Candy Cane Cake Mix Cookie Recipe

‘Tis the season for cookies, am I right?? One of my friends always hosts a cookie exchange mid-December. She has everyone “register” their cookie type, so there are no repeats. Which means I have to get creative! This year, I am opting to make my cake mix cookies – but add a festive twist. I’m going to let you in on a secret: cake mix cookies are the easiest thing. And they taste SO good. The hard work is crushing the candy canes – but it adds the perfect flavor and texture to these cookies.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1 box of yellow cake mix
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 7 crushed candy canes

WHAT YOU DO:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees, and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or spray with Pam. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix your cake mix and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Crush your candy canes. To do this, I double bag them in gallon sized zip lock bags (to prevent big messes) and then beat with a spoon. If you have kids, they LOVE this part!
4. In a smaller bowl, add your eggs, oil, and vanilla. Whisk by hand until everything is well-mixed.
5. Slowly pour your wet ingredients into your bowl with dry ingredients. Stir by hand until a soft dough forms. (Make sure you break up all the dry ingredients and air pockets!)
6. Add in, and mix the crushed candy canes. Reserve a small handful for later.
7. Drop rounded balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Pro tip: make sure your balls of dough are taller than they are wide – since cake mix tends to grow more than traditional cookie dough in the oven!)
8. Optional: Press a few of the reserved candy cane bits into the tops of the dough balls, for looks.
9. Bake cookies 9-11 minutes, do NOT let the tops of the cookies turn brown.The cookies will be very soft at first. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet about 2 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Cookies may be stored in an air-tight container up to one week.

Happy baking!