I didn’t think it was possible, but it seems as if chocolate chip cookies actually taste better in cake form. Don’t believe me? Read on.

First of all, when a cookie is in cake form, your eaters can choose which part of the cake to eat based on how they like their cookies done. I, being a lover of all things doughy, find myself preferring the lighter, less done middle. Those who like the crunchier, chewier aspects of your typical chocolate chip cookie, however, have plenty of edge pieces to choose from. With a chocolate chip cookie in cake form, everyone wins.

Secondly: no dough-ball forming necessary. Why spend your precious time making individual balls of dough when it’s so easily spread into a pan in a matter of seconds? I don’t know about you guys, but I always seems to be short of time (that could just be the college student self pity syndrome talking, though).

A third appeal to time-saving: just one batch. In fact, I fit both of my cakes in the woefully small communal oven at once, and was able to watch TV study as they both simultaneously browned to perfection.

Let’s just say I’d never taken the chocolate chip cookie cake seriously until I tried it myself, and now, I’m hooked. What I once considered a perversion of a classic, I now see as a great stride in the world of baking.

So, on to the recipe!

Based on a recipe from Foodnetwork.

Time: Active: 10-15 minutes

Inactive: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish

Sweetened cocoa, for garnish

Sweetened whipped cream, accompaniment

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Depending on what you’re going for, a) line a 14-inch round pizza pan with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper or b) line and grease a 13×9″ or 2 – 8″ pans. (I chose the latter because I don’t have a pizza pan at school!)

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs, and beat well after adding each.

3. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Add to the butter mixture, mixing to incorporate, and stir in the vanilla extract.

4. Spread across the bottom of the prepared pan and bake until the edges are golden and the cookie is set but the center is still slightly soft, 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

So simple, so good. I suggest trying it both warm and refrigerated–something about the cold chocolate chip cookie flavor was just to die for!

This one’s for laughs, and is perhaps the most awkward presentation possible. And yet, some seem to find my lack of dorm room cutlery endearing.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this quirky concoction as much as I did!

Michelle