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Instead of making individual treats, let’s make one big Sugar Cookie Cake and go wild with the sprinkles. Are you in? You’re just 35-ish minutes away from being the life of the party.
This recipe is truly a hero! It comes together in just minutes, and it’s what I always make when I find out last-minute that it’s someone’s birthday! (If I know ahead of time that it’s your birthday, I will most likely make you my Chocolate Sour Cream Cake).
You can slice this sugar cookie cake into 8-12 slices, depending on how many people you need to feed for a celebration! If you can whip everything together in jut 5 minutes, spread it in the pan, and pop it in the oven, it’s ready in 30!
Ingredients
- Butter. In total, this sugar cookie cake requires 2 sticks of softened butter. One and half sticks is for the cake, and the remaining portion is for the quick buttercream frosting.
- Sugar. One cup of granulated sugar.
- Egg. We need one whole large egg plus one extra egg yolk. Reserve the egg white for another recipe, please. The additional egg yolk makes this sugar cookie cake super chewy and gooey in the center, just the way a cookie cake should be!
- Vanilla. Two teaspoons of vanilla for the cake, and 3/4 of a teaspoon for the frosting.
- Flour. One and a half cups of flour.
- Salt. Please do not omit the 1/2 teaspoon of salt from this recipe, because it balances the sweetness overall.
- Baking Powder. To give our cookie cake the characteristic raised edges and flat middle, we use 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.
- Baking Soda. One-half teaspoon of baking soda ensures browning during the baking process, because no one wants a pale cookie!
- Powdered Sugar. One cup of powdered sugar is enough to make the frosting plenty sweet.
- Heavy Cream. If you have heavy cream, add 1 tablespoon to the frosting ingredients when blending to make it super fluffy. If you don’t have cream, milk is fine, but it won’t make it fluffy.
- Sprinkles. Choose your favorite sprinkles for decorating, and have fun!
How to Make a Sugar Cookie Cake from Scratch
After preheating the oven to 350, and lightly greasing a 9-inch cake pan (or 9-inch springform pan), beat together the one and a half sticks of softened butter with the 1 cup of granulated sugar.
When the mixture is light and fluffy (usually after 60 seconds), add the whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Beat again to combine.
Separately, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the butter and sugar mixture, and beat just to combine. Ensure there’s no streaks of flour remaining.
Scrape the sugar cookie cake batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the surface with an offset spatula.
Bake for 27-33 minutes. After baking, it needs to cool completely before frosting, so you can leave it at room temperature or place it in the fridge to speed things along.
Make the frosting: beat together the remaining half a stick of butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream (or milk) until fluffy.
Scrape the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip and decorate the cake, if you wish. You can also just spread frosting on top, add sprinkles, slice, and serve.
If you think your birthday person likes chocolate, don’t miss my Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe!
Sugar Cookie Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (6 ounces; 12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 grams)granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
For the frosting:
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces; 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (230 grams) powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (15mL) heavy cream
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly grease a 9" springform pan (preferred) or 9-inch cake pan.
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar together. Beat very well, about 60 seconds.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla to the bowl, and beat until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients, and add it in 2 batches to the creamed butter, beating just to combine.
- Press the dough into the pan, and press it evenly flat.
- Bake for 27-33 minutes, until the middle is slightly underdone (it will set up as it cools).
- Next, make the frosting: Combine the softened butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream in a bowl. Beat everything together using a hand mixer until light and fluffy, but do not over-mix. Add more heavy cream, if it seems dry.
- Scrape into a piping bag, and decorate the cookie cake with it. Add sprinkles on top.
