Easy 4-Ingredient Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies: Your Go-To Holiday Treat!
Imagine a world where unbelievably delicious, tender, and perfectly festive cookies can be whipped up with minimal effort and just a handful of ingredients. Welcome to the world of these Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies! This truly magical 4-ingredient recipe transforms a simple box of cake mix into a batch of rich, red, and utterly irresistible cookies, making it your ultimate go-to for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or any occasion that calls for a touch of sweet charm. With the classic red velvet flavor and a generous scattering of creamy white chocolate chips, these cookies are a match made in dessert heaven, offering a delightful contrast in taste and texture that will have everyone reaching for more.
The secret to quick and easy baking often lies in a good hack, and turning cake mix into cookies is one of the most brilliant culinary tricks in the book. It cuts down on measuring, mixing, and the sheer number of ingredients, simplifying the baking process without compromising on flavor or texture. If you love this concept, you might also want to explore my Mint Chip Cake Box Cookies for another fun, refreshing twist. And for those planning a special celebration or just looking to indulge in more delightful treats, be sure to check out my collection of Valentine’s Day recipes, including the decadent Oreo Red Velvet Cake, the charming Crumbl Pink Velvet Cookies, or the elegant Red Velvet Macarons. But for now, let’s dive into the simplicity and deliciousness of these unforgettable cake mix cookies!
Why You’ll Love These Easy Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
These red velvet cake mix cookies aren’t just delicious; they’re incredibly practical and versatile, making them a fantastic addition to any baker’s repertoire. Here’s why this recipe stands out:
- Unbeatable Simplicity: Just 4 Ingredients! The most compelling reason to love this recipe is its astonishing simplicity. You only need four basic ingredients: a box of red velvet cake mix, oil, eggs, and white chocolate chips. This dramatically cuts down on your grocery list, prep time, and cleanup. It’s perfect for busy weeknights, spontaneous cravings, or when you need a quick dessert without fuss. Thanks to the cake mix, you skip the hassle of measuring flour, sugar, leavening agents, and cocoa powder, making baking accessible and enjoyable for everyone, even beginner bakers!
- The Perfect Red Holiday Cookie: Versatility for Every Celebration. With their striking red hue contrasted by creamy white chocolate chips, these cookies are naturally festive and suited for a multitude of holidays. They are an absolute showstopper for Valentine’s Day, radiating love and romance. During Christmas, they blend seamlessly with classic holiday colors, adding a festive touch to your cookie platters. And let’s not forget the Fourth of July! Their red and white colors (with a hint of blue if you add some sprinkles!) make them a fun and patriotic treat. This seasonal adaptability means you can revisit this recipe throughout the year, always having a fitting dessert on hand.
- Flexible with Any Cake Mix Brand: Your Pantry, Your Choice. Don’t stress about finding a specific brand of cake mix! This recipe is incredibly forgiving and works beautifully with any brand of red velvet cake mix. Whether you prefer Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, or a store-brand option, the results will be consistently delicious. This flexibility ensures that you can always make these cookies with whatever you have available, making last-minute baking a breeze. Just stick to the standard 15.25 oz (or very close) box size, and you’re good to go!
Key Ingredient Notes for Perfect Cookies
While this recipe is incredibly simple, understanding the role of each ingredient will help you achieve the best possible results. Here’s a closer look at the four essential components:
- Red Velvet Cake Mix: As mentioned, any brand will work beautifully. Most standard boxes are 15.25 ounces (about 432 grams). This pre-mixed blend already contains the flour, sugar, leavening agents, and a hint of cocoa that gives red velvet its characteristic subtle chocolate flavor and vibrant color. If your cake mix box is slightly off in weight (e.g., 18 oz or 14 oz), the recipe should still generally work fine, though you might notice a very subtle difference in dough consistency.
- Eggs: Eggs are crucial in baking, acting as both a binder and a leavening agent. They help hold the cookie dough together, ensuring your cookies don’t crumble, and contribute to the slight rise and tender texture. For best results, use large eggs, as their size is standard in most baking recipes and ensures the correct moisture balance.
- Vegetable Oil: Unlike many traditional cookie recipes that call for butter, cake mix cookies often benefit from vegetable oil. Oil contributes to a wonderfully moist and slightly chewy texture, preventing the cookies from becoming dry or crumbly. It helps achieve that desirable “cake-like” softness in the center while ensuring the edges are perfectly set. Canola oil can also be used as a direct substitute.
- White Chocolate Chips: These are the perfect complement to the subtle chocolate and tangy notes of red velvet. They melt slightly during baking, creating pockets of creamy sweetness that elevate the cookie’s flavor profile. You can adjust the amount to your liking – feel free to add a little more if you’re a serious white chocolate fan!
Simple Step-by-Step Instructions
Creating these delightful red velvet cake mix cookies is incredibly straightforward. Just follow these easy steps for perfect results every time:
- Prepare Your Workspace: First, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This step is essential for preventing sticking and ensuring easy cleanup. Set the prepared baking sheet aside while you make the dough.
- Make the Cake Mix Cookie Dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the red velvet cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs. Stir with a spoon or a sturdy spatula until all ingredients are well incorporated and a thick, uniform dough forms. The dough will appear quite dense and somewhat sticky, which is perfectly normal for cake mix cookies – resist the urge to add extra flour! Gently fold in the white chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Be careful not to overmix at this stage.
- Portion and Place the Dough Balls: For uniformly sized cookies, use a 2-tablespoon sized cookie scoop. To prevent the sticky dough from adhering to the scoop, lightly spray it with nonstick cooking spray between scoops. Roll the dough into neat round balls and arrange them on your parchment-lined baking sheet, ensuring you leave about 2 inches of space between each cookie to allow for spreading during baking. If the dough is particularly sticky and hard to handle, cover the bowl and chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before scooping.
- Bake to Perfection: Place the baking sheet in your preheated oven and bake for 9-12 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when the edges appear set, the centers are slightly puffed up, and the tops are no longer glossy or shiny. Avoid overbaking, as this can lead to dry cookies. Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. This allows them to set further and prevents them from breaking when transferred. Finally, carefully move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Expert Tips & Creative Variations for Your Cookies
Even with such a simple recipe, a few clever tips and creative variations can elevate your Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies from great to absolutely phenomenal.
- Dealing with Sticky Dough: It’s common for cake mix cookie dough to be a bit sticky. If you find it too challenging to work with, simply cover the bowl and place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Chilling the dough solidifies the fats, making it much firmer and easier to scoop and roll. Important: Do not add extra flour, as this will alter the delicate balance of the recipe, resulting in tough, dry cookies instead of soft, moist ones.
- Yield and Scaling: This recipe typically yields around 22 cookies, making it perfect for a small gathering or a cozy treat. If you’re baking for a larger crowd or want to have extra for gifting, feel free to double or even triple the recipe. The baking time generally remains the same.
- Cake Mix Brand Flexibility: As previously mentioned, the beauty of this recipe lies in its adaptability. While I tested this specifically with a 15.25 oz Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix, other brands like Betty Crocker or store-brand mixes will work just as well. Slight variations in box weight (a few ounces off) usually won’t significantly impact the final cookie, but sticking close to the recommended size is always a good practice.
- Holiday Decorating Ideas:
- Valentine’s Day: Add pink or red sprinkles before baking, or drizzle with melted white chocolate (tinted pink if desired) and heart-shaped sprinkles after cooling.
- Christmas: Incorporate green and red M&Ms, or top with a dusting of powdered sugar to mimic snow.
- Fourth of July: Mix in blue sprinkles or M&Ms with the white chocolate chips for a patriotic flair.
- Delicious Variations to Try: This recipe is a fantastic canvas for creativity!
- Change the Chips: Not a fan of white chocolate? Swap them out for milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chunks, semi-sweet chips, or even peanut butter chips. Each will impart a unique flavor profile.
- Explore Other Cake Mix Flavors: The cake mix cookie concept works with almost any flavor! Try a chocolate fudge mix with milk chocolate chips, a strawberry mix with white chocolate, or a lemon mix with a lemon glaze. The possibilities are endless!
- Add Nuts or Dried Fruit: For extra texture and flavor, fold in chopped pecans, walnuts, or even dried cranberries with your chocolate chips.
- Cream Cheese Frosting Swirl: For an extra decadent treat, prepare a simple cream cheese frosting (like the kind used on red velvet cake). Once the cookies are cooled, dollop a spoonful onto each cookie and swirl gently for a classic red velvet finish.
- The “Crinkle Cookie” Method: If you find yourself without chocolate chips, don’t despair! For a fun “crinkle” effect similar to my Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, roll the dough balls first in granulated sugar, then generously in powdered sugar before baking. This creates a beautiful snowy cracked top as they bake.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing Instructions
These cookies are fantastic fresh out of the oven, but they also store beautifully, making them perfect for meal prepping or enjoying later.
- Storing Baked Cookies: Once completely cooled, store your Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. To maintain their freshness and soft texture, you can even place a slice of bread in the container with them – the cookies will absorb moisture from the bread.
- Freezing Baked Cookies: To freeze baked cookies, ensure they are completely cooled. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and flash freeze for about 30 minutes until solid. Then, transfer the frozen cookies to an airtight freezer-safe container or a large Ziplock bag, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or gently warm in the microwave for a few seconds for a freshly baked feel.
- Freezing Cookie Dough (Bulk): If you want to prepare the dough in advance, simply make the dough as instructed, then transfer it to an airtight container or a heavy-duty Ziplock freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove the dough from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The following morning, remove it from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature (or until scoopable) before baking according to the recipe instructions.
- Freezing Cookie Dough Balls: For ultimate convenience, freeze the dough in individual balls. Scoop the dough into balls as instructed, then arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and flash freeze until solid (about 1-2 hours). Once frozen, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container or a Ziplock freezer bag. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake, simply remove the desired number of dough balls from the freezer and place them on a prepared baking sheet. Bake from frozen, adding an additional 1-3 minutes to the baking time, or until the edges are set and the tops are no longer shiny.
Frequently Asked Questions About Red Velvet Cookies
Red velvet has a unique and complex flavor profile. It’s often described as a subtle, mild chocolate flavor, distinct from a rich, dark chocolate cake. Beyond the cocoa, authentic red velvet also boasts a slight tanginess, often from ingredients like buttermilk and vinegar, which react with the cocoa to enhance the red color and contribute to its distinctive moist crumb. The combination results in a balanced, slightly tart, and gently chocolatey taste that is truly irresistible.
Yes, red velvet does have a chocolate flavor, but it’s much milder and more nuanced than a typical chocolate cake. The cocoa powder used is usually unsweetened natural cocoa, which contributes to the red hue when combined with acidic ingredients like buttermilk and vinegar (though in a cake mix, these acids are pre-balanced). It’s the subtle chocolate notes, combined with the other unique characteristics, that define the red velvet experience, rather than an intense cocoa punch.
It’s incredibly simple! The basic formula for cake mix cookies is often referred to as the “1-2-3 rule”: 1 box of cake mix, 2 large eggs, and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. You just combine these three ingredients, optionally add mix-ins like chocolate chips, scoop, and bake! The cake mix already contains all the dry ingredients, making it a super-fast and foolproof method for delicious cookies.
Absolutely! This recipe is very forgiving and works wonderfully with virtually any brand of red velvet cake mix you can find. Whether it’s Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, or a generic store brand, the results will be delightful. The key is to stick to the standard box size (typically 15.25 oz), but even slight variations in weight usually won’t cause issues. Feel free to experiment with other cake mix flavors too!
Flat cookies can often be attributed to a few factors. Overmixing the dough can develop too much gluten, leading to less puff. Using melted butter instead of oil (if substituting, though oil is recommended here) or using too much oil can also cause spreading. Another common culprit is warm dough; if your dough is too warm before baking, it will spread more quickly in the oven. Chilling the dough for 30 minutes before scooping can help prevent this and result in thicker cookies.
For perfectly uniform cookies, a cookie scoop is your best friend! A 2-tablespoon capacity scoop is ideal for this recipe. It ensures that each cookie is the same size, which means they will all bake evenly and look consistent on your platter. Don’t forget to lightly spray your scoop with nonstick spray if the dough is particularly sticky!
More Festive Recipes You’ll Love
If you’re still in the mood for more deliciousness, especially for holidays and special occasions, be sure to explore these other fantastic recipes:
- Red Velvet Waffles: Start your day with a luxurious, vibrant breakfast.
- Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake: The classic, from-scratch version of this beloved dessert.
- Red Velvet Popcorn: A fun, unique, and surprisingly addictive snack.
- Strawberry Chex Mix: A sweet and crunchy treat perfect for sharing.
- Valentine Rice Krispie Treats: Easy, colorful, and always a crowd-pleaser.
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Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
5
10
15
22 servings
Ingredients
- 15.25 oz box red velvet cake mix – any brand will do
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil – or canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips – or more to your liking
Equipment
-
baking sheet
-
parchment paper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the red velvet cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs. Stir until well combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips until just distributed. The dough will be thick and somewhat sticky.
- Spray a 2-tablespoon sized cookie scoop with nonstick spray. Portion the dough into round balls. Place on the parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie dough ball. (If the dough is too sticky, chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before scooping).
- Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the edges are set, middles are puffed, and tops are no longer shiny. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for 3-5 days at room temperature. Cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
This recipe was tested with Duncan Hines brand cake mix (15.25 oz). If your cake mix is slightly different in weight, the recipe should still work fine.
To freeze baked cookies: Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container or Ziplock bag for up to 3 months. To freeze cookie dough balls: Form balls, flash freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a Ziplock bag. Store for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time.
Nutrition
Carbohydrates: 20g (7%)
Protein: 2g (4%)
Fat: 6g (9%)
Saturated Fat: 2g (10%)
Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g
Monounsaturated Fat: 2g
Trans Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 18mg (6%)
Sodium: 148mg (6%)
Potassium: 36mg (1%)
Fiber: 1g (4%)
Sugar: 12g (13%)
Vitamin A: 26IU (1%)
Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)
Calcium: 58mg (6%)
Iron: 1mg (6%)
Whitney Wright
Dessert
American
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