shortening or margarine. Those perform differently in baking recipes, and this recipe was only tested using real butter.
- Use Fresh Ingredients – did you know using older baking soda/baking powder can affect the way your cookies bake? Over time, leavening agents, (which is what baking soda and powder are) lose their efficacy, and won’t give your cookies that classic texture.
If you’re unsure if your baking soda or powder are still good, drop a pinch in some hot water. If it fizzes, it’s still good! If not, then you’re in need of some new ingredients.
Variations of this recipe
- White chocolate – if you can’t find the Ghirardelli peppermint chunks baking chips (such a mouthful to say!), you can substitute it with an equal amount of white chocolate and 1/2 tsp peppermint extract. Or leave out the peppermint and go with a true white chocolate cookie cake.
- No frosting – the frosting is entirely optional, but I just love it! Not only does it look gorgeous and taste amazing, but it also hides any less than perfect edges 🙂
- Drizzle – a drizzle of some melted white chocolate over the top would be fabulous on this cookie cake!
- Other chocolate – feel free to use your favorite type of chocolate in this cookie cake.
- Cookie bars – if you don’t love the round shape, you can use a parchment paper lined 9″ square baking pan instead.
Making a cookie cake ahead of time
This recipe can be made up to 3 days in advance, but will likely taste best if made a day or less ahead of time.
Storage
This cookie cake should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Even with the buttercream, there’s no need to refrigerate.
In fact, refrigeration will dry out both the frosting and the cookie.
Shop the recipe
- Springform Pan – this pan is great for cookie cakes, cheesecakes and more!
- Stand Mixer – I love using my mixer to make cookies, but they can be pricey.
- Hand Mixer – this model is a true workhorse in my kitchen!
- Peppermint Baking Chips – while these are showing out of stock, these are the same baking chips I used for this recipe.
- Piping Bag – disposable bags like these are great for piping icing.
- Piping Tips – this classic open star tip is perfect for great swirls.
Be sure to scroll down to check out other readers’ comments for tips and reviews.
And don’t forget, if you’ve made this recipe, leave a comment and please consider giving it a star rating letting me know how you enjoyed it 🙂
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature is best
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1-2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2/3 cup Ghirardelli peppermint chunks baking chips plus a few extra to press into the top of the cake (optional)
- 1/3 cup white chocolate bar coarsely chopped
PEPPERMINT VANILLA FROSTING
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar whisked to remove any lumps
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 - 3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup Wilton peppermint crunch sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Lightly spray a 9-inch springform pan, and set aside.
MAKE COOKIE DOUGH
- In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer), add butter and granulated sugar and beat with a mixer until creamed together and smooth.
- Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt and whisk until blended.
- Add flour mixture to the large mixing bowl and beat until just combined and no flour streaks remain.
- Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir in the peppermint chunks and white chocolate pieces.
BAKE COOKIE CAKE
- Press the dough into the prepared springform pan in an even layer, top with a few extra peppermint chunks if you want (optional and just for appearance), and bake for 30-35 minutes. Cookie cakes are done when the edges are starting to brown, the center doesn't look wet anymore, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
COOL
- Cool for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the springform pan. Cool cookie cake completely before frosting.
MAKE FROSTING
- In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), add butter and powdered sugar and use a mixer to beat together until combined and a sort of ball has formed.
- Add vanilla, salt, peppermint extract and 1 Tbsp of the heavy whipping cream and continue beating until well combined.
- If the frosting is still too thick, add more heavy cream, 1 Tbsp at a time, until your desired consistency is reached.
FROST COOKIE CAKE
- Add frosting to piping bag fitted with an open star tip (or preferred piping tip), and pipe frosting in little swirls around the outside edge of the cookie cake.
- Alternately, you can spread the frosting over the top of the cake.
- Sprinkle with peppermint crunch sprinkles if desired.
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Chef Tips
- Cornstarch - the cornstarch in this recipe does two things. First, it makes the cookie texture soft, and secondly, it keeps the cookie thick. Thick, soft, chewy cookie texture is perfect!
- Peppermint Chunks Baking Chips - I've linked to the brand I used (above the recipe), but at the time of writing this post, they were out of stock nearly everywhere. A good substitute would be Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark, roughly chopped, or an equal amount of white chocolate chips and 1/2 tsp peppermint extract.
- Springform Pan - I love the uniform size and edge when this cookie cake is baked in a springform pan. I've linked to my favorite pan up above the recipe. If you don't have one, you could also use a deep dish 9" pie pan.
- Mixer – if you don’t have a stand mixer, or would rather not clean it afterwards, you can use a hand-mixer. I do recommend using a mixer of some kind to make sure the ingredients are properly mixed. You can use a sturdy whisk and your good ol’ arm muscles to mix the ingredients if that’s all you have available, but you'll have a difficult time.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Any nutritional information shared is an estimate, and is automatically calculated through a program. If calorie count is important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
The Chunky Chef is not a nutritionist and doesn’t provide full nutritional information for recipes as she wouldn’t want to potentially and unknowingly pass along incorrect information.
If changing the recipe serving quantity, the recipe plugin will change the ingredient values for you, but it does NOT change the written instructions, those are manually added and not subject to a slider. You will have to extrapolate that multiplication to any amounts listed in the instructions.
For example: if an ingredient calls for 4 cups, and you doubled the recipe, it will automatically change to 8 cups. In the instructions, if I say “use 4 cups of cheese”, you will have to realize that since you doubled it, you use 8 cups, not 4.
Kevin says
Love this for peppermint flavors! Cannot wait to give it a try!
Catalina says
How festive this cake is! My family will go crazy over this cake!
Sandra says
What a festive cake for Christmas!! I love it!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
This Peppermint Sugar Cookie Cake is seriously making me hungry!