The 3-Ingredient Cookies I Can’t Stop Making

Baking can be overwhelming—and I say this as a busy parent who also has a baking and pastry degree. You often need at least a half-dozen ingredients to make even the most basic cookies, and things can get crazy really quick if you want to get your kids involved. 

Maybe that’s why I’m so deeply in love with cake mix cookies. Cake mixes are a wondrous shortcut for baking cakes, but I recently learned how to turn my favorite mixes into moist, tender cookies as well. All they require are your favorite cake mix, butter, and eggs. 

These three-ingredient cookies are an ideal hack for an easy bake sale or classroom treat and are infinitely adaptable to whatever cake mix and baking extras you have on hand. 

The Best Cake Mix for Cookies 

The recipe below is for a confetti version of cake mix cookies because sprinkles make everything a little bit more fun (plus, this is my family’s current favorite cake flavor). However, you can make cake mix cookies with any flavor of cake mix in the 15-ounce size range. 

We have used red velvet cake mix for cheery red cookies around the holidays or devil’s food cake mix for powdered sugar-coated crinkle cookies that are rich and decadent. My mother-in-law loves a version with lemon cake mix that tastes pretty darn close to a lemon bar. 

How to Make My Cake Mix Cookies 

To make about 20 (3-inch) cookies, you’ll need:

• 1 (15.25-ounce) box Funfetti cake mix
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted 
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles, for rolling, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

Combine the cake mix, melted butter, and eggs in a large bowl. Use a sturdy spatula to mix until completely smooth. Use a medium cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon to portion out the batter in 1 1/2-tablespoon mounds spaced at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. You should be able to fit about 10 cookies per baking sheet. Roll each cookie in sprinkles before returning it to the baking sheet, if desired. 

Bake the cookies until they are puffed, set, and just beginning to brown, 10 to 14 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Leftover cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They may become less tender after that point, but are still safe to eat. 

Cake Mix Cookie Upgrades

Once you’ve got your cake mix in hand, you just need two other essential ingredients to make the cookie dough: 2 large eggs and a stick of melted butter. I’ve played around making these with oil (you need 1/2 cup), but the moisture and flavor from the butter really can’t be beat. There are a few ways to upgrade cake mix cookies, too: 

• Add chips to your cookie batter. White chocolate chips in red velvet or confetti, dark chocolate chips in devil’s food, or butterscotch chips in yellow cake mix all work wonderfully. 1 cup of chips is perfect for a batch. 
• Roll the cookies in a coating. Sprinkles make sense for confetti cookies, but cinnamon sugar is excellent with yellow cake mix. Or, roll the cookies in powdered sugar for a crinkle cookie effect—just make sure you chill the powdered sugar-coated cookies for 20 minutes before baking. 
• Top with nuts, sprinkles, or chopped chocolate. You can do this instead or in addition to mixing them in! It’s a great way to add variety to a single batch of cookies.