The Best Stacked Cookie Cake - Wedding Edition

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If you are looking for a dessert that will absolutely stop people in their tracks, you’ve found it. Move over traditional tiered cakes—we are building a literal tower of cookies.

This isn't just any cookie cake, though. We are talking about ten layers of rich, deeply aromatic Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, stacked and held together by a stable, cloud-like, silky Italian Meringue Buttercream.

It’s decadent, it’s dramatic, and yes—it is entirely manageable to make at home. Let’s break down how to create The Best Stacked Cookie Cake - Wedding Edition.

🛒 Ingredients for The Best Stacked Cookie Cake - Wedding Edition

🤎 Brown Butter Cookie Dough

• 226g | 1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter

• 212g | 1 cup packed Dark Brown Sugar (or light brown sugar + 2 tsp molasses)

• 100g | ½ cup Granulated Sugar

• 2 Large Eggs

• 2 Large Egg Yolks (save those whites for the frosting!)

• 20g | 4 tsp Milk

• 8g | 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

• 380g | 3 cups All-Purpose Flour

• 7g | 2 tsp Cornstarch (our secret weapon for soft-baked centers)

• 9g | 1.5 tsp Baking Soda

• 6g | 1 tsp Salt

• 250g | 1.5 cups Chocolate Chips
  

☁️ Italian Meringue Buttercream

• 150g | ~5 large Egg Whites

• 250g | 1 ¼ cups Granulated Sugar

• 80g | ⅓ cup Water

• 340g | 3 sticks Unsalted Butter (softened but cool, cut into tablespoon pieces)

• 13g | 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

• 1.5g | ¼ tsp Salt
  

👩‍🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions

Before you begin: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

1️⃣ Make the Cookie Dough

1. Brown the butter: Melt the sticks of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. It will melt, foam, and eventually start crackling. Stand by and stir frequently. Once the crackling stops, it will foam again and turn a deep amber color with dark golden milk solids at the bottom. Immediately pour into a bowl and let it cool until it's under 100°F.
   

2. Combine the wet ingredients: Whisk the cooled brown butter with the dark brown and granulated sugars. Whisk in the whole eggs, egg yolks, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
   

3. Add the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Fold this into the wet ingredients until just a few streaks of flour remain, then gently fold in your chocolate chips.
   

2️⃣ Scale and Bake the Tiers

To get that perfect pyramid look, you need to use a kitchen scale. Divide your dough into 10 precise portions:

Tier Level	Number of Cookies	Weight Per Cookie
Bottom Tiers	3 Cookies	185g each
Middle Tiers	4 Cookies	130g each
Top Tiers	3 Cookies	80g each

💡 Pro-Tip: Roll each portion into a ball, place it on the baking sheet, and press down firmly until your fingers hit the chocolate chips. This ensures uniform thickness so they bake evenly!

The Strategic Baking Schedule:

Because the cookies vary in size, you'll want to bake them in rounds to prevent the smaller ones from burning while the big ones stay raw.

• Batch 1: Two 185g cookies, baked singularly on their own pans for 12 minutes.

• Batch 2: One 185g cookie + two 130g cookies (spaced out on one pan) for 11–12 minutes.

• Batch 3: Two 130g cookies (on one pan) + three 80g cookies (on one pan) for 11–12 minutes.
  

Let all cookies cool completely on wire racks before assembling. If they are even slightly warm, your buttercream will melt!

3️⃣ Whip the Buttercream

Italian meringue can feel intimidating, but it is the sturdiest, most velvety frosting for a heavy stack like this.

1. Prep the meringue: Put your egg whites into a completely clean, grease-free stand mixer bowl. Whip on medium until foamy.

2. Make the syrup: In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil until a candy thermometer reads 240°F.

3. Combine: Turn your mixer to medium-high and whip the whites to stiff peaks. In a slow, steady stream, pour the hot sugar syrup down the inside edge of the bowl (avoiding the moving whisk). Turn the mixer to high and whip until the outside of the bowl feels completely cool to the touch. It will look incredibly glossy and stiff.

4. Add the butter: Switch to the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low, add the cool, softened butter one tablespoon at a time.

   Note: If it suddenly looks curdled or soupy, don't panic! Just keep beating. It will magically come together into a silky cloud.

5. Finish: Add the vanilla and salt, and beat until smooth.
   

🗼 The Grand Assembly

Now for the fun part—building the tower!

1. The Base: Place your first 185g cookie on your serving plate.

2. The Frosting Layer: Spread a layer of frosting over the cookie, leaving about a half-inch border around the edge.

3. The Stack: Place the next cookie on top and press down gently. The downward pressure will perfectly push the frosting right to the edge without it spilling over the sides!

4. Repeat: Continue stacking your cookies from largest (185g) to medium (130g) to smallest (80g).

5. The Finale: Load any remaining buttercream into a piping bag fitted with your favorite star tip and pipe beautiful star or rosette border decorations on the very top tier!
   

Slice it like a traditional cake using a sharp chef's knife, and enjoy the glorious texture of soft-baked brown butter cookie layers contrasting with the silky meringue frosting. Happy baking!