This post has been sponsored by NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I LOVE cookie cakes. As if a chocolate chip cookie couldn’t get more delicious, some baker one day decided to add buttercream to the top and call it a cake. I love regular cake, too, but there’s just something about a chewy chocolate chip cookie topped with frosting!
This fall, I wanted to create a spin on the traditional cookie cake. NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE just debuted a fun seasonal flavor for the holiday season: Pumpkin Spice Flavored Filled Baking Truffles.
I combined them with NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Semi Sweet Morsels to create a Pumpkin Spice Cookie Cake with Salted Maple Buttercream, and OH MY GOODNESS is it good.
I found the pumpkin spice filled baking truffles at my local Walmart in the baking aisle. I love that I can shop for groceries and household goods in one stop while I’m there.
You can also save now on NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels with ibotta!
The cookie cake is a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe, with the addition of 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to make the finished cake soft and tender.
The star of the cookie cake is the pumpkin spice filled baking truffles. They are little pyramid-shaped flavor bombs, bursting with pumpkin spice flavor as you bite into them.
Since pumpkin and chocolate are great combination, I added NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Semisweet Morsels to the cookie dough, too. I love that they are made with 100% rich, creamy, real chocolate.
The key to getting a beautiful cookie cake is to reserve a few of the pumpkin spice filled baking truffles and semisweet morsels, and then place them on top of the cookie cake by hand before baking.
This ensures that you can see them popping out of the top. This is also a great tip for chocolate chip cookies!
For the buttercream, I used another classic recipe of butter, powdered sugar, and milk. I also added maple syrup, brown sugar, and sea salt to amp up the flavor.
To decorate the Pumpkin Spice Cookie Cake, I used a piping bag fitted with a star tip. If you don’t have a piping bag, a gallon-size resealable plastic bag works great.
I filled the piping bag with the salted maple buttercream and made my way around the cake, piping stars around the edges.
If you’d like, you can add even more pumpkin spice filled baking truffles and semisweet morsels to the top. Along with measuring ingredients for the dough and buttercream, decorating the cookie cake would be a great job for kids!
If you’re a fan of a sweet and salty combination, I highly recommend adding some flaky sea salt to the top of the buttercream. There is already a little salt in the buttercream, but this takes it over the top.
This Pumpkin Spice Cookie Cake is such a fun dessert for a fall birthday, Thanksgiving, or family gathering (especially one with kiddos!).
Pumpkin Spice Cookie Cake with Salted Maple Buttercream
Ingredients
For the cookie cake:
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Pumpkin Spice Morsels plus more for decoration
- ½ cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE Semi Sweet Morsels
For the salted maple buttercream:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
For the cookie cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray.
- Place the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high until fluffy. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla; beat on low until combined. Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated evenly.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl; beat on low just until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture, and beat on low just until combined. Stir in the pumpkin spice morsels and semi sweet morsels.
- Spread the dough in an even layer in the prepared cake pan. Top with additional pumpkin spice morsels. Bake for 25–28 minutes or until the top of the cookie cake is golden brown. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
For the salted maple buttercream:
- Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high until fluffy. Add the maple syrup, milk, and sea salt; beat until combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating in between each addition. Add a splash more milk if desired.
- Spoon buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe the salted maple buttercream on the cooled cookie cake. Decorate with additional pumpkin spice morsels and semi sweet morsels. Serve immediately. Can also be refrigerated up to 3 days.
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