Red Velvet cookies with cake mix: These soft and chewy cookies are the perfect mix of easy and impressive. You only need four simple ingredients and 30 minutes to make these beautiful red cookies.
Best of all, you can adapt this recipe to fit any occasion. We made ours for Valentine’s Day, but they’re just as fun for July 4th, during Christmas and the holiday seasons, or even just as a weekend treat!
Why You’ll Love these Easy Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
- They’re so easy to make – even the kids can help out.
- You only need a handful of ingredients, most of which are probably in your pantry already.
- These soft & chewy cookies are ready to enjoy in 30 minutes or less.
- There are nearly endless ways to adapt the recipe for any occasion. (Don’t forget to check out our ideas down below.)
What You’ll Need:
Ingredients:
- Red Velvet Cake Mix
- Eggs
- Oil
- Sprinkles (optional)
Supplies:
- Large mixing bowl
- Mixing spoon or spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cookie scoop
- Baking pan
- Parchment paper
A Few Notes about the Ingredients:
Cake Mix: We used a 15.25 ounce Duncan Hines box mix for this recipe.
Eggs: Make sure your eggs are room temperature before starting. This will help them mix in better with the other ingredients.
Oil: We tested this recipe with both Vegetable Oil and Canola oil. I do not recommend substituting with melted butter. (When we tested it, the cookies spread too much and fell apart)
Sprinkles: Make sure you use sprinkles that work well in the oven. Our favorites are jimmies.
How to Make Red Velvet Cookies with Cake Mix:
To make things even easier for you, I created a simple photo guide below. For all measurements and a more detailed guide, check out the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
If you make this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. This provides helpful feedback for me and to other readers. And if you want more fun party ideas, subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
Step 1 – Preheat your oven to 350˚F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper set aside.
Step 2 – In a large mixing bowl combine 1 box cake mix, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 2 eggs eggs.
Step 3 – Fold together until you see no more pockets of dry cake mix. The batter will be thick.
Step 4 – Add 1/4 cup sprinkles to the batter, and fold together.
Step 5 – Use a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons in size) to measure out round dough balls. Place each of the scooped batter balls onto your prepared pan, about 2-3 inches apart.
Step 6 – Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sprinkles to the top of your cookies.
Step 7 – Bake at 350˚F for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely on the pan.
Essential Tips:
Don’t skip these tips – read them before baking to avoid any potential mistakes.
Use a cookie scoop
I know, it seems like such a unitasker and a waste of space. But I love my cookie scoop set. We use them to measure out ice cream, muffin and cupcake batter, and even meatballs (when I feel like going to the effort to make them from scratch.)
The best thing about a scoop set is that they keep the cookies evenly sized. This means that your cookies will bake as evenly as possible in your oven, so you won’t end up with one cookie that’s under baked and one that’s a dry crumbly mess.
Line your pan with parchment paper
These cookies are extra moist, which means they will easily stick to a plain baking sheet. Add a layer of parchment paper to your pan to help the cookies come up easily, and for fast cleanup.
Duncan Hines Cake Mix Has a brighter color
We’ve tested this recipe with both Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker cake mix. The taste was pretty much identical. However, I found that the Duncan Hines mix produced a brighter red and slightly thicker cookies.
Take a look at the difference in texture and color by comparing the July 4th red velvet cake mix cookies shown below to any of the other photos here. You’ll see the difference.
Substitutions and Variations
One of the best reasons to love these cookies is how versatile they are. Here are some delicious and fun ideas:
Fun Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookie Ideas for Any Time of Year:
- Chocolate chip cake mix cookies: Add a cup of chocolate chips to your batter to make an even richer cookie. White chocolate chips look especially pretty against the red cookie dough.
- Red Velvet Blossom Cookies: Press a Hershey’s kiss into the center of each cookie right after pulling them out of the oven. It would be lots of fun to experiment with seasonal Kiss flavors like candy cane kisses during the holidays or strawberry ice cream kisses for Valentine’s Day.
- Frosted red velvet cookies: Add a swipe of white or cream cheese frosting to the top once your cookies have cooled.
- Red Velvet Sandwich cookies: When your cookies are completely cooled, sandwich two cookies together with a bit of frosting between.
Holiday Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies:
- Swap out the sprinkles: At Christmas add snowflake sprinkles, or green and white jimmies to the top of your cookies.
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies: Roll your cookies in powdered sugar before baking to make them look like they’ve been dusted with snow. (I share plenty of tips and tricks in this Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe.)
- Sparkling red velvet cookies: Roll your cookies in white sugar or sparkling sugar to make your cookies look like they’re encrusted in ice.
- Patriotic Red Velvet Cookies: Make these cookies for July 4th, Memorial Day, or any other patriotic celebrations by adding red, white and blue M&Ms to the batter before baking.
You’re not limited to red velvet cake mix either! You can experiment with all kinds of cake mix flavors and mix ins. I love using a cake mix to make my Lemon cake mix cookies.
FAQs:
Can I Freeze my cake mix cookies?
Yes you can! Make sure your cookies are completely cooled, then store them in a hard-sided, freezer safe container like this one. Use of wax or parchment paper between layers to help prevent sticking.
When you’re ready to enjoy your cookies, thaw them at room temperature in your freezer container.
Note: I do not recommend freezing your cookies in a zip top bag. These cookies are very soft and could get broken if jostled with other frozen items.
My cookie dough is sticky, what can I do?
This cookie dough will definitely be thick and a bit sticky. using a scoop will help keep your hands from becoming a batter covered mess.
If it’s still too sticky for you to scoop, you can place it in the refrigerator to chill for a half hour.
How can I tell my cookies are done baking?
If cookies come out of your oven looking set, then they are most likely overcooked. They’ll continue to cook a little bit as long as they’re on the hot pan. This is why we recommend allowing the cookies to cool completely on the pan.
I can’t find the same size box as you, how do I adjust the recipe?
This recipe was created for a 15.25 oz box of cake mix, which is currently the standard size I found in grocery stores. However, the recipe is pretty forgiving, so you should be able to use the same measurements if your box is fairly close in weight.
Giving these away as gifts?
These cookies are so soft, you’ll want to make sure to put them in a cookie tin or another container to protect them.
Don’t forget to add a cute printable tag to your tin so everyone will know that you made these amazing cookies.
How to Store Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
Store your red velvet cake mix cookies in an airtight container on your counter for up to one week.
To Freeze Your Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies:
Make sure your cookies are completely cooled, then store them in a hard-sided, freezer safe container like this one. Use a layer of wax or parchment paper between layers to help prevent sticking.
When you’re ready to enjoy your cookies, thaw them at room temperature in your freezer container.
Note: I do not recommend freezing your cookies in a zip top bag. These cookies are very soft and could get broken if jostled with other frozen items.
If you liked these red velvet cake mix cookies, you’re going to love my chocolate chip cookies. My kids and I have spent nearly a decade testing and perfecting it to create a big batch recipe that is perfectly soft on the inside with just enough crunch on the outside.
Or you can see all my cookies recipes here.
Red Velvet Cookies with Cake Mix
Easy red velvet cookies made with cake mix are perfect for any occasion. Soft, and delicious, they only need 4 ingredients and less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce box red velvet cake mix
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Valentine's Day sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350˚F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine 1 box cake mix, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 2 eggs eggs.
- Fold together until you see no more pockets of dry cake mix. The batter will be thick.
- Add 1/4 cup sprinkles to the batter, and fold together.
- Use a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons in size) to measure out round dough balls. Place each of the scooped batter balls onto your prepared pan, about 2-3 inches apart.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sprinkles to the top of your cookies.
- Bake at 350˚F for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely on the pan.
Notes
Remember, the step-by-step photos and FAQ in the recipe post are there to help you if you feel stuck at any point.
- Use a cookie scoop to make sure your cookies all about the same size so they bake more evenly.
- Add a layer of parchment paper to your pan to help the cookies come up easily, and for fast cleanup.
- You can use just about any standard red velvet box mix, but I found that the Duncan Hines mix produced a brighter red and slightly thicker cookies.
- Store your red velvet cake mix cookies in an airtight container on your counter for up to one week.
- If your dough is too sticky to scoop, you can place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up.
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