Name: Basketball Cookie Cake
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 200 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup shortening (room temperature); 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature); 3/8 cup granulated sugar (( 6 tablespoons)); 3/8 cup dark brown sugar (( 6 tablespoons)); 1 large egg (room temperature); 1 tablespoon whole milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1 & 3/8 cups all purpose flour ((165 grams)); 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (set aside 2-3 tablespoons); 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature); 3 cups powdered sugar; 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream; 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; orange and black gel food coloring

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Make a delicious, soft and chewy basketball cookie cake from the comfort of your own home! This is perfect for basketball themed birthdays, celebrating a great season, getting into school spirit or even a March Madness watch party.

A baseball decorated cookie cake on a black wire trivet on a cement background.

Score a slam dunk with this Basketball Cookie Cake! This is the perfect sweet treat to celebrate your Final 4, March Madness or the end to a great basketball season. The recipe is super easy to make and delicious for all ages!

I use my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe! It's delicious every time and you can create so many fun designs like this Fall Cookie Cake with adorable buttercream pumpkins or score a home run with this Baseball Cookie Cake.

Cut off baseball decorated cookie cake on a black wire trivet on a cement background.

Why You'll Love this Recipe

An Easy and Simple Design - The basketball decorated cookie cake is eye catching and adorable. We use 2 different piping tips and 2 different frosting colors.

A Classic Delicious Treat - cookie cake is an American classic dessert that's loved by many. The combination of a soft, chewy cookie with sweet frosting makes a winning combination!

Perfect for All Ages - Kids will love the playful design and adults can appreciate the nostalgia. But, everyone will love the sweet and classic taste of cookie cake.

Ingredient Notes

Cookie cake ingredients on a stone background. Each ingredient is labeled with a white rectangle box with text in black colored font and all capitalized.

Shorting - room temperature, makes the cookie cake super tender and thick.

Unsalted Butter - room temperature, helps crisp up edges and gives the cookie cake a buttery taste. I use unsalted to control the salt levels in the recipe.

Granulated Sugar + Brown Sugar - to give our cookie cake that classic cookie taste. I like dark brown sugar for a more rich caramel flavor.

Egg - One egg for the richest, softest and chewiest cookie cake ever.

Vanilla Extract - for extra flavor

Baking Soda + Baking Powder - Leavening agents for an extra thick cookie cake.

Salt -A pinch of salt will keep your cookie cake moist and flavorful.

Milk - keeps the dough moist and adds color to cookie cake.

Chocolate Chips - I used normal sized semi-sweet chocolate chips but you could use milk or dark chocolate chips. Or, even chunks!

Buttercream Frosting Ingredient Notes

You can use store bought frosting BUT I love the taste of homemade.

Butter - I used unsalted butter. It lets me control the amount of salt in frosting. Should be room temperature!

Powdered Sugar - also known as confectioners sugar. Measured before sifting.

Vanilla Extract - extra flavor! Real pure vanilla extract for best flavor.

Heavy Whipping Cream - creates a light and fluffy whipped texture

Food Coloring - I used orange for the ball and black for the lines. I recommend this Americolor Bundle of Gel Paste Colors. They are super saturated and only require a tiny amount to get great color.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Butter and shortening beaten in a large red stand mixer with a beater attachment. A cookie cake with white rosettes and drop flowers on top. The cookie cake sits on a black wire trivet on a stone background. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '1' in the center.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a 9-inch round springform pan and set aside. Start the base: Cream together butter and shortening together with a stand mixer for roughly 1 minute.

Sugar creamed together with the shortening and butter in a large red stand mixer with beater attachment. A cookie cake with white rosettes and drop flowers on top. The cookie cake sits on a black wire trivet on a stone background. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '2' in the center.

Add in sugar and beat again for another 2-3 minutes. Scrap bowl the bowl as need.

A wet cookie cake batter beating beaten in a large red stand mixer with beater attachment. A cookie cake with white rosettes and drop flowers on top. The cookie cake sits on a black wire trivet on a stone background. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '3' in the center.

Add in egg to the stand mixer. Beat it together until everything is combined for about 1-2 minutes. Scrap bowl the bowl as need. Then, add in vanilla and milk and beat again for another 1-2 minutes.

Dry ingredients added to the cookie cake dough in a large red stand mixer with beater attachment. A cookie cake with white rosettes and drop flowers on top. The cookie cake sits on a black wire trivet on a stone background. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '4' in the center.

Dump in all the dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix until just combined (it's okay if there's are a couple of streaks of flour).

A large stand mixer bowl removed with chocolate chips being hand mixed in with a grey silicone spatula on a cement background. A cookie cake with white rosettes and drop flowers on top. The cookie cake sits on a black wire trivet on a stone background. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '5' in the center.

Set aside 2-3 tablespoons of chocolate chips and add the rest of the chocolate chips to the dough. Gently fold into the cookie cake dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.

A baked cookie cake in a red spring form pan on a cement background. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '6' in the center.

Press the dough into the prepared 9-inch springform pan. Gently press extra chocolate chips onto the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the pre-heated oven, until the edges turn a golden brown. Cool: in the pan on a cooling rack until completely cooled. Carefully remove the cookie cake from a spring form pan.

Frosting Instructions

Butter being beaten in a large red stand mixer with beater attachment. A cookie cake with white rosettes and drop flowers on top. The cookie cake sits on a black wire trivet on a stone background. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '1' in the center.

Start by beating butter with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a handheld mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes until creamed.

Vanilla buttercream beaten in a large red stand mixer with beater attachment. A cookie cake with white rosettes and drop flowers on top. The cookie cake sits on a black wire trivet on a stone background. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '2' in the center.

Then, add in powdered sugar, vanilla extract and heavy cream. Beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, increase to medium speed for 30 seconds and then increase to medium-high speed and beat for another 2 minutes.

A white bowl with orange colored vanilla buttercream and a smaller white bowl with black colored vanilla buttercream. The bowls sit on a cement background. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '3' in the center.

Divide frosting and color as needed.
- Black ~ ¼ cup using an Ateco #6 Round Piping Tip.
- Orange ~ 1 & ½ cups using an Ateco #21 Star Piping Tip.

Frosting Tip: If you are using gel food coloring, you will want to start with a small account, mix and let it sit as the color develops as it sits.

Decorating Instructions

A cookie cake on a black wire trivet on cement background. The cookie cake has a thin layer of orange frosting. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '1' in the center.

Spread 6-8 tablespoons of orange frosting on to the cookie cake with a small offset spatula. Spread it out thinly.

A cookie cake on a black wire trivet on cement background. The cookie cake has a thin layer of orange frosting and basketball lines drawn with a small offset spatula. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '2' in the center.

2. Draw in basketball lines with an offset spatula. I used a dinner plate to help trace the curved lines and then used a zester to help trace the straight lines. You could also use the spring form pan for the curved lines or edge of a small cutting board for the straight lines.

Expert Tip:If you mess up the lines you can easily re-smooth out the base frosting and try again!

Pipe black basketball lines with frosting using an Ateco round #6 piping tip.

A cookie cake on a black wire trivet on cement background. The cookie cake has been decorated with orange frosting and black frosting for the basketball lines. In the upper left corner is a dark red square with a white '3' in the center.

Use an Ateco #21 star tip, pipe a drop flower using orange frosting to fill in the areas between the black lines. Create a drop flower by piping a star shape and pulling straight up as you release pressure. I recommend starting from the center and working out, working 1 section of the basketball at a time.

Re-pipe black basketball frosting lines again using an Ateco round #6 piping tip.

Expert Tips

Cool it completely! - Make sure to let the cookie cake cool completely before you frost it. It takes about 90 minutes - 2 hours roughly for my cookie cake to completely cool. But you can make this cookie cake the night before serving, let it cool completely overnight, and frost it the next day.

Properly Measure Flour - If you just dip your measuring cup into a bag of flour, chances are you have way too much flour due to packing. I keep a small digital scale to accurately measure flour BUT you can also use the spoon and level method too if you don't have a scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour within your flour bag or container. Then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and finally use the straight edge of a knife to level the flour across the measuring cup.

Room Temp Ingredients are Key - a room temperature egg and butter form an emulsion and traps air and blend/combine together very easily since they are warmer creating a seamless dough. Cold ingredients don't incorporate together easily and can result in dense puffy baked good and also seize up the dough.

Warning! Weird Taste From Cooking Spray - I found that olive oil cookie sprays, can sometimes create a bitter taste in the cookie cake. I recommend using original pam or a neutral cooking stray.

Frosting Tips! - Gel color can be incredibly concentrated. You only need just a little bit to get your desired color. Also, color develops after waiting some time so you can make and color the frosting as the cookie cake cools and that should be enough time to allow the colors to fully develop. Note, if you use TOO MUCH food coloring that can negatively effect the texture.

Angled basketball cookie cake on a black wire trivet on a cement background.

Storage

If your cookie cake is unfrosted, keep it in an airtight container at room temperature with a slice of bread for 2-3 days.

If your cookie cake is frosted and the frosting contains heavy cream, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge with a slice of bread for up to 2-3 days.

White bread is recommended as it has no additional flavor BUT I have done this with wheat bread, etc. in a pinch. It's a great way to use the heels of your bread. The cookie cake will absorb the moisture from the bread and keep it softer longer. If you feel the bread has become dry and hard after a day or so, replace it with a new piece of bread.

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page? I always appreciate feedback. You can also follow me on Pinteres t, Facebook or Instagram.

Basketball Cookie Cake