No need for flour when you can have these Cake Mix Cookies made in no time! By doctoring up a box of cake mix, you get perfectly soft and chewy cookies EVERY time with HUNDREDS of possible mix-in combinations to customize to your cravings!
I am a lover of cake mix. Always have been, always will be.
Maybe it is because I grew up on the stuff (along with the entire product line-up of Little Debbie, McDonald’s Happy Meals, and Hamburger Helper cheeseburger macaroni on full rotation) but it is just such an easy way to make cake and a million other things with one simple step. I love a good shortcut, and cake mix is one of the best baking shortcuts there is!
And nothing could be easier, faster, or more delicious in a pinch than these Cake Mix Cookies!
By taking a humble box of cake mix (anyyyyy flavor you want!) you can transform them into cookies with 2 simple pantry ingredients: oil, or melted butter; and 2 eggs. Seriously. That is IT. Only three ingredients you probably have on hand already, a few minutes in the oven and voila, cookies!
While these are delicious on their own as a plain cookie, the most fun part are the customizable mix-ins to really tailor these cookies to your cravings! There are literally hundreds of options to choose from, by adding in nuts, different flavored chips, chopped candies, dried fruit, fruit zests, and more.
Here’s some popular mix-ins: nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts); candies (peanut butter cups, chopped Snickers bars, chopped York peppermint patties, miniature M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, Kit Kats); crunchy things (chopped Oreos, chopped Nutter Butters, lightly crushed potato chips, sprinkles); chips (chocolate chips or chunks, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, espresso chips, toffee bits, caramel bits, mint flavored chips, peanut butter chips); fruit zests (orange, lemon, lime); dried fruits (cranberries, cherries, shredded coconut, dried blueberries, raisins), and even extracts (almond, vanilla, root beer concentrate, rum extract).
The best part is, you can do multiple different mix-ins with one batch by simply dividing the batch among a few different bowls and mixing in your favorite add-ins to each bowl. You’ll get a couple cookies of each flavor and satisfy everyone’s cravings.
Here are some possible flavor combos!
- Lemon cake mix with fresh lemon zest and white chocolate chips
- Spice cake mix with butterscotch chips
- Funfetti cake mix with extra sprinkles
- Chocolate cake mix with miniature M&M’s
- Red velvet cake mix with chocolate chunks
- Carrot cake mix with chopped walnuts
- Chocolate cake mix with chopped peanut butter cups
- Yellow cake mix with toffee bits and crushed potato chips
- Lemon cake mix with chopped pistachios
- White cake mix with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips
- Strawberry cake mix with dark chocolate chips and sprinkles
- White cake mix with coconut extract, dried pineapple bits and toasted coconut
Honestly, there are SO many combinations! For these cookies pictured, I did chocolate cake mix with miniature M&M’s, white chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips and a yellow cake mix with sprinkles, miniature M&M’s and semi-sweet chocolate chips. A great variety of different flavors and combos!
Super simple, totally fun and great to make with kids, these soft and chewy Cake Mix Cookies will be a favorite in your dessert rotation!
Cake Mix Cookies
Ingredients
- One box cake mix
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil or you can substitute with 1 stick melted unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- Mix-in choices for a total of 1 - 1 & 1/4 cups worth of mix-ins - if you go past 1 & 1/4 cups total mix-ins, there won't be a lot of cookie dough to mix-in ratio. Try to top off any and all mix-ins for a total of 1 - 1 & 1/4 cups worth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, oil OR melted butter, and eggs and stir with a rubber spatula until a soft cookie-dough-like consistency forms and comes together, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to incorporate any dry pockets. Stir in your mix-ins of choice, or if you want several mix-ins, divide the dough among a few bowls and mix in a couple Tablespoons of each mix-in to each bowl (for instance, a few Tablespoons of raisins to one bowl, a few Tablespoons of chocolate chips to another, etc).
- Using a 1-Tablespoon-size cookie dough scoop, portion out cookie dough balls onto the baking sheets about 2" apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking time to ensure even cooking. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes on the sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store any leftover cookies airtight at room temperature.
You and your family are going to LOVE these cookies!
Craving cake mix? Here are some more cake mix recipes!
Nutella Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Connie Neel says
I’ve been making these cookies for years and they are really good and fun…grandkids ask for them frequently.