Last year my husband bought me a Mrs. Field's cookie cake for my birthday and the kids absolutely loved it. I tried to recreate it later in the year and it turned out super cute but it tasted mediocre and left us feeling a bit underwhelmed. Nobody went back for seconds and the leftovers ended up in the trash can. So I was surprised when my daughter asked for a cookie cake for her birthday...but not so surprised when she later clarified that she wanted it "from the place Daddy got that one for your birthday, momma." Unfortunately we were at least an hour drive from any Mrs. Field's location on her birthday so I talked her into letting me make her one. She agreed but requested that there be no frosting and she wanted it to have M&M's this time. I searched through lots and lots of recipes and tentatively went ahead with this one. Coming out of the oven it looked great but I was honestly a bit nervous until we cut into it and served it up. It was soft, chewy, and downright delicious. The ultimate feedback came from Grace when she said she liked it more than the Mrs. Field's cookie cake. Whew, what a relief!
Cookie Cake
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 bag mini M&M's
Beat butter and both sugars together in a mixer. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until creamy and lighter in color. In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Line a small (12-15 inch) cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread cookie dough out into a circle leaving at least a 1 inch border in case it spreads a bit in the oven. Decorate with M&M's. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°.
