Homemade desserts have always been a part of our Valentine’s celebrations. One of the very first things Heather ever made for me was dinner on Valentine’s Day followed by these homemade chocolate brownies in the shape of hearts. They were amazing and it’s always been a fun memory for us.
Ever since then, we always do some type of homemade dessert on Valentine’s Day. It’s just become tradition. But making something homemade doesn’t necessarily have to mean making something from scratch. These Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies are the perfect example. They’re soft and pillowy, super delicious, and ridiculously easy!
Preheat the oven to 325° F and line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Start by combining the cake mix, whipped topping, and egg in a bowl. Stir to get everything combined. The batter will be very sticky. And I say batter because, it’s really too soft to be called a dough. But call it what you wish. 🙂
Next scoop a heaping tablespoon of the batter into a bowl with about 1 cup of powdered sugar. Again, sticky batter. Using a cookie scoop really helps make this easier. Otherwise two spoons will work. Now, roll the batter around to coat it with the powdered sugar.
Place the batter on the prepped cookie sheet. You can do this with your fingers now as the powdered sugar coats the batter and makes it so much easier to handle. Place them about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until just set. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes. Now, if you’d like, you can add a chocolate heart to the center of each cookie by pressing it lightly down into the cookie. Again, totally optional, but sure pretty.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking mat or parchment until completely cool. These cookies are super soft and pillowy and trying to move them too early will result in disaster.
I often just slide the mat or parchment off the pan onto the counter and allow them to cool there while I use the pan to bake more.
Y’all enjoy, my friends!
Recipe Card
Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 (16.5-ounce) box red velvet cake mix
- 1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping (like Cool Whip), thawed
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- chocolate hearts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325° F and line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, whipped topping, and egg. Stir until combined. The batter/dough will be very sticky.
- Pour the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into the powdered sugar. A cookie scoop is very helpful with this. Roll the batter to coat with the powdered sugar. Place the sugar coated batter onto a cookie sheet about 2 to 3 inches part. Continue until the sheet is full. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the pan. Place a chocolate heart in the center of each cookie, if desired. Cool completely on the baking mat or parchment, then use a spatula to remove the cookies. Repeat until all the batter has been used. Store in an airtight container.
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Gail Gearlds
Absolutely delicious. I am wondering if this would work with any cake mix, such as orange or spice?
It certainly will! Any cake mix of the same size should work. Glad you enjoyed these!
Jessica Galarneau
Can these be frozen? If so, how long?
I don’t see why not. I’d guess they could be frozen for up to 6 months or so.
Sherry Jelinek
I made chocolate ones before Christmas to try but they were to flat i would like a thicker cookie how would i do that?
You might try using a smaller pan.
Patricia P
Can’t wait to make – what is purpose of whipped topping – what does it do?
It adds much needed fat and gives cookies lift. Enjoy!
Susan
where to get chocolate hearts?
I can usually find them around Valentine’s Day in the grocery store with the other Valentine’s stuff.
Anne
I forgot the egg. They are still good though. I like them a little flat like a regular cookie. What does adding the egg do? I need to make another batch and am wondering should I even add it.
The egg makes them a little lighter.
Kim
Cookies are flat & a bit chewy in the middle, after chilling the dough. Think adding an extra egg might fluff them up? Maybe just an extra egg white? I want to make more, but no more pancake cookies…lol!
Hmmm… An extra egg might also contribute to them spreading out. How long did you chill the dough? You could also add in a bit more flour to firm the dough up a bit.
Kim
I chilled about 20 minutes, then between batches. I’m going to play around a little bit. I’ll let you know if I find a fix. Thanks for responding! Merry Christmas!
bikingrandma
This recipe has been around forever! I can remember it from the 1970’s but had not used it due to years of scratch cookie baking. Now I use cake mixes more often–takes less time and effort. By the way, the box cake mixes used to be 18 oz, and then some manufacturer decided to use 3 eggs for more body or whatever and took out some mix, which made the box mixes the current 15 1/2 oz, so you might need to adjust the recipe a bit. Great cookies, though!
The best one’s always are, right!?!? Different brands weigh different amounts. I find them anywhere from 15.25-oz to close to 18-oz. That said, and for whatever reason, red velvet almost always weighs more.
Rose
I’m looking forward to making these. Unfortunately Betty Crocker has reduced their box size to 13.5 oz. Can I still use the same amount of the other ingredients and have them come out okay?
I’ve not had a chance to test this recipe with the new Betty Crocker size. I’d recommend opting for another brand for now.
Lori
Have to make 6 dozen of these for a party tonight. 1st batch turned out really flat and a little doughy in the middle… any suggestions?
Thank you !
Try chilling the dough for about 30 minutes, then scooping and baking.
Stacy Mcniel
Going to make them tonight ????????
Hope you’ll enjoy!!
Luci
I made these today. The red velvet cake box was 15.25 oz. I had to bake at 350 in my gas oven for about 20 mins. The first ones were much too sticky after baking following the original recipe. Otherwise the recipe seems to work well.
Glad you enjoyed!!
J. Hern
1 word about this recipe……………………. Awesome. ❤️❤️❤️ Thanks
Thanks so much!!
Vicky-LittleChefWithin
These look AMAZING!!! Definitely gonna have to try them!
Thanks! Hope you love ’em!