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Fun, bright and festive cake mix cookies are all dressed up to look like monsters. Gooey monster cookies are great all year long!!
If you need more monsters try Monster Suckers, Monster Rice Krispies Treats, and Apple Monster Teeth.
Kid Favorite!
We love cake mix cookies, and when my son was having a Monster themed birthday party, we decided to change up our classic cookie and make them match the party!
I couldn’t help but think of the Gooey Monster Eye Cookies I made a month or so ago but decided to add some more colors and just a few more eye balls.
The result? Gooey Monster Cookies that are now a new favorite and are requested all year long, especially around Halloween!
How to Make
BATTER. Beat butter, vanilla, egg and cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in cake mix.
COLOR. Divide batter into bowls for the amount of colors you want. Add food coloring to each individual bowl and mix until all combined. Chill for 30 minutes.
BAKE. Roll into balls and dip in a bowl of powdered sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet and pat down a bit. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
Note: Do not bake the eyes. They will turn to goo and/or burn in the oven.
DECORATE & ENJOY! Add candy eyeballs while cookies are still warm. ENJOY!
Tip: When a batch of cookies are baking put the dough back in the fridge to chill. Bake the cookies in small batches as you need to add the eyes after you pull the cookies out of the oven. Unless you have helpers it can be tricky to get all the eyes on each cookie before they cool off.
Tips + Variations
Although these cookies are supposed to be “Gooey Monster Cookies” you don’t want them so gooey that they are raw. Here are a few tips to help you troubleshoot cookies that are too gooey:
- Did you use the correct size cake mix.
- Do not mix up the cake mix according to the directions on the box. For these cookies you only need the cake mix powder and then you mix it with the ingredients listed in our recipe.
- Not chilling the dough long enough. You can even put it in the freezer for a bit.
- Different ovens may require a different bake time. Add a few extra minutes if necessary.
- If the dough still feels too sticky for your liking add a tablespoon of two of flour to firm it up.
Storing Tips
MAKE AHEAD OF TIME. You can make the dough ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to bake them. Do not add the powdered sugar until right before baking.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Form the dough into balls and put them on a baking sheet. FREEZE them until solid then transfer them to a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw before baking.
STORE baked cookies in the fridge for 3-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
For a few more FUN HALLOWEEN RECIPES:
- Graveyard Dirt Cake
- Gummy Worm Jello Cups
- Boo-Nilla Ghost Milkshakes
- Candy Bar Trifle
- Witches Brew
- Pumpkin Guacamole
Gooey Monster Cookie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1/2 c butter softened
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 egg
- powdered sugar
- food coloring I used NEON food coloring to make them more vibrant
- candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Beat butter, vanilla, egg and cream cheese until fluffy.
- Mix in cake mix. Divide batter into bowls for the amount of colors you want.
- Add food coloring to each individual bowl and mix until all combined.
- Chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll into balls and dip in a bowl of powdered sugar.
- Place on greased cookie sheet and pat down a bit.
- Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
- Add candy eyeballs while cookies are still warm. ENJOY!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We make these cookies every year. My kids love them! Thank you for a great recipe that works year round (just change the candy to something seasonal).
That’s such a fun tradition! I love the idea of swapping the candy with the seasons.
Am I missing something? I chilled for 30 minutes and could not roll into balls, WAY to sticky, so I put them into the freezer now, hopefully this will help, don’t know if I’d make again but will see how it turns out
I’m not sure what happened there. The dough is usually a bit sticky but should still be easy to roll especially when chilled. Hopefully freezing it helps.
I have used this recipe few times and I don’t chill or roll into balls I take a cookie scoop and scoop dough out and drop it into powdered sugar and roll it around in it then place on cookie sheet with parchment. Dough is sticky but once you drop in powdered sugar and coat it was easy to handle.
You say use the right size cake mix but i don’t see s size in the recipe, video, or written instructions. Did i miss it?
A standard size is 15.25 ounces and a box that is close to that amount will work.
Just so you know, recently several of the cake mix companies started putting only 13.25 oz in their cake mixes. This may be the reason people are having trouble with the recipe.
I’ve been using the upsizing trick mentioned here
https://gratefulprayerthankfulheart.com/cake-mix-extender-upsizing/#wprm-recipe-container-35240
and it’s been working nicely.
Thank you for that tip. Noticing the change in ounces can sometimes tricky when the size of the box and cost stays the same.
We make these every year for Halloween and my son loves them! Our exchange students have also had a blast adding the eyeballs. Highly recommend this recipe!
I love this super cute recipe has become a Halloween tradition!