3 Ingredients Cake Mix Cookies Recipe delivers soft middles, chewy edges, and big bakery-style flavor. Busy bakers, college students, and parents on snack duty can have warm cookies in about 20 minutes. I baked these between soccer pickup and dinner, and the tray vanished before I found the cooling rack.
Why You Should Try This 3 Ingredients Cake Mix Cookies Recipe
This 3 Ingredients Cake Mix Cookies Recipe uses one bowl and a boxed cake mix, so you get consistent, bakery-style cookies without guesswork. You skip creaming butter, you skip chilling, and you still land crowd-pleasing cookies with very little cleanup.
Best shortcut cookies I’ve served at a party, and not a crumb survived. ★★★★★
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Boxed cake mix, 15.25 ounces
- Use yellow, white, chocolate, red velvet, or funfetti. I like Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker because they bake evenly. Pillsbury works too but can spread a touch more.
- Neutral oil, 1/2 cup
- Use canola, vegetable, or light olive oil. Swap melted butter 1:1 for richer flavor and slightly thicker cookies.
- Large eggs, 2
- Room temperature eggs mix faster and give better texture.
- Optional mix-ins, 1 to 1.5 cups total
- Chocolate chips, white chips, chopped nuts, peanut butter chips, crushed Oreos, sprinkles, or dried fruit.
- Flavor boosters, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract, pinch of flaky salt on top.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl and spatula or wooden spoon
- Sheet pans
- Parchment paper or silicone mats
- Cookie scoop, 1.5 tablespoons size
- Wire rack
How to Make 3 Ingredients Cake Mix Cookies Recipe
Heat the oven and prep pans
- Heat oven to 350°F. Line sheet pans with parchment or a silicone mat.
Mix the dough
- In a bowl, whisk eggs and oil until smooth. Add cake mix and stir until no dry pockets remain. Fold in mix-ins if using.
Scoop and pan
- Scoop heaping tablespoon mounds onto the pan, spacing 2 inches apart. For thicker cookies, chill the scooped dough for 10 minutes. Top with a few extra chips for a bakery look.
Bake
- Bake 9 to 11 minutes until the edges set and the tops look matte. Pull them while centers still look soft.
Cool and set
- Let cookies rest on the pan 2 minutes to firm up. Move to a rack and cool until just warm, then serve.
Tips & Tricks
- Use 15.25 ounce cake mix; if yours weighs 18.25 ounces, add 1 extra tablespoon oil and 1 extra teaspoon water to keep the dough supple.
- Want puffier cookies? Chill scooped dough 15 minutes and bake on a cool pan.
- Swap melted butter for oil if you want more flavor and a slightly cakier bite.
- Add 1 teaspoon vanilla to yellow or white mix, or 1 teaspoon espresso powder to chocolate.
- Keep mix-ins to 1.5 cups max so the dough holds shape.
- For even portions and neat edges, use a 1.5 tablespoon scoop and wipe it clean every few cookies.
- Bake one test cookie to dial in timing, then bake the rest.
- At high altitude, raise oven to 360°F and pull them 1 minute sooner.
- Use a gluten-free cake mix if needed and watch doneness at the early end.
- Sprinkle a pinch of flaky salt on warm cookies to balance sweetness.
What to Serve with 3 Ingredients Cake Mix Cookies Recipe
Serve these easy cookies with cold milk, hot coffee, or a creamy latte. Sandwich a scoop of vanilla or strawberry ice cream between two cookies for the fastest ice cream sandwich. Pair chocolate cookies with fresh berries, or match funfetti with a bowl of birthday cake ice cream. Set out a mix of flavors on a platter so guests can sample without decision stress.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Slip in a slice of sandwich bread to keep them soft.
- Freeze baked cookies up to 2 months. Thaw at room temp, then warm at 300°F for 3 to 4 minutes or microwave 8 to 10 seconds.
- Freeze scooped dough balls on a sheet pan until firm, then bag for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F and add 1 to 2 minutes to the time.
3 Ingredients Cake Mix Cookies Recipe
3 Ingredients Cake Mix Cookies deliver soft middles, chewy edges, and bakery-style flavor using just a boxed cake mix, oil, and eggs.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil until smooth and well combined.
- Add the cake mix to the bowl and stir until no dry pockets remain and a thick dough forms.
- Fold in any optional mix-ins, keeping the total amount to about 1 to 1.5 cups so the dough holds its shape.
- Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls (about 1.5 tablespoons each) of dough onto the prepared pans, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- For thicker, puffier cookies, chill the scooped dough on the pan for about 10 to 15 minutes before baking. If desired, press a few extra chips or mix-ins on top of each mound for a bakery-style look.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the edges look set and the tops appear matte. The centers should still look slightly soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 2 minutes to firm up, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool until just warm before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Approximate per cookie (24 cookies, basic recipe without mix-ins): 130 calories; fat 7 g; saturated fat 1 g; carbohydrates 17 g; fiber 0 g; sugars 10 g; protein 1 g; sodium 160 mg. Values will vary based on cake mix brand, added mix-ins, and portion size. Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months, or freeze scooped dough balls and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
Approximate per cookie (24 cookies, basic recipe without mix-ins): 130 calories; fat 7 g; saturated fat 1 g; carbohydrates 17 g; fiber 0 g; sugars 10 g; protein 1 g; sodium 160 mg. Values will vary based on cake mix brand, added mix-ins, and portion size. Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months, or freeze scooped dough balls and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.