Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake: Dairy, Egg and Nut-Free

When I was a little girl, I asked for a chocolate chip cookie cake every year for my birthday. It was my absolutely favorite (and you know what, it still is). All of us can relate to memories like that... those nostalgic food moments that we reflect on fondly and look so forward to sharing with our own kids. Well, the challenge for food allergy families is that so many of these snapshots of time aren't possible to replicate for our own children, at least not in the same exact way that we experienced them. The cookie cake is a perfect example. No, my boys will never waltz through the mall to excitedly pick up their perfectly decorated cookie cake on their birthday, BUT I'm so happy to share that I do have a cookie cake recipe that rivals any store bought version and has taken center stage as we've celebrated countless special moments in our family.

Before I share this recipe, I have to give credit to the person who gave it to me - one of my dearest friends and the true definition of a food allergy angel in my life. My friend Alli is one of those "in it for the long haul" kind of friends - someone who knew me before I was Mrs. Andrews, before I had my babies, and before those eventual babies of mine were diagnosed with their food allergies. She has walked by my side, listened to me, and cried with me through big things like both boys' initial diagnoses and subsequent allergic reactions and ER trips. And, she has been a cheerleader for the little things, like my culinary quests to alter recipes and make them safe for my boys.

Well, little did she know, but Alli was providing me one of my greatest baking successes when she forwarded me her aunt's special cookie cake recipe one day and said, "I really think you can make this safe for the boys!" Fortunately, she was right. I used my dairy-free butter and substituted the egg replacer for the real eggs in this recipe, and voila - the most perfect cookie cake and the closest I could ever imagine coming to that of my childhood. It's such a winner in my house that someone requests that I made this for his or her birthday each year; in fact, it was my husband's cake choice for his birthday last week.

This recipe is perfect. Please try it... and then pay it forward and pass it on!

Alli's Aunt Sharon's Cookie Cake

1 cup dairy-free butter, softened (I use Earth Balance, soy-free version)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg replacer "eggs" (3 teaspoons of egg replacer powder, whisked with 4 tablespoons of warm water until frothy)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups of dairy-free chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life's mini-morsels)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, use a stand or hand mixer to beat butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Slowly add in egg replacer "eggs" until well-incorporated. Gradually add in flour mixture and continue to mix on medium speed. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread chocolate chip mixture into a lightly greased cookie sheet (either 10X14" rectangle or 9" round for thicker cookie). Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Place pan on cooling rack and wait until cake is completely cool to the touch before decorating.

Enjoy!