free counter with statistics

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe: A Surprise-Inside Masterpiece

Are you ready to create a dessert so spectacular, so over-the-top, and so full of surprises that it will become the stuff of legend? Prepare to embark on a delicious adventure to create the ultimate party centerpiece: the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe.

This is not just an ice cream cake; it’s a magnificent creation featuring a giant, bowl-shaped chocolate chip cookie, lined with a chocolate shell and filled with creamy vanilla ice cream, chopped candy bars, and a secret tower of peanut butter cups hidden in the center. Every slice reveals a new and delicious surprise. This guide will walk you through every step of making your own incredible Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe.

While this dessert is a true project that’s best tackled over a couple of days, each step is simple and the result is a jaw-dropping masterpiece. This Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe is the perfect, unforgettable cake for a milestone birthday or any celebration that calls for something truly epic.

Table of Contents

A magnificent dessert like this Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe is best made in stages. This timeline will break the process down into simple, stress-free steps.

  • Day 1 (About 1.5 hours active time): This is your baking day. You’ll prepare the bowls, make the from-scratch cookie dough, and bake the giant cookie bowl. This is the longest step, as the cookie needs to bake and then cool completely for several hours.
  • Day 2 (About 30 minutes active time): This is assembly day. You’ll coat the inside of the cooled cookie bowl with a chocolate shell, build the surprise peanut butter cup tower, and fill the bombe with ice cream and candy. The cake then needs to freeze overnight until it’s rock solid.
  • Serving Day (About 15 minutes active time): This is the grand reveal! You’ll unmold the bombe, decorate it with whipped cream and sprinkles, and get ready to slice and serve your masterpiece.

The secret to creating the giant cookie bowl for this Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe is a clever baking technique using two oven-safe bowls. You press the cookie dough into a large, prepared bowl, then place a smaller, greased bowl inside it. The smaller bowl weighs the dough down and forces it to bake into a perfect bowl shape. The key is to use heat-safe glass (like Pyrex) or metal bowls and to allow the cookie to cool completely before attempting to remove the inner bowl.

The Key Ingredients for Your Bombe Masterpiece

Each component of this Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe is chosen for maximum flavor and fun.

  • The Cookie Bowl: A classic, from-scratch chocolate chip cookie dough made with butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. A hint of instant coffee powder (a baker’s secret!) is included to deepen and enhance the chocolate flavor.
  • The Chocolate Shell Lining: Using a hardening chocolate ice cream topping (like Magic Shell) inside the cookie bowl is a brilliant trick. It adds a layer of chocolate flavor and, more importantly, creates a moisture barrier that prevents the ice cream from ever making the cookie bowl soggy.
  • The Surprise Core: A hidden tower of stacked peanut butter cups provides a rich, salty-sweet surprise when the cake is sliced.
  • The Filling: Creamy vanilla ice cream is the perfect base to be layered with chunks of your favorite chopped chocolate candy bars, like Kit Kat, Twix, or Snickers.
Ingredients for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe, including cookie dough and candy.
All the fun components needed to build the ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe.

This is a project recipe, so read through all the steps before you begin. Patience, especially during the cooling and freezing stages, is the key to success.

Part 1: Bake the Giant Cookie Bowl (Day 1)

  1. Prepare Your Molds: Position an oven rack in the bottom half of your oven and preheat it to 350°F. Thoroughly butter and flour the inside of a 4-quart heat-safe bowl. Create a parchment paper “X” sling by pressing two 16-by-6-inch strips of parchment inside the bowl, one perpendicular to the other. Also, butter and flour the outside bottom and sides of a 2.5-quart heat-safe bowl.
  2. Make the Cookie Dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the room-temperature butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
  3. Form the Cookie Bowl: Transfer the cookie dough into the larger prepared bowl. With generously floured hands, press the dough evenly across the bottom and all the way up the side of the bowl.
  4. Bake: Place the smaller prepared bowl inside the larger bowl, pressing it down firmly so its bottom sits directly on top of the cookie dough base. This creates the mold. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the cookie is a deep golden brown.
  5. Cool Completely (Crucial Step): Let the cookie bowl cool completely on a wire rack before attempting to remove the inner bowl. This will take at least 2 hours. Any remaining warmth can cause the cookie bowl to crack.

Part 2: Assemble and Fill the Bombe (Day 2)

  1. Create the Chocolate Lining: Once cooled, carefully remove the inner bowl. Brush the hardening chocolate ice cream topping evenly over the entire inside surface of the cookie bowl.
  2. Build the Surprise Core: Stack the peanut butter cups in a single tower right in the middle of the cookie bowl. Place the whole thing in the freezer for about 15 minutes to let the chocolate shell and peanut butter cups harden completely.
  3. Fill with Ice Cream and Candy: Remove the bowl from the freezer. Spread half of the softened vanilla ice cream in the bowl, working it around the peanut butter cup tower. Create a layer with 1 1/2 cups of the chopped candy bars.
  4. Add Final Layers: Spread the remaining ice cream on top. Sprinkle the remaining chopped candy bars over the surface.
  5. Freeze Solid: Cover the top of your Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe with plastic wrap. Place it in the freezer until it is completely solid, at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.

Part 3: The Grand Reveal (Serving Day)

  1. Temper and Unmold: Remove the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe from the freezer about 15 minutes before serving to make it slightly easier to slice.
  2. The Reveal: Flip the bombe upside down onto a large serving platter. Lift off the bowl, then gently peel away the parchment paper strips.
  3. Decorate and Serve: Decorate the base and top of your magnificent Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe with swirls of whipped cream and a generous amount of sprinkles. To serve, use a very large, sharp knife run under hot water, and slice it into thick wedges, as you would a cheesecake.
A perfect slice of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe showing the surprise peanut butter cup core.
Every slice of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe reveals the surprise candy core.
Print

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe: A Surprise-Inside Masterpiece

A perfect slice of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe showing the surprise peanut butter cup core.

A showstopper dessert featuring a giant chocolate chip cookie baked into the shape of a large bowl. This edible cookie bowl is coated on the inside with a hardening chocolate shell, then filled with a tower of peanut butter cups, layers of vanilla ice cream, and chopped candy bars like Kit Kat, Twix, and Snickers. The entire bombe is frozen solid, then inverted and decorated with whipped cream and sprinkles before being sliced and served.

  • Author: Evelyn
  • Prep Time: 3 hours 10 minutes (includes cooling and intermediate freezing)
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 hours 5 minutes (includes final freezing time)
  • Yield: 1216 servings 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking, Molding, Layering, Freezing
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces semisweet mini chocolate chips
  • 2 ounces hardening chocolate ice cream topping (e.g., Magic Shell)
  • 5 peanut butter-filled chocolate cups (e.g., Reese’s)
  • 8 cups (4 pints) vanilla ice cream, softened
  • 2 cups chopped chocolate candy bars (e.g., Kit Kat, Twix, Snickers)
  • Whipped cream, for decorating
  • Sprinkles, for decorating

Instructions

  1. Prepare the Bowls and Dough:
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Thoroughly butter and flour the inside of a 4-quart heat-safe bowl. Create an ‘X’ with two 16-by-6-inch strips of parchment paper inside the bowl to act as handles later. Butter and flour the bottom of a 2.5-quart heat-safe bowl.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
  4. In another large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
  5. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
  6. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture until just incorporated. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
  7. Bake the Cookie Bowl:
  8. Transfer the dough to the prepared 4-quart bowl. With generously floured hands, press the dough evenly across the bottom and up the side of the bowl.
  9. Place the smaller (2.5-quart) bowl inside the larger one, so its buttered and floured bottom sits directly on the cookie dough, acting as a weight.
  10. Bake until the cookie is deep golden brown, 50 to 55 minutes.
  11. Let the cookie cool completely in the bowl, about 2 hours, before carefully removing the inner bowl.
  12. Fill the Bombe:
  13. Brush the hardening chocolate ice cream topping evenly over the inside surface of the cookie bowl.
  14. Stack the peanut butter cups in a tower in the center of the cookie bowl.
  15. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes to let the chocolate shell and tower harden.
  16. Spread half of the softened vanilla ice cream in the bowl around the chocolate cup tower.
  17. Create a layer with 1 1/2 cups of the chopped candy bars.
  18. Spread the remaining ice cream on top and sprinkle with the remaining chopped candy bars.
  19. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid, for at least 6 hours or overnight.
  20. Serve the Bombe:
  21. Remove the bombe from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
  22. Invert the cookie bombe onto a serving platter and use the parchment strips to help lift off the bowl. Peel away the parchment.
  23. Decorate the base and top with whipped cream and sprinkles.
  24. Slice with a very hot, sharp knife to serve.

Notes

  • Cook’s Note on Measuring Flour: Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. Do not scoop directly from the bag, as this compacts the flour and can result in dry baked goods.
  • This recipe requires one 4-quart and one 2.5-quart heat-safe (oven-proof) bowl.
  • Use a very hot, sharp knife for slicing, as you would with a cheesecake.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice (1/16th of bombe)
  • Calories: 700-850
  • Sugar: 70-90 g
  • Sodium: 300-400 mg
  • Fat: 35-45 g
  • Saturated Fat: 20-28 g
  • Carbohydrates: 80-100 g
  • Fiber: 3-4 g
  • Protein: 9-12 g
  • Cholesterol: 100-130 mg

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

Storage Information

Store any leftover Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe tightly covered in the freezer for up to one week.

Creative Recipe Variations

This epic dessert is a perfect template for your own custom creations!

Flavor VariationHow to Adapt the RecipeThe Delicious Result
“Brookie” BombeInstead of cookie dough, use your favorite brownie batter (one that bakes up fudgy and sturdy) to create the bowl. Fill with vanilla ice cream and toffee bits.The ultimate combination of a fudgy brownie and a loaded ice cream sundae.
Peanut Butter Overload BombeUse a peanut butter cookie dough recipe for the bowl. Fill with chocolate ice cream, chopped peanut butter cups, and Reese’s Pieces.A true masterpiece for the ultimate peanut butter and chocolate lover.
“S’mores” Cookie BombeMix 1 cup of crushed graham crackers into the cookie dough. Fill with chocolate ice cream and a thick layer of marshmallow fluff. Use chopped Hershey’s bars as the candy filling.All the flavors of a campfire s’more packed into an incredible surprise-inside dessert.

Fore more recipe follow my Pinterest account

Conclusion: The Ultimate Celebration Cake

Creating this Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe is more than just making a dessert; it’s about creating a memory. It’s a fun, adventurous project that results in a truly one-of-a-kind centerpiece for any celebration. The moment you slice into it and reveal the hidden tower of peanut butter cups is a moment of pure joy and surprise for everyone at the table. Be proud of your amazing creation, and enjoy every spectacular bite of your Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I have to use heat-safe bowls?

Yes, this is absolutely essential. The bowls will be in a 350°F oven for almost an hour. You must use bowls that are rated as oven-safe, such as those made by Pyrex, or sturdy stainless steel mixing bowls. Do not use standard ceramic or plastic bowls.

My cookie bowl cracked when I removed the inner bowl. What happened?

The most likely cause is that the cookie bowl was not cooled completely. It needs to be at room temperature and fully set before you gently twist and lift out the inner bowl. Any residual warmth can make it fragile.

This Chocolate Chip Cookie Bombe seems huge! How many people does it serve?

This is a very large and very rich dessert! It can easily serve 12 to 16 people with generous slices.