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I make these cake mix cookies when I need a batch of cookies fast and I do not want to think about it. They come out soft and chewy every time, with a tender middle that stays soft for days. Three ingredients, one bowl, done.
This recipe has been on my site since 2015 and I still make it more than any other cookie I have. I have made it with white, yellow, chocolate, red velvet and Funfetti, and it has never let me down. The three ingredients have not changed in ten years because they do not need to.
This is the version that tells you which box to buy. That one detail decides whether you get dough you can roll or a bowl of batter you cannot, and it is the reason three ingredient cake mix cookies fall apart for so many people. I break it down below so yours work the first time.
Family Favorite
Why I Always Keep a Box of Cake Mix in My Pantry
I have pulled myself out of more cookie emergencies with this recipe than I want to admit. Someone mentions a bake sale the night before, or a class party turns up out of nowhere, and I already have all three ingredients sitting in the pantry. That is why there is always a box of yellow or white cake mix in my house on purpose, and it is why these are what I hand kids when they want to decorate something.
What You’ll Need
Cake mix: Any flavor works. Yellow and white are the two I use most because they take sprinkles and food coloring without fighting the flavor, but chocolate, red velvet and Funfetti are all in regular rotation here. Buy the size I called out above.
Vegetable oil: Oil is what keeps these soft on the counter for days instead of drying out. Plain vegetable oil is what I use.
Eggs: Two large eggs are the only thing binding this dough together. Use large rather than extra large, since a bigger egg adds more liquid to a recipe that is already sensitive to the ratio.
How to Make Cake Mix Cookies
Step 1: Mix the Dough. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the cake mix, oil and eggs to a large bowl and stir until there is no dry mix left. The dough should be thick and a little sticky, not pourable.
Step 2: Scoop and Roll. Scoop the dough and roll it into balls, then space them out on a cookie sheet. If the dough is too sticky to roll, chill it for 15 to 30 minutes first.
Step 3: Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are starting to turn golden brown. The tops will still look soft when you take them out, and that is what keeps the middles tender.
My go to cake mix cookie recipe. I’ve done all kinds of cake mixes with an array of mixins. So simple and delicious. These are good for every occasion.
Cake Mix Flavors That Work
Any flavor of cake mix works here, and that is the whole reason this recipe has stayed in my rotation for ten years. Yellow and white live in my pantry because they take add-ins well. Chocolate, red velvet and Funfetti are the other three I make on repeat.
Swapping the box is the fastest way to make these feel like a completely different cookie. Split the dough and stir gel food coloring into half of it for two colors out of one batch, or let the kids tie dye them. These are also the base I use for my Halloween spider cookies every October.
I have turned a lot of boxes into cookies over the years, and they all live in my roundup of best cake mix cookie recipes if you want to see the full list.
How to Store Them
Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. Let them cool all the way before the lid goes on.
They also freeze well for up to 3 months, as long as they are completely cool before they go in.
Cake Mix Cookie FAQs
I have not tested these with butter, so I cannot give you an amount I know works. Plenty of readers swap in melted or softened butter and say they like the result. If you try it, treat it as your own experiment rather than my recipe.
Add them before the cookies go into the oven. Stir them into the dough once it comes together.
I have not tested a gluten free mix myself. A reader who makes them that way lets the dough sit for a few minutes before scooping so the oil has time to soak in, which keeps the grittiness some gluten free mixes have from showing up.
I would not swap a brownie mix into this recipe one for one, and I have not tested it. I built a separate brownie mix cookies recipe for that instead.
More Easy Cookie Recipes
- Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Peppermint Patty Cookies
- Sugar Cookie Icing
- Boxed Cake Mix Hacks
Cake Mix Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 15.25 ounce box Cake mix
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
- 2 Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix all of the ingredients together
- Place balls of dough on a cookie sheet
- Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies start to get golden brown
Jenn’s Notes
- Buy a 15.25 ounce box of cake mix. Boxes now run anywhere from 13.25 to 15.25 ounces depending on the brand and the line, and less dry mix against the same oil and eggs gives you batter instead of dough.
- If a 13.25 ounce box is all you can find, adding about 7 tablespoons of all purpose flour and a quarter teaspoon of baking powder should bring it back up, though I have not tested that myself.
- If the dough is too sticky to roll, chill it for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Info
Originally published September 29, 2015
I am making these cookies for a fun fair at school. I measured according to the directions and the dough (batter) is very loose. I notice in your pictures the cookies are flat, which I had hoped to be more cake like and have risen. I guess my disappointment is not in the taste, I tasted the dough but in how wet they are. Maybe I should not have used room temperature eggs or maybe one egg instead of two, or less oil or butter in place of oil. Your recipes drew me in so I want to love these. Just bewildered at why this dough is so loose. Something is off adding so much liquid to the cake mix. Any suggestions. And I did follow your tip to refridgerate but the dough is still very loose.
That is so strange – mine has never been loose before. Did you use a basic cake mix??
Can you use sugar free cake mix?
I haven’t tried it! But I don’t see why not.
Do you think you could use butter in place of the oil
I always use butter instead of oil and my cookies always come out delicious
I have made these with lemon cake mix, double chocolate, spice( my husbands favorite) and red velvet. ALL were delicious. I did add lemon extract into the lemon ones, because I love a super tart lemon cookie. Such a time saver and SO delicious. Thank you!!
Thanks for the great alterations! I am going to try some of these too!
I have to tell you I have made these cookies probably a million times since seeing your recipe. Everyone always loves them! My favorite is lemon cake mix. After they have cooled I mix fresh squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar and drizzle over the top. Also do spice cake mix with drizzled icing made up of powdered sugar and maple syrup.
Awwwwww thank you! (would love a star review if you are up for it!)
Made these cookies they were nasty
I have made several dozen cookies with cake mixes never had any problems they are easy and very good. Best chocolate chip ever!!!
Made with yellow cake mix. Followed the directions, these cookis were so tasteless. Trashed. Really wanted to like these but nobody would eat them.
Just made this recipe at 1:00 am and normally anything I try doesn’t turn out right, well Glad to report I made 2 batches and LOVE IT!!!! Easy to make and easy to clean up!! Thanks!!!!!
WOO HOO!!
I love how easy these are for the kids to make!
These are my favorite cookies to make with my kids!