Soft, thick, and packed with sprinkles, these simple cake batter blondies use a box cake mix for a classically sweet cake batter taste. You need just 1 mixing bowl for the batter, and there’s no electric mixer required. White chocolate chips add a little texture, but feel free to leave them out.
Reader Amanda commented: “I’ve made this recipe dozens of times before, and it’s always a crowd pleaser! Today I subbed lemon cake mix for yellow cake mix and left out the sprinkles, and it was a super delicious lemon cake bar! โ โ โ โ โ ”
From-scratch dessert recipes are a specialty, but from time to time, I like to use boxed cake mix because it adds a party-perfect cake batter flavor to various treats. In fact, boxed cake mix gives us that unparalleled nostalgic flavor in my reader-favorite cake batter chocolate chip cookies and cake batter Oreo cookies.
And we’ll do the same thing here!
Why Cake Batter Blondies Are a Must-Bake
- Soft, thick, and chewy texture, like these popular chocolate chip cookies
- Filled with colorful sprinkles and sweet white chocolate chips
- Made with only 6 ingredients, including yellow or vanilla box cake mix
- Simple 1-bowl recipe
- No electric mixer required
- Quick 5 minutes to prep, 25โ30 minutes to bake
- Since they’re baked in a pan, there’s no dough chilling requiredโjust like these M&M cookie bars
Plus, they’re super easy to slice and transport, making them a convenient (and crowd-pleasing) choice for birthday parties, office potlucks, neighborhood get-togethers, or any celebration that calls for sprinkles.
Store-Bought Box Cake Mix Is Key
Grab a box of cake mix from the baking aisle to use in these blondies. A homemade mix of dry ingredients from, say, yellow cake or confetti cake, wouldn’t work quite the same way here. I usually reach for yellow cake mix or vanilla cake mix.
Some readers have reported using lemon cake mix and chocolate cake mix (for an ooey-gooey treat that hovers somewhere in the middle of chocolate cake and homemade brownies) in this recipe with success. I imagine any box cake mix will work fine! (Although steer clear of more delicate cake mixes, like angel food cake.)
Other Ingredients in Cake Batter Blondies
What differentiates these blondies from cake (because we’re using cake mix) is the careful selection and ratio of other ingredients in the batter. You need the following:
- Vegetable or Canola Oil: Oil keeps the blondies moist and chewy.
- Egg: For rich flavor, and to bind together the other ingredients.
- Milk: To help thin out the batter (although it will still be quite thick, as blondie batter should be).
- Sprinkles: Because no cake batter-inspired treat is complete without sprinkles! See “Success Tips” box below for a note on the best sprinkles to use in cake batter blondies.
- White Chocolate Chips: These add a wonderful texture. I use the cake mix/white chocolate duo in my cake batter chocolate chip cookies, too. Feel free to swap with another type of baking morsel if desired, like regular chocolate chips or peanut butter chips.
Success Tips
- Use regular rainbow jimmies or rainbow quins. Do not use nonpareils, as they can bleed their colors into the batter. Likewise, very dark black or purple sprinkles can leave the batter looking gray. I’ve learned that from experience!
- Bake the blondies until *just* set. They’ll still look a bit gooey in the centers, but they’ll set nicely as they cool. Let the blondies cool for a full 30 minutes before slicing and enjoying.
- Use parchment paper to line your 11×7-inch baking pan. It makes it significantly easier to lift out and slice the blondies once cooled. I use the same tip when making rice krispie treats and M&M cookie bars, too.
If you’re not into blondies and are looking for more of a traditional cookie bar, try my frosted sugar cookie bars. They’re just as funโand include frosting!
More Blondies, Brownies, & Bars
- Peanut Butter Blondies
- Oatmeal Lemon Crumble Bars
- S’mores Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Bars
- Cookies & Cream Brownies
Easy Cake Batter Blondies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 20 blondies
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft, thick, and packed with sprinkles, these simple cake batter blondies use a 13.25-ounce box cake mix for a classically sweet cake batter taste. White chocolate chips add a little texture, but feel free to leave them out.
Ingredients
- 1 13.25-ounce box yellow or vanilla cake mix (just the DRY mix)*
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 6 Tablespoons (90ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (85g) rainbow sprinkles, plus extra for topping if desired
- 1/2 cup (90g) white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line an 11×7-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily lift the bars out of the pan. Or skip the parchment and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Combine the cake mix, oil, egg, and milk in a large bowl with a silicone spatula. The batter is extremely thick, so do your best to mix. Fold in the sprinkles and white chocolate chips.
- Spread evenly into prepared baking pan, sprinkle a few more sprinkles on top (if desired).
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. The center of the pan will still look soft; that’s OK. Avoid over-baking.
- Remove from the oven and cool the pan for 30 minutes at room temperature on a wire rack.
- Lift the parchment paper out of the pan and cut into squares.
- Blondies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Blondies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 11×7-inch Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl| Silicone Spatula
- Cake Mix: Use a store-bought box of cake mix. A homemade mix of dry ingredients from, say, yellow cake or confetti cake, wouldn’t work quite the same here. Some readers have reported using lemon cake mix and chocolate cake mix (for an ooey-gooey treat that hovers somewhere in the middle of chocolate cake and homemade brownies!) in this recipe with success. I imagine any box cake mix will work fine! (Although steer clear of more delicate cake mixes like angel food cake.)
- Sprinkles:ย Use regular rainbow jimmies or rainbow quins. Do not use nonpareils, as they can bleed their colors into the batter. Likewise, very dark black or purple sprinkles can leave the batter looking gray.
- Recipe originally published on website called Girl Meets Life.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hello!!! I’m wanting to make your cake batter blondies but my cake mix is 15.25 oz How can I adjust this recipe for that size cake mix ? These look amazing BTW, very excited to make them.
Hi Raelene, do you have a food scale? It will be easiest to measure out your cake mix for the 13.25-ounces needed here, so you’ll just have a bit of leftover cake mix. Hope this helps!
I was in need of a super easy, fast and tasty treat and.came across your recipe. I made it with a rainbow sprinkle cake mix, butterscotch chips and a handful of Redmill unsweetened coconut flakes. It was ready to pop in the oven in a couple minutes and done in 25.
The parchment paper made cutting and plating a breeze. The flavor, and moist, slightly chewie texture and moist, slightly chewie texture from the chips and coconut made them a hit.
Will definitely make them again.
these were really good and very easy! I used h&h instead of whole milk and it was fine. Super gooey/fudgey at 24 minutes. ๐ thanks !!
I have a child who doesn’t like chocolate and these are easy and perfect for him! I double the batch and use a 9×13 pan. I do have the 11×7 but it isn’t big enough for the amount of these I have to make sometimes! Delicious! I have used strawberry cake mix and also chocolate cake mix for my other son and both were delicious!
I was making these monthly a few years back and they were always a crowd favorite. After a break for a few years where I took on baking and decorating cakes, one of my kids suddenly remembered these blondies and asked for them for his birthday. I made a triple batch and they turned out wonderfully! Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe.
So glad you love them, Jamie!
I did not have good luck with these at all. I was trying to make them for my son’s birthday celebration at school. They were very underbaked – I put one batch back in the oven for at least an additional 15 minutes. I was able to salvage them enough for a bunch of 12-year olds but I would not recommend this recipe. I measured everything perfectly and made sure that the cake mixes were exactly 13.5 oz. AND my oven has been calibrated. No clue what happened here.
Hi Margaret, blondies will be more gooey in the centers and will solidify as they cool. That said, all ovens can be a bit different, so it’s okay if yours take a bit longer to bake. Thank you for giving them a try!
Did not taste very good and were undercooked. I made these twice because the first one seemed raw in the middle after 30 minutes. The next time I cooked them for 40 minutes. They were still raw. Not a good recipe at all. Even the edges that were cooked didn’t taste very good with a yellow or vanilla cake mix.
Had the same issue. I wonder if it depends on the brand?
Iโve been making these for YEARS with your recipe and have loved them! I now have an 18 month old allergic to eggs and milk and itโs so hard to find yummy dessert recipes for him. For the fourth this year, I made these but substituted oat milk and 1/4 cup of applesauce for the egg. I was super nervous but they tasted the same and SOOO good! Everyone that came over love them!
Can you substitute butter for the oil?
Hi Jamie! You certainly could, though the texture may be a bit less moist. Let us know if you give it a try!
This was easily one of the best things Iโve ever tasted. I used one box of yellow cake mix, one stick of melted butter, one egg, and 1/2cup white chocolate chips. It was so thick I had to press it into the bottom of the pan. Baked at 350ยฐF for 20 min in an 8×8. Just divine.
Hey Sally! I could have sworn this recipe was made with golden OreosโฆDo you have a blondie recipe with golden Oreos?
Hi Paul! We were no longer satisfied with the outcome of that older recipe, so we unpublished it. We still have it, so send us an email and we can forward it to you. (sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com) You may enjoy these cake batter Oreo cookies as well!
Love this recipe so much! I make it at least 2-3 times per year. My family & co-workers always request it. Simple, pretty, & so addictive! It’s important to watch these carefully as it can easily overbake & become a thick cake! Patience & precision are key. Lots of people have never even heard of blondies & are a bit surprised w/ the ooey gooey center but that’s how the perfect texture should be. Will continue to make this over & over! Thank you!
Thank you for the recipe! I remember previously making a version of this recipe from your site with golden Oreos, but I canโt seem to find that recipe anymore. Do you happen to still have that recipe?
Hi Garrett! We recently removed that older recipe from our site, but feel free to send us an email at sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com and we’d be happy to share a copy.
Sorry if this is a silly question, but could I do this in a 9 x 9 pan? Do you know if time would need to be adjusted down a little? Thank you!
I canโt find an 11×7 pan anywhere. Is that the correct size or was it a mistype in the size?
Hi Christina, you can use a 9 inch square pan if you have one. Check out our cake pan sizes and conversions post for other options if you don’t have an 11×7!
hi sorry to bother youโฆ but would a butter cake mix be the same as a yellow cake mix?
Hi Jo, they are different and labeled as such, but you should be able to use the butter cake mix here in a pinch. The taste will be slightly different.
I make these every time I need to make something for a large group, because everyone loves them! I do want to start adding some variations though; do you think adding mashed bananas would be fine, or would it change the batter?
Hi Malaya, you can certainly feel free to experiment with various add-ins or see our other blondie recipes here. Ingredients like bananas can be tricky, since they add so much additional moisture to the batter — it would take some recipe testing to guarantee results. Let us know if you try anything!
Has anyone tried adding butter cream frosting to these, or is my overly-deprived sweet tooth trying to ruin a perfect as is recipe?
Lovely recipe
I’ve made this recipe dozens of times before, it’s always a crowd pleaser! Today I subbed lemon cake mix for yellow cake mix and left out the sprinkles and it was a super delicious lemon cake bar!
The lemon sounds good..I was wondering how strawberry cake mix would be with this recipe!
These look l8ke there is icing or glaze on top. How would i do that?
Would like to try these. Can I add M&Ms instead of chocolate chips? Thanks
Yes, you can use a half cup of M&Ms (or the mini M&Ms) in place of the white chocolate chips.
What size box cake mix would work here? It seems like there’s some fluctuations in size of the box (~18 ounces compared to ~16 ounces.) It might not matter but wanted to check!
Hi Peggy, I believe back when I wrote this recipe in 2012 the standard size of cake mix was 18oz. You can purchase a few boxes and keep them in an airtight container and simply measure/weigh how much you need for each recipe.
Sally, these were the first recipe of yours I ever made, and after making them for probably the 25th time last night I just needed to comment! A friend used to make something similar when I lived in Mexico, and about five years ago I had a hankering for them. They have become my go-to treat when I need something easy and tasty to bring somewhere. My coworkers always delight over them and never believe how easy they are. I’ve now made MANY of your recipes and have loved them all, but keep coming back to this one over and over. Thanks for sharing it! ๐
These blondies are delicious!! Thank you for this recipe, it’s a keeper.
Hi! Do you think unsweetened vanilla cashew milk work in place of milk?
I think that should work, Kat! Let me know how they turn out!
I can’t believe how simple and delicious these are. I cant stop eating them! I had to make something FAST for a get together and this was truly the perfect recipe. Other readers have commented if you don’t have an 11×7 pan (I don’t!) use an 8×8, NOT a 9×13! Cooking times didn’t differ, mine were ready in 25 mins.
Hi,
Is it possible to put the gram measurements with this recipe and the snickerdoodle white choclate blondie recipe as well please?
Hi Sharon, Most of my newer recipes have both measurements but I haven’t been able to convert all of the older recipes yet!
Has anyone tried this recipe with a gluten free cake mix (and non-dairy milk and egg replacer)?
Hi Alison, We have not tested any of those substitutes here but let us know if you try anything.
I made these for a friend yesterday and I knew they were good but when I gave them to her she was in love! They have such a delicious flavor. I can see them going fast at my next pot luck or office party! It’s so great to have a easy crowd-pleaser in my repertoire.
I made these for my sister’s birthday & she absolutely loved them! Her husband & daughter loved them, too! Simple recipe w/ simple ingredients! Definitely plan on making these again for upcoming celebrations & family functions. Delicious! Better than the store bought blondies!