These soft & chewy Green Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies are so easy to make. The fun colorful dessert is perfect for St Patrick's Day or Christmas but you will crave these any time of year.
Why this Green Cookie Recipe is the Best: The boxed cake mix makes these so simple that even beginning bakers or kids can whip these up - no rolling the dough and using cookie cutters.
These are a holiday favorite or great for anytime you want to serve something for a green themed party or event. Pair these with my Red Velvet Crinkle Cookie Sandwich with Cream Cheese Filling for the ultimate Christmas Crinkle Cookie Combo!
These take less effort and time than my Green Shamrock Sugar Cookies for when you want a last minute holiday treat. Just mix, chill, roll, & cook. Ok, now we bake!
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Ingredients Green Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies
This recipe starts with a boxed cake mix. Adding a few more ingredients makes this a quick & easy dessert hack.
Though this is not made 100% from scratch, it sure tastes homemade. Like my recipe for Easy Strawberry Brownies, this is one of the best desserts made with cake mix.
Here are important notes for some ingredients:
- White Cake Mix - I used Betty Crocker 13.25oz. But any store-bought brand of white or vanilla box size 13.25oz -15.25oz (see recipe tips box below for how to adjust recipe based on which used)
- All Purpose Flour - the extra flour ensures the cookie dough holds up and thick enough to not spread too thin. (not needed for 15oz cake mixes)
- Cornstarch - helps make it chewy for more cookie-like and not cakey (why this recipe is better than the rest)
- Salt - just a bit so these are not too sweet
- Vegetable Oil - any neutral oil will work
- Eggs - room temperature
- Green Food Coloring - liquid or gel
- Sugars - both confectioners & granulated white sugar for rolling the dough balls in
See the recipe card for full list, quantities, & any substitutions/variations.
How to Make Crinkle Cookies with Cake Mix
This dough mixes up in just 5 minutes. Then let it chill in the fridge so it sets up to be firm enough to roll in sugar before baking. That is all it takes for this foolproof cake mix cookie recipe.
Here are the easy steps for making Crinkle Cookies using 13.25oz Box Cake Mix.
- Mix the Batter & Chill
- Roll Dough & Coat with 2 Sugars
- Bake & Cool
See the step-by-step instructions with photos below plus the recipe card at the end of the post.
1 - Mix the Batter & Chill
In a medium mixing bowl add cake mix, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add the eggs and oil to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir by hand until combined and smooth.
To the mixture add enough drops of green food coloring and stir to combine. Keep adding a few drops more until you reach your desired color.
I was using gel food coloring and used 6 drops for this color. Liquid food coloring is less vibrant so may need almost double the amount.
The batter will be thick and look like this. Compare the color here to the raw cookie dough end result to see how it bakes up.
IMPORTANT NOTE: most food coloring will become lighter and less vibrant once the food is baked so add a touch more to be sure you get the results you want.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Once it is firm and you can roll balls of dough in your hand it is ready.
2 - Roll Dough & Coat with 2 Sugars
Once the dough is cold and set, preheat the oven to 350°F. Also line a baking sheet with parchment or foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
This step is IMPORTANT. The key to having crinkles with those pretty crackled tops where the white sugar stays - is two kinds of sugar! You need both of them so the classic white powdery tops stay and don't melt or disappear while baking.
Roll tablespoon sized balls of dough in the granulated sugar to coat. Then roll in the powdered sugar making sure to completely cover it with A LOT of sugar.
Place the sugar-coated balls on the cookie sheet leaving space between for spreading a bit. I got 20 on a baking sheet at once.
2 - Bake & Cool
Place the cookie sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 11 minutes.
Take them carefully out of the oven. Let them rest for 2 minutes on the baking sheet so they set.
Finally move them to a wire rack so they can finish cooling.
Notice how the sugar is still in tact and has the distinctive crinkle look. Pretty & Perfect!
Serving & Storing
Serve on a cookie platter or add to Christmas goodie boxes. These will be a bit sticky/tacky so place between sheets of parchment if stacking the cookies for longer than a few minutes.
Store baked cookies in an air-tight container between layers of parchment for up to 5 days. These do not freeze well once baked.
The dough can be frozen ahead of time for up to 60 days, defrost before rolling & baking.
Recipe Tips & Behind the Scenes
Here's my recipe for success - including what I learned when testing, fun stories, recipe history, and more.
- #1 Tip - You MUST roll the dough balls into 2 kinds of sugar for the classic crinkle look.
- If using a boxed cake mix that is 15oz or more, do NOT add the additional flour
- Use any color to make these for any occasion or holiday.
- Don't skip chilling the dough or it will be too soft to roll plus room temperature dough tends to absorb more of the rolled sugar and bake too quickly (over baked bottoms & less sugary tops - bummer!)
- I used both the Betty Crocker White Cake Mix and the Betty Crocker Gel Food Coloring for this recipe. Both are inexpensive and easy to find in store or online.
- If using liquid vs gel food coloring; use about double the amount as gel is more concentrated.
- I tried to bake these right away and they spread so thin and the tops were ugly smears of white. CHILLING the dough is important for success with this batter.
- Be warned, these are to die for. My son that is not a big chocolate fan could NOT stop eating these cookies.
- These are a great when you want a smaller batch of cookies (makes roughly 30 cookies) and can also be doubled or tripled easily for big batch baking.
FAQ
Yes!!! I love how versatile this recipe is & works well with any food coloring. Use red for Christmas or Valentine's Day. Try pastel colors for Easter or orange for Halloween.
Make sure to do the double sugar method. Just powdered sugar alone will "melt/disappear" more if used without also using granulated sugar. Make sure you don't skip this step.
LOVE THIS RECIPE & WANT TO SEE MORE?
Green Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment or foil
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 White Cake Mix 13.25oz box like Betty Crocker (see notes below for other brand and sizes)
- 4 teaspoons All - Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 6 drops green gel food coloring
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar aka confectioners sugar
Instructions
- In medium mixing bowl add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add the eggs and oil and stir by hand to mix thoroughly.The dough will be thick.1 White Cake Mix, 4 teaspoons All - Purpose Flour, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs
- Add the gel food coloring until you get the desired color. NOTE: liquid food coloring is less intense so you may need to add more6 drops green gel food coloring
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. It is ready when a ball can be rolled easily and hold shape.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball. Coat it with some white granulated sugar. Then coat it a second time with A LOT of powdered sugar so that it is thick on all sides. Place on the baking sheet & repeat until you have the baking sheet full with cookies spaced apart for a little bit of spreading to be allowed.⅓ cup granulated sugar, ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 11 minutes.
- Remove carefully from the oven and let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them and placing on a wire cooling rack. Repeat and bake additional cookies.
- Enjoy once cool and set.
Notes
- Store between layers or parchment paper in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
- Only freeze dough (baked cookies don't freeze well) for up to 2 months. Defrost the dough before rolling and baking later.
- Be sure to roll in both sugars.
- If using a boxed cake mix that is more than 13.25oz, OMIT the extra flour.
- Do Not over bake or cookies will be dry and not gooey chewy.
- Use any color - pastel for Easter, Pink for Valentine's, Red for Christmas, Orange or Purple for Halloween.
Nutrition
More Cake Mix Recipes
Here are some similar recipes for easy baked goods using a boxed cake mix:
Mama May says
These turned out great.
Angela says
Glad to hear it.