These cake batter chocolate chip cookies are a cross between soft-baked chocolate chip cookies and sprinkle filled cake. This is the most popular cookie recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction and after baking a batch, you’ll taste why. If you like chocolate chip cookies and you like sneaking a taste of cake batter, you will love these fun cookies!
Today’s recipe for cake batter chocolate chip cookies is the most popular cookie recipe on my website. I’ve made them more times than any other cookie and even have the recipe memorized by now. They’re so well loved that they’re on the cover of my first cookbook, Sally’s Baking Addiction, and were featured on Good Morning America and in People magazine. They’re like chocolate chip cookies and vanilla cake in one!
Why You’ll Love These Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft-baked and chewy texture
- Crispy edges
- Colorful with lots of sprinkles
- Loaded with chocolate and white chocolate chips
- Sweet cake batter flavor
- Freezer-friendly
- A party in cookie form!
Overview: How to Make Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies
The first few times I made this recipe, the cookies kept overspreading. They were thin, delicate, and tasted greasy. I worked to develop an even better, thicker version—and absolutely loved the result. Let’s review the process:
- 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. By skipping it, your cookies will spread into a 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 interested, I wrote a post all about how to prevent cookies from spreading. 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!
Add Ins
- Cake Mix: These cookies are chocolate chip cookies and birthday cake in one. That’s why, for the dry ingredients, we’ll use *some* all-purpose flour and *some* cake mix. I usually reach for vanilla cake mix, but any flavor you love works. It’s important to only use some of the box. Some readers have had trouble with this recipe because they’ve used the entire box of cake mix. You only want to use 1 and 1/4 cup of dry cake mix.
- Chocolate Chips: The first few times I made this recipe, I used 1 and 1/2 cups of chocolate chips but that weighed down the cookie dough. I recommend using 1 total cup of chocolate chips, which is the perfect amount to keep the cookies thick. I love to use a mix of white chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Semi-sweet chocolate chips make them taste like regular chocolate chip cookies, while white chocolate chips taste like frosting—a true mix of cookies and cake.
- Sprinkles: Use your favorite 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! 🙂
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.
You can even sandwich ice cream between them for a birthday cake-style cookie ice cream sandwich. Enjoy right away or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to eat.
By the way, if you can’t get enough cake batter flavor, you’ll want to try my birthday cake cinnamon rolls next!
PrintCake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 24-30 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 cake batter, you will love these soft & chewy cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cup (156g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/4 cup (190g) yellow or vanilla boxed cake mix (not the whole box and you just need the DRY mix)*
- 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 used 1/2 cup of white and 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
- 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 speed until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the egg and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and beat on high until combined. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low-medium speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and sprinkles. Mix on low 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 two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (always recommended for cookies).
- Scoop rounded balls of the cold dough onto an ungreased baking sheet, use about 1.5 Tablespoons 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 chilled when working in batches.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly browned. The centers will still appear very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. You can press a few more chips into the tops of the cookies at this point (the chips will stick because the cookies are still warm).
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 4. Baked cookies freeze well—up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well—up to three 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.
PS: Making Christmas cookies? Try them with red and green sprinkles!