Easter Cake Mix Cookies are a fun and easy dessert made with your favorite box of cake mix and a couple of pantry staples. The soft and chewy cookies are then dipped in chocolate and decorated with candy or sprinkles. Perfect for Easter, parties and potlucks all spring season!
Can’t get enough cake mix cookies? Try one of these amazing variations: Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies, Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies and Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies.
Easter Cake Mix Cookies
You don’t have to be a pro baker to make stunning desserts! These Easter Cake Mix Cookies taste like they came from the bakery all while being whipped up in your own kitchen. The cake mix creates a non traditional base for the cookie dough giving you the perfect soft and chewy cookies.
The melted almond bark (or Ghirardelli melting wafers) and colorful M&M’s add a sweet and festive flair. Adults, kids, and the Easter Bunny will all happily approve!
Perfect for Easter
These Easter Cake Mix Cookies are perfect for Easter:
- Quick and easy. The boxed cake mix adds an element to your traditional cookie mix that leaves these cookies with a unique texture and flavor. Plus, it only takes a few simple ingredients and you’ve got a batch of oven baked cookies in no time! So much easier than cookies from scratch, and just as tasty!
- A hit at get togethers! A tray of brightly decorated cookies are sure to garner the attention of any guest during the holidays or just a springtime celebration. The added step of dipping the cookies before adding the M&M’s makes them look impressive and sets them above your standard chocolate chip or sugar cookie faire.
More Cookies Recipes
Baking this weekend? Here are some more delicious cookie recipes to try:
- Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies
- Whipped Shortbread Cookies
- Kolaczki (Polish Cookies)
- Easy No Bake Cookies
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
What You’ll Need
These Easter Cake Mix Cookies are soft and chewy and downright adorable. As always, you can find the full printable recipe with complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post. Here’s what you’ll need…
- white cake mix: Use any box brand you like.
- vegetable oil: You could also substitute coconut oil or melted butter for a similar consistency.
- eggs: You’ll need two for the perfect texture.
- vanilla: For a touch of warmth and spice.
- candy melts or almond bark: I used white Ghirardelli melting wafers but you can buy candy melts in assorted colors to get even more color on these cookies if you want.
- M&M’s: Or swap the candies out for themed or colorful sprinkles.
How To Make Easter Cake Mix Cookies
- Combine cake mix, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
- Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Scoop the cookie dough and form into 1-inch balls.
- Place on the prepared baking sheet making sure to leave about 2 inches in between each.
- Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to over bake!
- Cool cookies completely.
- Melt the Ghirardelli wafers or almond bark in the microwave following the package instructions.
- Dip the cooled cookies about one third to half way into the melted chocolate and tap off the excess.
- Place on the parchment lined baking sheet or back on the cooling rack.
- Top with three M&Ms or add some sprinkles and allow to set up before serving.
Handle the cookies carefully so they don’t fall apart. It can help to refrigerate the cookies for just a few minutes before dipping so they are a little more sturdy.
Storage Information
Place leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days. Here’s a tip: If you place a piece of bread in with your cookies, they’ll stay as soft as the day you baked them!
To Freeze Baked Cookies
Let the cookies cool completely then place in a freezer safe container or ziploc bag. They’ll stay fresh for up to 3 months. Simply let thaw on the counter and enjoy.
To Freeze Cookie Dough
Form the dough into balls on the tray and place in the freezer until hard, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a freezer safe container or ziploc bag until ready to bake. Either thaw the dough and bake as directed or bake a few more minutes if the dough is still frozen.
Cake Mix Cookies FAQs
You sure can. Let the cookies cool completely then place in a freezer safe container. They’ll stay fresh for up to 3 months. Simply let thaw on the counter and enjoy.
You can also freeze the cookie dough itself to make these cookies at a later date. Go ahead and form the dough into balls on the tray and place in the freezer until hard. Store in a freezer safe container until ready to bake. Either thaw the dough and bake as directed or bake a few more minutes if the dough is still frozen. Decorate as normal!
Essentially what turns this from a traditional cake mix into something thick enough to constitute cookie dough is the elimination of the additional egg and the water from the standard cake mix instructions. By eliminating these wet ingredients you get a mixture that is thicker and more akin to dough than liquid batter. This allows for an extra easy cookie base and gives you a nice wide cookie perfect for decorating without all the rolling or shaping of normal cookies!
Absolutely but keep in mind the cookies will be a different color. Strawberry would be fun for Easter!
Trish’s Tips and Tricks
- Do not overbake your cookies. You want the edges to begin to brown but the middle to still be slightly gooey. The cookies will continue to set as they cool. If overbaked the cookies will end up too hard.
- Cake mix cookies have a more delicate consistency so handle with care. When shaping the dough, 1-inch in size is important. If the balls are too big the cookies will flatten too much and will be hard to work with.
- Be sure to let the cookies cool completely before dipping into the melted bark to ensure they don’t fall apart.
- Once the cookies have been dipped and the candies placed, if you want to speed up the process of the bark hardening, place the cookies in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes.
Don’t just use this recipe for Easter! Switch out the colors of the M&M’s or the sprinkles to fit any holiday. Or use regular M&M’s for a special treat any time.
More Easter Desserts:
- Italian Easter Cookies
- Carrot Cake
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Jell-O Divinity
- Easter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Three Minute Easter Fluff
- Speckled Egg Easter Cake
- Cream Cheese Mints
- Bunny Bait
How To Make Easter Cake Mix Cookies
Easter Cake Mix Cookies
Ingredients
Cake Mix Cookies
- 15.25 ounces white cake mix
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To Decorate
- 12 ounces candy melts I used white Ghirardelli melting wafers but you can buy candy melts in assorted colors if you prefer
- M&M's or sprinkles of your choice
Instructions
- Stir together the cake mix, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
- Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Scoop the cookie dough and form into 1-inch balls. Place balls on the prepared baking sheet making sure to leave about 2 inches in between each dough ball.
- Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to over bake!
- Let cookies cool for 2 to 3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Melt the Ghirardelli wafers or almond bark in the microwave following the package instructions.
- Dip the cooled cookies about one third to half way into the melted chocolate and tap off the excess. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet or back on the cooling rack. Top with three M&Ms or add some sprinkles and allow to set up before serving.
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