These chocolate cake mix cookies are so easy to make. Soft, chewy, and bursting with chocolate flavor. Cover them in sprinkles for a festive treat!
These are the easiest cookies I’ve ever made! Just like my peanut butter Valentine’s Day cookies, these cookies require minimal clean up and can be made in just one bowl. Take a box of chocolate cake mix, a couple eggs, oil, a splash of vanilla, and a bit of baking powder—and you can have homemade cookies in just 30 minutes.
They’re less work than say, these Valentine’s Day cookies, although I urge you to give those a try if you’re looking to tackle a fun baking project!
They are super soft, almost a cross between a fudgy brownie and a chewy cookie. You may leave them plain or roll them in some festive sprinkles, like these tiny hearts for Valentine’s Day. Serve them alongside a batch of pink strawberry chocolate chip cookies for an extra festive spread!
I also decorated a couple cookies with some red mini M&Ms I had leftover from my rainbow m&m cookies. Feel free to use any sprinkle/candy of choice.
These are the perfect cookies if you’re in a rush and need a chocolate treat quickly. Because we both know when that chocolate craving hits, you have to satisfy it ASAP. These cake mix chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting are great for that, too.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 30 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These chocolate cake mix cookies are so easy to make. Soft, chewy, and bursting with chocolate flavor. Cover them in sprinkles for a festive treat!
Ingredients
- 1 15.25 ounce box chocolate cake mix (I used Pillsbury devil’s food)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: sprinkles for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well with a silicone spatula. It will take a bit of elbow grease to get it all combined. If the cookie dough seems too sticky, chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes so it is easier to handle.
- Pour some sprinkles onto a plate or into a bowl. Form dough into tablespoon-sized balls and roll in the sprinkles.
- Bake on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet for 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for another 10 minutes after removing from the oven, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Enjoy!
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Silicone Spatula | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- 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
I’ve tried many chocolate cake mix cookie recipes and this one was by far the best one! The dough was the right consistency and we didn’t have to refrigerate it. The baking powder helped them to be pillowy and rise so they looked beautiful! Superb!
Hi Sally, which size box of cake mix is this recipe designed for? I mostly see the 15oz boxes now, but I know a lot of the older recipes used the 18oz boxes. Thanks 🙂
I used these premade, very tiny, peppermint candy cane jimmies to roll the dough in, and boy, were they good with these chocolate cookies. I did not however have enough for the whole batch. All I had was powdered sugar, so I went for it. The powdered sugar gives it a wonderful crispy outside and leaves it fudgy on the inside. The tip about putting it in the frig was on point. Definitely made it easier to handle. But I have a tip of my own: make sure you fully mix the baking powder in the cake mix BEFORE you put any of the other “wet” ingredients. Great recipe! Yum!
My first time making, also added chocolate chips.
A big hit in my household. Thank you kindly for sharing.
All the best.
robyn
I just made these as a birthday treat for a friend. They’re really good, and so easy to make! The only thing is that mine totally flattened out. They were beautiful and puffy, like yours are in the picture, when I took them out of the oven; and then they totally deflated. Do you know why this might have happened??
Made these today to share at my mommies group valentines day party. Our little ones loved them and their moms too. They were so easy and cute to make. I’m thinking green sprinkles and green m&m’s for Saint Patrick’s feast day. Thanks for so many great recipes.
Hi Sally!
I made this over the weekend with a friend and i LOVED them, OMG so good!
I want to make them a little bit chocolate-ier. Do you think I would be able to add choco chips to the recipe? Would they stand up with the dough? Let me know!
Yes, they would! I’ve made them before with a little over 1 cup of chocolate chips.
I’m hoping you can help! I make your cake mix cookies all the time, my kids love to help with simple recipes, and we all love to eat them! They always come out fantastic, even with little ones “helping” to measure. I tried it with chocolate cake mix this weekend, and the cookies are completely dry and crumbly! I had just used the same recipe as I always do for the yellow cake mix, so I came here to double check, and it is the same recipe for yellow cake or chocolate cake… So I’m stumped as to why these came out so disappointing?!!
Are you using the same brand of cake mix? Are they the same size box? Sometimes I see 18 ounce boxes and then 15 ounce boxes.
Absolutely love this recipe! I made them again for Mother’s Day this weekend, and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in between 2 cookies for a home made ice cream sandwich :). Delish!
can you use corn oil?can you use corn oil?
Yes you can but you have to use twice as much as I use my oil
hi Sally!
I LOVE YOUR BLOG!!!!! Thank you for sharing all these fab recipes 🙂
Just wondering … I would love to add salt to this recipe. Can you suggest an amount? Or is there any salt in the cake mix already?
Thanks!!
There is usually a little salt in cake mix– you may add up to 1/4 teaspoon extra if you’d like.
I made these on Saturday, I couldn’t believe how easy they were and so addictive. I added a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, I couldn’t stop my stepdaugher from eating them, I had to hide them on her. Thank you for the recipe and not letting that box of cake mix sit in my cabinet any longer. 🙂
I had a box of Devil’s Cake and didn’t know what to do. Best decision I have ever made is to search your site! I used the one box to make three kinds of cookies: I added in butterscotch, white chocolate chips, and wrapped the chilled dough around the mini peanut butter cups. BEST COOKIES EVER!
Yum! I just made these to give out as treats for Valentine’s Day. They are by far the best cake mix cookies I’ve had.
I made these for a work party. Super easy to make (I did have to refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes), and my co-workers loved them! We all agreed that they tasted like a brownie/cookie mix. Thanks for sharing!
Making these tomorrow in my Culinary Arts Baking and Pastry class for our Valentine Bake Sale….hope they love them.
Yum! I just made these to give out as treats for Valentine’s Day. They are by far the best cake mix cookies I’ve had. Plus, they are adorable all covered in sprinkles!
Made these and they were delicious. I am going to make these again for my friends on Valentines Day
These are the best cake box cookies I’ve ever had or made. I love the convenience of using a cake mix but feel like most recipes yield mediocre cookies. These, however, are perfect, and I plan to make many variations! Thanks for the detailed descriptions and tips on all your recipes — your website is my newest favorite!
So glad you love them Meg! Thanks for following along with my blog 🙂
Here’s my fun little variation I made on these! I was inspired by the shredded coconut and caramel sauce in my fridge to make “Samoa”-esque cookies.
I made the recipe as normal but instead of chocolate chips, I used shredded coconut (although both would be delicious together!). I eyeballed it but used probably around 1/2-3/4 C. Once I rolled them into balls, I experimented with different ways of using the caramel. The best way I found was to break the balls in half (like in your method!), dribble a little caramel on the half that’s sitting on the pan, then place the top back on (but not upside-down) so it hides the caramel. I tried the caramel on top but it just didn’t look pretty and was messy. This was the most leak-proof way. Baked them for 10 minutes and voila, chocolate-caramel-coconut cookies. Yum!
mmm Erin, that sounds SO good! I have to try it sometime. And yes tucking the caramel inside the cookie dough works like a charm!
Thanks Kendall!
I made these cookies with peanut butter chips and they were a hit at work! I’ve made a few of your cookie recipes now and they’ve all turned out delicious 🙂
Hey Brit! Woo hoo – that is SO great to hear! Love the addition of PB chips. That’s a must try. 🙂 Thank you!
I found this recipe on tumblr today and made it right away. Super delicious! I think it was a Betty Crocker devil’s food cake mix I used, and it worked just fine. Also, I used a pastry blender to mix the dough and a cookie scoop to form my dough balls. It made it so much easier to work with that thick dough! And then I rolled them in powdered sugar and they came out beautiful. They looked just like crinkle cookies! Everyone loved them. Thanks so much!
I love rolling them into powdered sugar. 🙂 Thanks for letting me know, Sara, and I’m glad you found my website! I love these cookies.
Thank you for the recipe, it was a hit i use funfettii cake mix instead it came out really good so thank you!
I love using funfetti cake mix for cake mix cookies. Thanks for reporting back Stephanie! Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 🙂
My kids & I made these for Velentine’s Day! They are so festive and yummy(and easy!)!!
I have been enjoying your recipes and am happy to have found a fellow baking addict. 🙂
Hey Sarah! That’s so great! These are a fun cookie for Valentine’s Day 🙂 So happy you found my website.
Hey! So I made a slight variation by adding wild cherry jello to the mix 🙂 super yummy!!! The only thing I noticed was that the dough was super sticky so I put it in the fridge for an hour or so until I could roll it. Fabulous!!!
Cherry + Chocolate are a killer combination Melissa! I like your version! I have to try it someday. And yes, the dough is stickier than most cookie doughs. I love these cookies!
What a yummy website! Great ideas! You are a woman after my heart!!
Thanks Nancy! 🙂 Let me know if you make anything!
Hi, I just made a few today but the cookies did not spread out, do you know how I can fix this for the next batch?
Hi Angela! I’m sorry these cookies didn’t spread for you. This is a very old post and I’ve been meaning to update the recipe format. However, I haven’t had a problem with these spreading. I’m going to suggest leaving out the flour next time and slightly flattening the cookies before going into the oven.
Hey Sally,
Just wondering if the preheat temperature is in degrees fahrenheit ?
Probably sounds like a stupid question, but I’ve only just found this site today and am completely oblivious as to whether this site isn’t Australian. 🙂
Sorry for my inexperience, but I’m only a 15 year old, ‘newly-discovered’ baker. 🙂
Hi MEgan! No problem at all – yes, the oven temperature is in Fahrenheit for these cookies and ALL the recipes on my website. 🙂 Happy Baking Megan!
Look delish! For some reason I don’t believe a box of cake mix will only make 30 cookies. That doesn’t seem like very many to me. Is it true??
Hey Christine! I rolled the dough into 30 cookies. So yes, this recipe makes 30 average sized cookies, but the size depends on how large you roll them.