Gluten Free Cookie Cake

I've always been a big fan of cookie cakes. At the mall, while everyone is heading to Cinnabon  I always head straight for Great American Cookie. There is something even better about making homemade cookie cake. They have all of the ease of making homemade chocolate chip cookies , just without rolling them into dozens of little balls. And in my opinion, if you're looking for a birthday treat, cookie cakes are much more festive than a basket of cookies.

After many attempts to make the perfect cookie cake, they often resulted in an either bland, dry, or an overly moist cookie. Once I tried this recipe, I knew it was "the one." This is serious stuff. I mean a gluten free cookie cake that tastes almost identical to the mall version.

The best part about these cookies? Well, there's a lot but one thing that really stands out is the icing. It has a little bit of meringue powder, so the icing will slightly harden (and not smudge)  but still tastes like buttercream, it's a win-win!

Oh and yes, this recipe was inspired and altered from my Thin, Crisp, and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. Thanks to Gluten Free on a Shoestring, who made both recipes possible:)


Gluten Free Cookie Cake
Cake-
2 Cups  gluten free all purpose flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup light packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 egg + 2 egg yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, tossed with 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1. Preheat oven to 325. *Line a 12 inch nonstick pizza pan with parchment.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the butter, shortening, eggs, and vanilla. Mix to combine. You may have to use a hand mixer (I did). Add the chocolate chips/ cornstarch, and mix to combine. Dough should be soft but, hold it's shape when scooped.
3. Place the dough onto the pizza pan, and with wet hands, mold into a disk. Make sure there is a 2 inch wide border around the edge of the cookie dough and the perimeter of the pan, as the cookie will spread during baking.
4. Place the cookie dough into the oven, and bake 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown all over. Allow to cool on the baking sheet until firm- 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool  completely. 

Frosting-

5 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons milk (I used flax, but any other would work)

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

pinch of kosher salt

1 teaspoon meringue powder

2 cups confectionery sugar

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the butter, milk, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until combined. Turn the speed to high and mix until creamy. Add the salt, meringue powder, and confectionery sugar. Mix slowly until the sugar is incorporated, then mix on high until uniformly thick. Add additional milk and/or confectionery sugar.
2. When the cookie is completely cooled, decorate the cookie cake with frosting. Allow to set to room temperature to allow frosting to hard before transferring to an airtight container.
3. Enjoy!

Notes: Guar gum can be substituted for xanthan gum. *One pizza sheet may work, but I used a pizza sheet, and an 8 inch round cake pan. That way I got 2 cakes out of one recipe.* 

Source: Gluten Free on a Shoestring