Kevin Is Cooking | Course | Desserts | Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
By Kevin
published Nov 27, 2021
5 from 5 votes
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Texas sheet cake cookies are soft, chewy chocolate cookies with rich cocoa frosting. Make this recipe for a tasty twist on Texas sheet cake!
If you’ve never experienced the goodness of Texas sheet cake, let me fill you in. It is an incredibly decadent, thin chocolate cake with a creamy cooked chocolate frosting over the top. Rather than using cake pans, it’s baked on a rimmed baking sheet.
In an effort to portion control the deliciousness of the southern dessert, I present to you, my recipe for Texas sheet cake cookies!
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find anything online about why the dessert is called Texas sheet cake. For what it’s worth, I think it may be a reference to the size of Texas… the cake is huge and so is the flavor!
Technically, it doesn’t matter because we’re not baking the cake today. Why? Because it’s almost December 1st, and that means it’s time to start baking Christmas cookies!
Texas sheet cake cookies from scratch
If you were to look at other recipes for these chocolate cookies, you’d quickly realize that my recipe is different- in a good way!
Most of the other Texas sheet cake cookie recipes are made from a boxed cake mix. While that is convenient, I think cookies made from scratch have better flavor. The nice thing is, this recipe is actually very simple to make, and it really doesn’t take much longer to make the cookies from scratch than it does to make them with cake mix.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
The ingredients for Texas sheet cake cookies are similar to what you’d use to make the classic dessert.
- All-purpose flour – For a softer, cake-like cookie, you can substitute cake flour for half of the all-purpose flour. I don’t recommend swapping it all, because cake flour has less gluten, and the cookies need the extra structure that all-purpose flour provides.
- Chocolate chips– I use semi-sweet chocolate but if you prefer dark chocolate, that works too. These cookies are meant to be rich, fudgy and packed with chocolate flavor, so use the best quality chocolate that you can afford.
PRO TIP:
You’ll be melting the chocolate anyway, so feel free to use bars, chunks, or even blocks of chocolate. If your chocolate pieces are especially large, you may want to cut them down a bit so they melt evenly.
- Buttermilk – This ingredient is the gold standard for a southern-style recipe, whether it’s cookies, muffins, or southern buttermilk biscuits. This being said, if you need a substitute, any type of dairy milk or nut milk will work fine.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – This ingredient is for the cocoa cookie frosting. If you use regular unsweetened cocoa powder, the color of your frosting should look similar to my photos. For a darker color, Dutch process cocoa can be used.
- Chopped nuts – To give your Texas sheet cake cookies the appearance of the classic cake, you can add crushed pecans on top of the frosting. I didn’t have any on hand, so I left them out. If you prefer a different nut, crushed walnuts are a delicious option.
Tips for the best Texas sheet cake cookies
- Cream the butter and sugar together for 5 minutes.
To prevent your cookies from having a grainy,consistency, it’s important to whip the butter at sugar on high speed, for at least 5 minutes. This ensures that all of the sugar crystals are properly incorporated.
- Chill the cookie dough.
The dough for Texas sheet cake cookies is rather loose. Chilling the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much as they bake. If you want to chill the dough a bit longer, that’s fine too.If you’d like, you can even freeze the dough for up to 2 months. Just be sure to keep it in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
- Don’t over bake them.
Remove the cookies from the oven when the tops look slightly moist. If you bake them too long, they will be dry and hard rather than moist and soft.
- Store at room temperature.
If you aren’t planning to freeze the cookies, keep them in a covered container at room temperature. This way, the cocoa cookie frosting will stay nice and soft! Keep them in an airtight container and they should remain fresh for about a week.
Other crave-worthy chocolate Christmas cookies
For the chocolate cookie lover in your life, consider also baking some rocky road cookies and Mexican hot chocolate cookies!
FAQ
Can you freeze Texas sheet cake cookies?
The unbaked cookie dough and/or the unfrosted baked cookies may be kept frozen for 2 to 3 months. While it is possible to freeze frosted Texas sheet cake cookies, the cocoa frosting has a tendency to crack as it thaws. If possible, wait and frost the cookies after they thaw.
Still Hungry?
This post, originally published on Kevin is Cooking Apr. 18, 2014, was last updated with new content on Nov. 27, 2021.
Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
5 from 5 votes
Texas sheet cake cookies are soft, chewy chocolate cookies with rich cocoa frosting. Make this recipe for a tasty twist on Texas sheet cake!
Servings: 24 servings
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 7 minutes mins
Total: 17 minutes mins
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Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Cocoa Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 Tbsp buttermilk or milk or non-dairy milk of choice
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Optional Garnish
- 1/4 cup crushed pecans
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mat, set aside. Makes 24-30 depending on size.
Wet Ingredients
In a microwave safe bowl heat the butter and chocolate chips on high in 30 second increments until melted, stirring after every 30 seconds (or in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted).
In bowl of mixer, beat the melted butter/chocolate with the sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract, and continue mixing until incorporated.
Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Assembly
Add the dry ingredients to the wet in mixing bowl and stir to combine. Mixture will be slightly loose. Place bowl in refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the dough.
Using a scoop or measured tablespoon, drop cookie dough onto baking sheets (either keep rounded or flatten slightly if you prefer). Bake for 7-8 minutes until cookies just appear set. They will still be very soft on the inside. Don't over bake these or they will be hard. You just want a firm dense center.
Frosting
In a medium saucepan combine butter, cocoa powder and buttermilk over medium heat, whisk until blended. Remove from heat and whisk inpowdered sugar.
Once the cookies are cooled, dip each into the frosting, shake excess and place on wire rack. Sprinkle with crushed pecans if desired, then allow frosting to dry.
Nutrition
Calories: 179kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 61mg | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 0.7mg
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American
Author: Kevin Is Cooking
Have You Made This Recipe? Let Me Know on InstagramTag @keviniscooking or tag me #keviniscooking!
Kevin
Whether in the kitchen or on the grill, you’ll find me cooking American favorites with a love for BBQ, Mexican and Tex Mex. I’m passionate about making tasty food because life’s too short to be bland!
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