These flat baked treats, when not cut into different shapes, actually make a great-tasting cake -- an ideal gift for those who prefer a no frills dessert, or those who live in small spaces (and have small refrigerators).
And unlike the usual cake with frosting, a cookie cake takes less time to make, does not get spoiled easily, and can be eaten anywhere with your bare hands.
THE RECIPE
I recently made a cookie cake with 2 kinds of chocolate -- Japan's Royce' and Switzerland's Toblerone.
The bitterness of Royce' dark chocolate was balanced by the sweetness of Toblerone's milk chocolate, nougat and honey.
About one box of Royce' pure dark chocolate (80% and 90% pure cocoa) and 4 bars of Toblerone milk chocolate (the one in the yellow box) were cut into chunks for this recipe.
The chocolate chunks add a nice, hefty texture to the cookie cake, something that you won't get from store-bought chocolate chips.
After chopping up chocolate blocks and discs, I creamed one bar (or 2 sticks) of butter and one and a half cups of sugar (1 cup brown, 1/2 cup white).
When the mixture became light and fluffy, I added 2 large eggs, beating well after the addition of each.
Then, I incorporated these into the butter mixture, added 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, and folded in the chocolate chunks.
At this point, all I needed to do is spread the cookie dough into a pan lined with baking paper and place it in the oven, but I decided to cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator overnight.
The following morning, I asked my mom to bake it (since I have to go to the office) for 20 to 25 minutes.
The result: a soft and chewy golden brown cookie cake with a mild bittersweet taste, just the way I like it.
After allowing it to cool on the cookie sheet, I placed the cookie cake in a gift-wrapped box and gave it to my boyfriend for his birthday.
And judging from the look on his face, I can say that my Royce' and Toblerone chocolate cookie cake was a huge success.
