Cake Mix Cookies {10 Ways!}

In today’s post: Learn everything you need to know about making cake mix cookies – the basic recipe only takes three ingredients! You can use any flavor of cake mix you like best, plus you can add mix-ins, frosting, and more to create a myriad of cookie options. Below you’ll find the basic recipe, my best tips to make sure your cake mix cookies turn out amazing, and links to TEN different recipes so you can make everything from peanut butter blossoms to double fudge cookies to easy cheater sugar cookies.

Cake Mix Cookies

So why do I like cake mix cookies so much?

• They’re super easy to make! You can usually mix up a batch of cake mix cookies in one bowl with a wooden spoon in about 5 minutes (no mixer needed!), making this a great recipe for kids.
• Starting with a box of cake mix minimizes the other ingredients you need to measure and add. A basic cake mix cookie recipe only requires a cake mix, a couple of eggs, and one stick of butter – which means you don’t have to measure anything!
• They’re so soft! The texture is just spot on with cake mix cookies. They bake up super soft and delicious.
• They store well and stay soft for days in an airtight container (not that we ever have any left for long!)
• They make a smaller size batch than most traditional cookie recipes. Often we don’t actually need 3-4 dozen cookies, so it’s nice that most cake mix cookie recipes make about 2 dozen cookies. Of course, if you do need more cookies, you can easily double the recipe using 2 cake mixes.

Note: I always use these Nordic Ware Half Sheet Pans for baking cookies – they cook evenly and clean up beautifully! 

Why Are My Cookies Flat?

The traditional cake mix cookie recipe can bake up a little bit flat, which makes them perfect for sandwiching with frosting in between. However, if you want puffier cookies, more like a traditional chocolate chip cookie, you can make these adjustments:

• Add 2 tablespoons of flour (or cocoa powder if you’re using a chocolate cake mix) to your batter. Alternately, you can decrease the melted butter by a tablespoon.
• If you live at high altitude, try baking the cookies at 10-15 degrees above the baking temp (decrease baking time by a minute or two).
• Cake mix cookies cook best at smaller sizes. I use just over a tablespoon of dough for each cookie, which yields a slightly smaller cookie with a great texture. I’ve found that if you try to make big cake mix cookies they just don’t bake as well and often end up flat. So if you’re using a standard size cookie dough scoop, don’t fill the cookie scoop all the way.
• Let the dough rest for 10 minutes after mixing together. The dough will stiffen as it rests, giving you puffier cookies.
• Undercooked cookies will go flat, so if yours are quite flat you can try baking a minute or two longer.

Finally, as I mentioned above, if you use the basic cake mix cookie recipe (cake mix + 2 eggs + 1/2 cup softened butter) the cookies will bake a little flatter, which makes them nice for sandwich cookies. If you want a puffier cookie, like for a chocolate chip type cookie, you’ll want to add a little extra flour or decrease the butter (or just follow one of my recipes below).

Cake Mix Cookie Recipe Variations

I’m linking to all of my favorite cake mix cookie recipe variations at the end of the post (scroll down until you see the photos), but the sky is really the limit here! You can experiment with different flavor combinations to get your perfect cookie. Here are some ideas:

• Chocolate Cake Mix with peanut butter chips and M&Ms
• Strawberry Cake Mix with white chocolate chips
• Spice Cake Mix with butterscotch chips
• White Cake Mix with coconut and chopped almonds

Cake Mix Cookie FAQs

Cake Mix Cookie Recipes

Here’s you’ll find a running list of all my cake mix cookie recipes. Click on the photos or links to get the full recipe for each cookie!