Snickerdoodle Cookie Cake
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A simple brown sugar cookie base swirled with cinnamon ribbons and topped with a creamy, spiced snickerdoodle buttercream. Whip up one giant snickerdoodle cookie for your next celebration!
In true birthday form over here, it’s all about the cookie cake today.
Not sure what I’m talking about? Let’s take a look back on the years of cookie cakes:
In 2015, when I turned 30, I decided to post a chocolate chip cookie cake. And then, when I turned 31, it seemed appropriate to do another (funfetti sugar cookie cake).
For 32, it was all about the peanut butter cookie cake, and then 33 did it up TRIPLE style with a triple chocolate cookie cake.
I paired #fafpumpkinweek with my birthday week last year, so we got pumpkin cookie cake out of that one.
And this year? Another milestone. The big 3-5! So I baked you something using one of my absolute favorite ingredients: cinnamon!
And what BETTER way to showcase cinnamon in a cookie cake than with one giant snickerdoodle cookie? No real way, actually.
None at all (ok, maybe cinnamon babka is a pretty good option, but I digress…).
While I do love me a good snickerdoodle, what I love about cookie cakes is that they’re simple, they don’t require chilling of dough (like my classic snickerdoodles do), and they just go right into a baking pan.
No rolling, no cutting out, no rolling in cinnamon-sugar.
So I took my funfetti sugar cookie cake batter, swapped out some granulated sugar for some brown sugar (for mega moisture and deep sweetness), and added in some cinnamon.
The best thing I think I did, though, was make an additional batter to create cinnamon ribbons throughout the whole snickerdoodle cookie cake.
This cinnamon swirly business is very similar to what I fill my cinnamon rolls with, and it’s very simple.
Butter, an egg white, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. That’s it!
This mixture will be a little runny, so it will seem weird to put into your snickerdoodle cookie dough. Trust the process.
Stir it in a few times (I’m talking like 5 to 7 strokes) just so it starts to get in there but doesn’t get completely blended into the batter. This will all make sense when you cut into a luscious cinnamon ribbon later, and you will thank me.
Before it goes into the oven, this cookie cake gets a generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.
WHAT ARE GOOD CINNAMON SUGAR PROPORTIONS?
I get this question a lot, because sometimes you only need a little, and sometimes you need a lot.
A ratio of 1:3 of granulated sugar to ground cinnamon is the perfect combination for a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Once the cookie cake is completely cool, you can leave it plain and eat it straight up like a snickerdoodle skillet cookie, or top it with buttercream.
Any buttercream you like will do, but today’s recipe includes snickerdoodle buttercream. Which is a dream come true when it comes to dessert.
I topped everything off with another sprinkle of the cinnamon sugar on top. This is totally optional but highly recommended.
This snickerdoodle sugar cookie cake was gone so fast, I almost didn’t get a piece myself. I handed some off to neighbors, sat down to work for a few hours, and returned to the kitchen to exactly two slices left.
Apparently my husband and our two boys ran into a nibbling problem with this one!
Not too sweet, perfectly flavored with loads of cinnamon, and topped with a delicate portion of snickerdoodle buttercream, this snickerdoodle cookie cake will be your new favorite way to celebrate.
Dare I say it’s so good, I don’t even think it needs sprinkles?? Now that says something special.
Try some more of my snickerdoodle favorites: classic snickerdoodles, caramel stuffed snickerdoodles, and soft & chewy snickerdoodles (without cream of tartar)!
Snickerdoodle Cookie Cake
Ingredients
CINNAMON RIBBONS
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg white reserve yolk for cookie cake
- 2 and ½ Tablespoons (32g) granulated sugar
- 2 and ½ Tablespoons (32g) brown sugar
- ½ Tablespoon ground cinnamon
COOKIE CAKE
- 2 and ¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 2 teaspoons (5g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter melted
- ¾ cup (150g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 reserved egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cinnamon sugar coating: 1 and ½ Tablespoons (13g) granulated sugar + 1 and ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
SNICKERDOODLE BUTTERCREAM
- ¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (30mL) milk or cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
Instructions
CINNAMON RIBBONS
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter and egg white until combined.
- Add both sugars and the cinnamon and whisk again until smooth. Set aside.
COOKIE CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Spray a 9" springform pan1 with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until completely combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a large spatula until no flour clumps remain. Pour the cinnamon ribbon batter into the bowl and stir a few times to create swirls (about 5 to 7 strokes). Batter will be very wet. This is ok.
- Pour the cookie dough into the prepared pan and press evenly to the edges of the pan with the spatula. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar coating, then bake for 30 minutes until edges are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack completely before decorating with frosting.
SNICKERDOODLE BUTTERCREAM
- In a medium bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, milk or cream, and vanilla extract. Turn the mixer onto low and slowly add the cinnamon, salt, and powdered sugar. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until completely combined, scraping down sides as needed. Add salt to taste.
- Remove cooled cookie cake from springform pan and place on serving platter. Fill a piping bag with the frosting and decorate the cookie cake. I like to use a Wilton 1M tip. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar mixture, if desired. Cookie cake remains fresh covered tightly at room temperature for up to 4 days. Undecorated cookie cake may be frozen, up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and allow to come to room temperature before decorating.
Notes
- Springform pan: alternatively, you may use a 9″ pie plate or a 8″ or 9″ round or square baking pan.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Happy Birthday Lynn! This does sound like the perfect birthday treat! Hope you have a great day and maybe there will be another one of these cookie cakes in your future. Definitely going to remember this one, I see a cookie cake in my future for sure.
Hands down the best cookie cake I’ve ever made. The swirls!! OMG!
The swirls!! Thanks so much, Marla!
We loved this cookie cake! My 6 year old son loves snickerdoodles and asked for “snickerdoodle cake like a cookie” for his birthday. We all approved!
Aww, I love that! Thanks so much for sharing, Samantha!
Is it possible to double this this recipe?
Hey, Kim– you can, but I would bake it in two separate 9″ springform pans or press the double recipe into a 9×13 sheet pan. I’m unsure how this would work out, but that’s my best suggestion. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Hello! I would love to make this for Thanksgiving. For the measurements, are they listed for 1 serving, or for the whole cake? Specifically, I am wondering about the buttercream recipe – it doesn’t look like much (but I guess you don’t need much to pipe the edges). Thank you for your help with this!
Hi, Christina– you are right, the buttercream is for the whole cake, because it just gets a small line of piped frosting around the rim. You’re welcome to make more or less depending on how much buttercream you like!
The recipe was easy to follow and the cake looks and tastes great. The icing also tastes great but there was nowhere near enough to fill a bag.
Thanks, Laurie! I’m not sure how the recipe got quartered in post. It’s fixed now! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Hi there! I definitely want to try this out because my boy is asking for a snickerdoodle cookie cake for his birthday and there’s not many recipes out there. Quick question – is it not necessary to add cream of tartar to this big one? I know typically we’d add that to snickerdoodle but didn’t see it in your ingredients. Thanks
Hi, Meryl– you are correct, you can make snickerdoodles without cream of tartar 🙂
Quick question… I assume I could make the cookie dough ahead of time and cook it later. Have you tried this, by chance? Do you think anything would need to change in the recipe? Maybe cook for longer, since it would be chilled or just let it sit at room temp for a bit?
It should bake just fine! I would make sure it’s covered tightly and refrigerated no longer than 2-3 days.
Thanks! Also I like how it has a bit of a pie edge to it. Does it back into that or do you have to spread it out in a way that adds a bit of a pie edge?
It will do it on its own!
Perfect! Prepped it earlier for my husband’s bday tomorrow and did not do a ridge and got nervous!
I thought it was delicious – as did all my neighbors I gave some too!
Thanks so much, Sharon!
This was a very heavy dense bread, not cake-like at all. If not for the cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top one would think it was more of a pumpkin bread than snickerdoodle. I did not care for it at all.
Hi! This is not a CAKE. It’s a COOKIE CAKE. So that would explain why the texture isn’t what you expected. Thanks for giving it a try!
Delish! 🤤 made for my son in law, a lover of cookie cakes. he said it was the best cookie cake EVER!
Thank you, Daria!
I made this gluten free and it came out perfectly. I followed your recipe exactly but subbed King Arthur’s 1:1 gluten free flour. I also made a cream cheese buttercream to pipe on after it cooled. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Yum! Thanks so much for sharing, Chris 🙂
I can’t get my icing right? it’s not fluffy at all? what could I be doing wrong?
Hi, Maggie– maybe your liquid was too cold? Just keep mixing it and it should warm up/come together with time!
This sounds AMAZING! Do you think this would work in a 12” pan by chance?
Hi, Beklyn– I would 1.5x the recipe if you wanted it go to in a 12″ pan. Enjoy!
Is the 3/4 cup butter supposed to be melted? I followed the instructions exactly. Mine turned into a glob of dark greasy mess 1/4 high and not fitting to eat. I have never seen anything turn out like that, and I bake cakes and cookies all the time and sell them. I also made a chocolate chip cookie cake from a recipe calling for softened butter. The only thing really difference in main ingredients was the melted butter.
Hi, Jane– yes, the butter is supposed to be melted. I have no idea where your recipe went wrong, because I can assure you the recipe works great, as you can see by other positive reviews and the photos. Most all of my cookie cake recipes use melted butter and they work perfectly fine. Are you sure you used 3/4 cup and not 3/4 of a stick?
WOW WOW WOW – Listen I am not a cookie cake person, I didn’t even know I liked Snickerdoodles, then I had a bite of this. JUST WOW!!!
I made this for my friends baptism (she loves snickerdoodles) and got raving reviews – everyone at church loved it. She loved it. I was like okay, I guess I’ll try a bite and… done. I. Am. Hooked.
This recipe has made it into a rotation of favorites that I will bring everywhere I go.
I did have trouble with the ribbon getting it to be a ribbon and not just mixed in, haha, but that’s whatever. It was delicious and fantastic. And also this is user error, nothing to do with the recipe.. but if there is a tip for success here I’d love to hear it 🙂
I put it on a small sheet tray instead of a 9″ circle pan, also baked it for 10 minutes less (figured my tray was slightly larger so bake time should be less) and it came out beautiful. Chewy, delicious, perfection.
Ohhhh yeah, I was also squirting the buttercream into my mouth – dangerously good.
A gal asked if I can make it with gluten free flour – I have no idea, so I’m going to try because why not.
Fantastic recipe, 10 out of 10!
Hey, Jen– thanks so much for this thorough review! No real tricks for making a ribbon except to only stir it a few times, but there’s nothing wrong with however it is you did it for yours 🙂 this recipe should work just fine with a 1:1 all-purpose sub without any additional adjustments. Let me know if you try it!