These cake batter chocolate chip cookies are a cross between soft-baked chocolate chip cookies and funfetti cake. For over a decade, this has remained one of the most popular cookie recipes on my website, and after baking a batch, you’ll taste why. If you love chocolate chip cookies and sneaking a taste of cake batter, you will love these fun cookies!
I originally published this recipe in 2012 and have since added new photos and a few more success tips.
Since 2012, this recipe for cake batter chocolate chip cookies has consistently been one of my most popular cookie recipes.
It was my very first recipe to “go viral,” which led to an appearance on Good Morning America and in People magazine. It even caught the eye of a cookbook publisher… which led to my first published cookbook, Sally’s Baking Addiction. (And they’re on the book cover, too!)
They’re like chocolate chip cookies and confetti cake in one irresistible treat.
What Makes Them a Fan Favorite?
- Soft-baked chewy centers with crispy edges
- Sweet, buttery cake batter flavor
- Loaded with both chocolate and white chocolate morsels
- Customize the sprinkle colors to fit a party or holiday theme
- Freeze wonderfully, both before and after baking
- Make fantastic cookie ice cream sandwiches
- A birthday party in cookie form!
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Just skim through some of the comments and reviews fans of these cake batter chocolate chip cookies have left over the years:
One reader, Kim, commented: “Still one of my favorite recipes after over a decade! ★★★★★“
One reader, Katie, commented: “Love making this recipe for birthdays and holidays with themed sprinkles!! Always a hit. People are always surprised how AMAZING they are, much more than a basic chocolate chip cookie!! ★★★★★”
One reader, Geri, commented: “Everyone needs to try these at least once and after that, you’ll know one time isn’t enough. I love them with regular vanilla cake mix but we use the butter flavor cake mix sometimes too. Very chewy and soft cookies with fun flavor, kids and adults alike can’t get enough of them. ★★★★★”
Cake Batter Cookie Dough Ingredients:
The cookie dough is made from your standard cookie ingredients: flour, leavener, salt, sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. What makes these cookies stand out in the crowded arena of cookie recipes is the add-ins:
- Cake Mix: My team and I prefer baking from scratch, but adding dry cake mix is the SECRET to this recipe. I usually reach for vanilla cake mix, but any flavor you love works. You won’t need the whole box of cake mix, so use the leftovers another time to make a batch of cake batter rice krispie treats!
- Chocolate Chips & White Morsels: I love to use a mix of both in these cookies. Semi-sweet chocolate chips make them taste like classic chocolate chip cookies, while white chocolate morsels taste like frosting—adding to the flavor that’s reminiscent of birthday cake.
- Sprinkles: Use your favorite color sprinkles here! I used rainbow sprinkles today, but love switching them up for different holidays. You can customize these cookies with a mix of specific colors or holiday sprinkles. Have fun with them!
And if you’d like to try Oreos as an add-in, see my similar recipe for cake batter Oreo cookies.
Best Sprinkles to Use
I’ve been baking sprinkles into cookie doughs and cake batters for years and have learned exactly which sprinkles work, and which don’t. Happy to share my best advice:
- Do not use nonpareils (the little balls) in dough/batter. They will bleed their color as you fold them in, resulting in a less-than-appetizing-color baked good.
- Rainbow sprinkles (aka “jimmies”) sold in the U.S. are intensely colored and hold onto color in the oven, but sprinkles sold in other countries may lose their color when baked. “Sugar strands” may be the same shape as jimmies, but they dissolve in wet batter/dough.
- Confetti quins (the little discs) are also great to use in sprinkle cookies and cakes. They rarely bleed their color in batter.
- Be careful using naturally colored sprinkles. They are wonderful as decoration, but—depending on the brand—can lose their color in doughs and batters.
Overview: How to Make Them
The cookie dough does need to chill, so if you’re in a rush, try these giant chocolate chip cookies instead (no dough chilling!).
Sift the dry ingredients together.
Cream the wet ingredients together. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Then add the chocolate chips and sprinkles.
Chill the cookie dough. This step is imperative. If you skip it, your cookies will spread into a flat, greasy mess. Chilling the dough for at least 2 hours firms up the butter, allows the flour to absorb the wet ingredients, and helps prevent the cookies from overspreading. If you’re interested, I wrote a post all about how to prevent cookies from spreading. It’s helpful to read before making ANY batch of cookies.
Roll the cookie dough into balls. Use about 1.5 Tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie. Shape your cookie dough balls to be taller than they are wide—see my tall cookie trick below.
Bake. Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly browned. The centers will still appear very soft, but they’ll continue to set as the cookies cool. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops. This is just for looks!
My Tall Cookie Trick
Before I leave you with the recipe, here’s one final tip. Use my favorite tall cookie trick to reduce excess spreading. Roll your dough balls to be taller rather than wider. This doesn’t necessarily mean using more dough per cookie—we’ll simply shape the cookie dough ball to be nice and tall, with a firm solid bottom to ensure the cookie doesn’t topple over as it bakes. This one trick gives us perfectly thick and chewy cookies every time.
By the way, if you can’t get enough cake batter flavor, try these cake batter blondies. Or give someone special a delicious start to their special day with birthday cake cinnamon rolls or birthday cake pancakes.
You can even sandwich ice cream between two cookies to make a birthday cookie ice cream sandwich. Enjoy right away or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to eat.
Print
Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 28-32 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These cake batter chocolate chip cookies are a cross between delicious, soft-baked chocolate chip cookies and sprinkle-filled funfetti cake. If you like chocolate chip cookies and you like the flavor of cake batter, you will love these soft & chewy cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cup (167g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/4 cups (190g) vanilla, yellow, or white boxed cake mix (just the DRY mix, and not the entire box)*
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (180g) chocolate chips (I use 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup semi-sweet)
- 1/2 cup (80g) sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift flour, cake mix, salt, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg and vanilla and mix on medium-high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on medium-low speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and sprinkles. Mix on low speed until the add-ins are evenly combined.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours, or up to 3–4 days. This step is imperative. The dough is fairly sticky, so chilling the dough is required in order to avoid the cookies from spreading too much. If you chill longer than 2 hours, make sure you roll the cookie dough into balls after the 2-hour mark. Place dough balls on a plate, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. You may also freeze the balls at this point for up to 3 months. (Then bake as directed adding 1 minute to the bake time without thawing.)
- Once dough has been chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (always recommended for cookies).
- Scoop rounded balls of the cold dough onto the prepared baking sheets, around 1.5 Tablespoons (about 35g) of cookie dough per cookie. A medium cookie scoop is helpful for this. Shape your cookie dough balls to be “taller” than they are wide, as pictured above. Make sure to keep dough refrigerated when working in batches.
- Bake the cookies for 13–15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. The centers will still appear very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies. This is optional and only for looks.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. See step 3. Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Cake Mix: You can use funfetti cake mix and leave out the sprinkles called for in this recipe. I usually use vanilla cake mix. Remember, you only need 1 and 1/4 cups of dry mix. Not the whole box. Gluten-free cake mix is not recommended.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Would it work to make the balls first and then refrigerate? I don’t have a lot of strength in my hands and it is hard to scoop the refrigerated dough
Hi Patricia, You can chill this already rolled into balls. The dough is very soft so you may wish to chill it for a shorter time so it holds it shape, then roll it, then continue chilling. Enjoy!
Can I make bars out of this recipe instead of cookies?! I would use them in a cake size pan or small, depending on how think I want them to be.
Hi Mary, we recommend an 11×7-inch baking pan. A 9-inch square pan could work, but the bars will be pretty thick. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, so keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
We made these with white cake mix for National Night out! I thought the kids would love the sprinkles! We all loved them they exceeded my expectations!
We’re so happy to read this!!
My granddaughter loves sprinkles on anything! So we decided to make these cookies. They are fabulous! Thank you Sally for such a great, very pretty cookie. Going to make these for our Christmas bake with Christmas sprinkles
What brand of sprinkles do you use?
Vicki, we actually love the store brand rainbow sprinkles (aka “jimmies”) here, but you can use your favorite brand! Be sure to read the “Best Sprinkles to Use” section above. We also featured this recipe this week in our new video series, Why This Recipe Works, where we go into detail about the sprinkles we use. You can watch it here!
Thank you!!
The cookie dough is really good to eat but once its baked it doesnt hit as good. Maybe its good with ice cream but havent tried it. Probably wouldnt make it again…
Can you make them without the chocolate chips and only use sprinkles?
Hi Ashley, that should work just fine.
I don’t like to use cake mix, can you use all of your own ingredients.
Hi Susan! Unfortunately homemade cake mix won’t provide the same exact flavor. Try these regular chocolate chip cookies and replace half of the chips/chunks with white chocolate chips add some sprinkles.
Highly recommend subbing the semi sweet chips for the cream cheese chips!
Incredible cookies always a big hit! I was wondering if this recipe would work to make bars instead of cookies?
Hi Jessica, we recommend an 11×7-inch baking pan. A 9-inch square pan could work, but the bars will be pretty thick. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, so keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
Love your recipes. Due to paying attention to my health, I would love to see more healthier versions and/or seeing calorie amounts. Thanks.
Hi Mark! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076