Texas Sheet Cake Cookies

I was way past grown before I realized that my grandmother’s “Easy Chocolate Cake” recipe was in fact a Texas Sheet Cake in other parts of the United States. I’m not sure where she got her recipe or why she always called it an Easy Chocolate Cake, but it is in fact the same exact recipe as all of the Texas Sheet Cakes that you find in cookbooks and across the internet.

Recently, I had my annual Cookie Extravaganza for Christmas. I wound up baking 15 different types of cookies, but didn’t get around to making these delicious Texas Sheet Cake Cookies. I was glad that I waited and was able to make them as a way to celebrate today’s big day, National Chocolate Cake Day! Chocolate Cake that’s handheld and easily eaten on the go is meant to be shared!

There are many ways to make Texas Sheet Cake Cookies. Some recipes call for cinnamon, which I don’t include since my family recipe didn’t, but definitely add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon if you prefer. Others don’t use pecans, but I always decorate half of the tops of my cookies with pecans since my husband loves them. This recipe uses melted chocolate chips in the cookie dough and cocoa powder for the frosting on top instead of cocoa powder in the cookie. I like to use a mixture of semi sweet and milk chocolate chips, but use all of one type if you only have one in the pantry.

No matter how you decide to make your Texas Sheet Cake Cookies, just make them! I promise that your family will love them and that you will love having the flavors of a Texas Sheet Cake in cookie form.

This recipe made about 29 cookies using my small Pampered Chef Cookie Scoop. I’ve included a link to their site so that you can see the one that I own. I don’t sell their products, but I love them and have had this scoop for almost 20 years!

A Few Notes:

This dough is sticky so the cookie scoop helps to make the job less messy, but you can use a couple of small spoons from your kitchen drawer too.

I line my pan with parchment paper to avoid sticking.

Don’t over bake the cookies so the centers stay a little gooey, 8 minutes was perfect for my cookies.

The frosting I made is thicker because I added 1 and 1/4 cups of powdered sugar. I wanted to spread mine with a knife for a cleaner cookie. Use 1 cup of powdered sugar for a frosting that pours.

Once you make the frosting, work quickly since it dries with a hard outer layer that you don’t want to crack. Have the chopped nuts ready to sprinkle over the top of the frosted cookies.

Allow the frosting to dry and set up for a bit before serving.

Note – I didn’t want a lot of extra frosting and my recipe is perfect for the quantity of cookies, but it’s easily doubled if you prefer lots of frosting.

I hope that you’ll try this recipe today and leave a comment below. Also, for daily updates follow @lifeabovethecafe on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Ingredients:

For the Cookies:

• 1 & 1/3 cup of All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp. of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. of Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (I use 1/4 c. milk chocolate & 1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips)

For the Frosting:

• 4 Tbsp. of butter
• 1 Tbsp. of Cocoa Powder
• 1 & 1/2 Tbsp. of milk
• 1/4 tsp. of salt
• 1 & 1/4 cup of powdered sugar
• optional – chopped pecans

Directions:

Note:  I always mix my flour up in the container with a fork to fluff it and then spoon the flour into my measuring cup and sweep a butter knife across the top, even with the measuring cup, to level the flour.  This method helps to prevent adding too much flour to a recipe.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.  Mix the dry ingredients for the cookie together in a separate bowl with a whisk until well incorporated.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together and then mix in the vanilla and one large egg.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix once more before adding in the flour in two parts.  Once the flour is completely mixed in to form the dough melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.  I warm them in a glass bowl for 30 seconds, stir, and then add more time as needed.  Mix the melted chocolate into the dough.

Scoop the Texas Sheet Cake Cookie Dough onto the lined baking sheet and bake the cookies for approximately 8 to 9 minutes (9 to 11 minutes for larger cookies).  My small cookies were perfect at 8 minutes, but you may need to adjust the temperature/time according to your oven and cookie size.  Do not over bake the cookies.  You want them to be gooey but able to be held.

While the cookies cool on the pan, quickly make the frosting.  In a nonstick pan, over medium high heat, whisk the butter, milk, salt, and cocoa powder together until melted.  Remove it from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar.  I used 1 & 1/4 cups of powdered sugar for my frosting because I wanted it to be thick enough to spread with a knife.  For a thinner frosting try 1 cup of powdered sugar.  If using the chopped pecans, sprinkle them on top before the frosting has a chance to set and dry.

Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing from the pan.  I store the cookies on the countertop in an airtight container for a few days if they last that long.   This made about 29 cookies with my small cookie scoop.

Additional Photos: