Take your cookie cake game to the next level with this Cowboy Cookie Cake! Frosting layered cakes can be a time-consuming pain, but this cake is quick and hassle-free. It's as easy as baking giant cookies and slapping some frosting on them! These cowboy cookies are filled with chocolate, coconut, walnuts, and oats, which are even more delicious combined with layers of cream cheese frosting!
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What You Need to Make This Recipe
Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Ginger
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate chips (semi-sweet or your favorite kinds)
- Old-fashioned oats
- Unsweetened shredded coconut
- Chopped walnuts
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
Equipment:
- Baking sheet
- Mixing bowls
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment, wooden spoon, or hand mixer
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
- Kitchen scale (recommended) or measuring cups
- Parchment paper (optional)
- Cooling rack (optional)
- Spatula
- Piping bag & tip (optional)
Recipe Notes
Cowboy cookies have been one of my favorites since I was little! My family used to always get them from Colectivo when we'd take trips to Milwaukee. After creating my own copycat cowboy cookies recipe, I decided to turn them into a cookie cake for my birthday! The texture and flavors pair so well with cream cheese frosting. It's the perfect party cake!
See exactly how I make this cake in my recipe video on YouTube!
Tips & Storage:
The dough balls should be flattened to about 4-5 inches in diameter, and then they should be about 6-7 inches in diameter when baked. I recommend weighing the balls to make sure they're even.
Before you bake them, flatten them down to about ½ inch height and shape them as round as possible with your hands. Then, right when you take them out of the oven, run a flat edge (like the back of a spoon) around the edges to press them back into a nice circle.
I used the large closed star tip from this piping set. If you don't have piping bags and tips, you can just spread the frosting around with a knife or spatula.
I recommend refrigerating the cake for at least 60 minutes before serving it so that it's firm and easier to cut into.
In the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. It shouldn't be stored at room temperature because of the cream cheese frosting.
Yes! The cookie dough balls can be frozen and baked later. Or, you can freeze the cookie layers and refrigerate the frosting for a few days, until you're ready to assemble it. See the recipe card notes below for more details.
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📖 Recipe
Cowboy Cookie Cake
Equipment
- Baking sheet(s)
- Parchment paper (optional)
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Measuring Cups or Scale
- Measuring spoons
- Piping bag & tip (optional)
Ingredients
Cookie Layers
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons (1½ teaspoons) ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) (113.5 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar packed
- 1 large (1 large) egg room temperature
- ½ tablespoon (½ tablespoon) vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (135 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
- ¾ cup (72 g) old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup (50 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup (60 g) chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (1 package) (226 g) cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup (1 stick) (113.5 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Instructions
Cookie Layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars really well. Add the eggs and vanilla one at a time and mix until light and fluffy.
- Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
- Gently stir in the chocolate chips, oats, coconut and walnuts (again, just until combined).
- Split the dough into 4 even balls and place them on baking sheets, leaving at least 3 inches between each ball (I bake 2 cookies per sheet). Press down on the dough to flatten them slightly (~½ inch height, 4-5 inches in diameter).
- Bake until the edges are slightly tan (about 13-17 minutes). The centers may not look fully done but that's okay, they'll continue baking from the heat of the pan.The baked cookies should be ~6-7 inches in diameter.If they aren't perfectly round, immediately run a flat edge around the side to form nice circles.
- Let them cool on the pan until they're firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack, then let them finish cooling completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mix together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until combined and smooth.
- Cover the cookie layers with frosting by spreading it around with a knife or offset spatula, or using a piping bag and tip. Alternately layer them until all 4 cookie layers are stacked with frosting.I recommend letting the cake chill in the refrigerator for about an hour before slicing into it. Enjoy!
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DB says
This sounds perfect except for the coconut. Would the recipe still work if I took it out, or would I need to tweak it with something else?
Kayla Burton says
I haven't tried it without the coconut but I think it should be fine 🙂 let me know if you try it!
Kelli Barta says
Has anyone pressed this completely onto a cookie sheet to make 1 rectangle cookie cake? Is it enough dough to do that?
Kayla Burton says
Hi Kelli! I haven't tried this but I think it should work even if it doesn't fill the whole thing. Would love to hear how it goes if you try it!
Bobby says
This Cowboy Cookie Cake is sooo good and easy to make! Instead of 4 massive cookies, I made 8 humongous ones to make 2 cakes, these are still 2 lbs each. They’re packed with chocolate chunks, coconut, I used pecans that I had on hand in place of walnuts and then a cream cheese frosting to hold everything together. Easy to make, modify, and a crowd pleaser! Highly recommend!
Kayla says
I love that you turned this into two big cookie cakes!! Thank you for sharing them on Instagram, seeing my recipes come to life and being enjoyed always makes my day! 🙂
Gale says
What is the best and easiest way to slice this?
Kayla says
Hi Gale! I've found it easiest to refrigerate it for about an hour and then slice it into triangles with a chef's knife
Annie says
Do you know approximately how big around your cookies were - like 8 or 9 inches? Thanks!
Kayla says
Hi Annie! I believe mine were about 6 inches in diameter when I used 180g for each cookie. However, if you split the dough evenly into 4 cookies I think they should be closer to 8 inches!
Annie says
Thanks so much!
Gigi Bobb says
I made the Cowboy Cookie Cake for my son's 47th birthday and the family was a little dubious since I was the former "Cake Lady". But after some had seconds, I sent half of it home with my son. I was sorry to have to give it away, 'cus I wanted it all for myself & my friends.
Very rich and sooo satisfying. I may do this again with Snickerdoodles.
Kayla says
Gigi Bobb I'm so glad you commented! I tried responding to your message a while back but received a reply saying the email was not found! Thank you so very much for your kind words and for making my cowboy cookie cake! I'm thrilled that the Cake Lady herself enjoyed my recipe 🙂 Happy birthday to your son!