We are HUGE Disney fans here at the Merkley house. Not only do we go to Disneyland every year, but we own almost every movie and love all things Disney. I may the biggest Disney fan of all in the family and still find myself in tears at the end of every movie… not because they’re sad, but because they are seriously SO awesome! The way they make up these incredible stories that come full circle are just down right amazing! Monsters University is no different. I actually took Lily and Gavin to see it opening weekend. They LOVED it and were so excited to find out that we were getting the DVD a bit early to review (OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE IS OCTOBER 29TH). We’ve been watching it all week and it gets more funny each time we do. The hubby and I actually sat down and watched it together after the kiddos went to bed last night. I can’t remember the last time my hubby laughed so hard in a movie.
With Monsters U on the brain, I knew I wanted to make a yummy and creepy treat to celebrate the new release of the movie. I couldn’t help but think of the Gooey Monster Eye Cookies I made a month or so ago. They remind me so much of Mike Wazowski. I decided to do a more colorful version with lots of eye balls!
These cookies remind me of all the fun Monsters found in the movie! Aren’t they fun?! The kids each picked out a color (Gav was green AND blue, Evie was Orange and Lily was Pink).
MY OTHER RECIPESMy kiddos absolutely died over these sweet treats, and were adamant about trying each color. I convinced them they could only try two (one the day we made them and one the next day). They didn’t like that idea but went with it. 🙂
Here is how you can make them too:
- 1 White Cake Mix Box
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 1 8 oz. Cream Cheese Bar softened
- 1 egg
- Powdered Sugar
- Food Coloring ( I used NEON food coloring to make them more vibrant)
- Candy Eyeballs
- 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!
Make the dough as directed and divide into 4 bowls.
Add food coloring to each bowl and mix well. I used neon orange, neon green, neon blue and neon pink.
Roll your dough into balls and then into a bowl of powdered sugar. Flatten a bit with your fingers.
Get these Candy Eyeballs ready so as soon as the cookies come out of the oven….
**CANDY EYE BALLS can be found in the Baking/Wilton Section at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Michael’s or JoAnna.
you can add the eyeballs (however man you like!)
Man, they were so fun to make as well as super delicious!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop there.
I decided to make Monster Suckers too (I’m sorry – I just couldn’t help myself!)
They are so easy to do if you have the molds and supplies, and were so fun to make with a monster theme.
Here is what you’ll need to make them:
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup corn syrup
- 1/4 tsp. flavoring (you can use any flavoring but we found apple)
- 1/4 tsp. food coloring
- Candy Eyeballs
SUPPLIES:
- Sucker Sticks
- Lollipop Molds (can be purchased HERE)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put molds and sticks together. Place on cookie sheet and spray. Put in freezer until candy is ready.
- Put all ingredients except flavoring and color in a pan. Cook to hard crack stage (300 degrees).
- Add flavoring and coloring. Add Candy eyeballs. Stir about two minutes.
- Pour into molds. Let set for 10-15 minutes. Remove molds and ENJOY!
Pouring the candy into the molds can get messy, but it is easily cleaned!
So glad we had some Monster Fun in the kitchen putting together these awesome treats!!
You will definitely have a blast making them too!
Be sure to check out Monsters University when it comes out Oct. 29th. To pre-order the movie online go HERE.
For more information be sure to check out Monsters U on Facebook HERE, on Twitter HERE, and on Pinterest HERE.
For all Lil’ Luna Recipes go HERE.
For a few more ideas check out:
ENJOY!
This is a sponsored post brought to you by Disney and Blueprint Social. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
Alexis @ Persia Lou
I am definitely the biggest Disney fan in our house too. I totally get crying at the end of a Disney movie. (And multiple times every Disneyland trip.) I just picked up some of the eyeballs, so I’m going to have to make the cookies with my kiddos. Thanks so much! Love your site!
Elena
Can I make these the day before Halloween
Kristyn Merkley
Yes 🙂 They stay soft for a while! ENJOY!
Shelly B.
I made the Green version after reading your post last time. I never thought about changing the colors….these are so cute! Everyone loved the Green eyed monster cookies…very tasty! Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
Crystal
I love these cookies and suckers!!! They are so adorable!!! How fun to make as a treat while watching Monsters Inc. Pinning!!!
Lil' Luna
Definitely, Crystal! We’ve been ALL about Monsters this week! 😀
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust
These are my favorite cookies ever, I think. SO cute. We were at Disneyland the week the movie opened in theaters and it was all monsters, everywhere. Jordan was so excited for that movie by the time we saw it!
Lil' Luna
You are way too sweet, Dorothy!! SO glad you like them. It was probably so fun to be at Disneyland when the movie was released… I know how Disney goes all out for those kinds of things. You will definitely have to get Jordan the movie and make the cookies while you watch it!! XO
Jessica Outlaw Moore
Hi! I LOVE the way these cookies look! They are super cute! I do have one question though. Where did you buy the eyes? They look like sugar eyes, but I haven’t had any luck locating them.
Thanks!
Lil' Luna
SO glad you like the cookies, Jessica. I’ve seen the eyeballs at Kroger/Fry’s. They are also at Target in the Halloween section right now and usually in their baking section year round. They are also at Walmart in the Wilton section as well as at Michael’s and Joann’s in the baking section all year long. Hope that helps! 😀
Bernie Banke
Yeah! I need to find these eyeballs. My DD has informed me she warnts a Mike “owski” birthday.
Lil' Luna
They would be perfect for a Monsters Party!! Look at Walmart in the Wilton section or they are at Michael’s and Joann’s in the baking section as well all year-long. 🙂
Jo
Made these last weekend to send to my USAFA cadet in a care package. I’m not sold on the taste but they are so totally cute! My (at home guinea pig) DS thought they were tasty. We’ll see how well they travel…
Lil' Luna
So glad you made them! We think they are so fun and cute, but SO yummy too!! Hopefully, they travel well. 🙂
Jo
The cookies made it from CA to CO just fine and my daughter loved them. Looks and taste. So that would be a
Lil' Luna
YAY! So glad they got there okay. 🙂
Jo
And most importantly a HUGE hit! Not only visually, but taste-wise as well. Thanks for a great website!
Lil' Luna
You are so very welcome, Jo!! Hope you can come back for more inspiration. 😀
bettijo @ PagingSupermom.com
Those lollipop molds are THE best! Totally my favorite. Love they eyeballs too.
Lil' Luna
Oh, I LOVE The molds too!! Need to buy some more asap. The kids LOVE them! Thanks for stopping by, Bettijo! XO
Cheri
Where did you get the lollipop molds? I love them
Cheri
oops now I see the link lol
Aimee
I followed the recipe exactly but my cookies came out still so gooey that it was like eating raw dough. I put them in for another 10 min. Still gooey. My 2 yr old wouldn’t eat it.
I’m in Florida. Is this recipe made in an elevation?
Help!
Lil' Luna
Hi Aimee. These were not made in an elevation (I’m in Houston). Did you refrigerate them for at least half hour? They are still gooey after you take them out of the fridge but then I roll them into balls and place them in the powdered sugar. My oven is a little hot and usually only need to cook for 8-10 minutes and they are a little soft and gooey but not dough-y when we make them. Not sure what happened, but I would make sure they are refrigerated for at least half hour and then cooked for at least 10 minutes. Hope that helps. 🙂
Anna
Question- when I mix the “cake mix” is the cake mix just the powder or the cake mix, mixed with what is in box?
Kristyn Merkley
It’s just the powder into the mixture in step one 🙂 Hope that helps & hope you like these cookies! They are our fav!
Amber
these look adorable! my 4 year-old is begging to make them. I have all the ingredients, except for the cream cheese. do you know if omitting that will ruin the recipe, or could I try it without it?!
thanks,
amber
Mrs.captain
I really had high hopes for these, however no one in out house like the taste at all. I will make again, for the cuteness alone, but will stick with a basic sugar cookie recipe. Like the commenter in FL, ours were so gooey. I cooked them for a good 18 mins and they still are yucky 🙁 really sad
Kate
I totally agree. I bake pretty often, and this is not a great cookie recipe. The dough, even after refrigeration, isn’t great to work with, and it’s a tough balance to take the cookies out in time to be soft enough to place the eyes, because they were still raw on the inside. I ended up taking them out, putting the eyes on, and then finishing them off for another few minutes in the oven. I will make these next time with sugar cookies. The eyeballs were a huge hit, though!
Lil' Luna
Sorry you didn’t like the cookies. They’re always a HUGE hit at our house. 😉
Jen
How do you store them?? Do they need refrigeration because of the cream cheese?
Lil' Luna
You can store them in an air tight container or plate with saran wrap. Hope that helps!!
Leila
I would have to agree, Mrs. Captain.
I followed these directions to the ‘T’.
1] The dough was far too sticky to work with so I ended up adding more flour and leaving it in the refrigerator overnight. That recommended 30 minutes simply doesn’t cut it. The dough is way to sticky to work with and
2] The first batch I made was neon pink (least favorite color to experiment). After 13 minutes, I removed them and while placing the eyes, I noticed the cookies were still uncooked. So I put them in the oven after placing the eyes. FYI The eyes can stand 350 degrees for a couple of minutes before they start browning and look horrible. The powdered sugar also starts to brown after 1 minute. So for the second batch I made the balls smaller and cooked for about 12 minutes. I ended up throwing out the pink ones, so instead of four colors, I ended up with three (neon green, neon turquoise and orange).
3] Presentation-wise, these cookies look fantastic. Taste-wise, I wasn’t impressed at all. As Mrs. Captain and Kate stated, next time around, I’ll choose a basic sugar cookie recipe made from scratch. Thank you for an excellent concept, Lil Luna. I see many others liked the taste. I should specify my opinion is due to the fact I have an altered sense of smell that is sensitive to many processed foods, dyes and chemicals. Hopefully, the kids won’t be as picky. 🙂
Lil' Luna
Sorry you didn’t like the taste. We LOVE them. 🙂 And I must note that we’ve made this recipe SO many times and although the dough is a little sticky, it’s simple to work with if you don’t mind getting your hands a little messy for a few minutes. 😉
Heather Mathews
Hello!! I found the eyeballs but only in 1 size….do you know if you bought 2 different packages to get 2 different sizes? Super cute cookies!! Going to make them for the kids’ Halloween Party!! Adorable and thanks for sharing!!
Lil' Luna
Hi Heather. I bought 2 different packages… one had the smaller eyes and the other had the larger eyes. Hope that helps. 🙂
Dawn {Designed by Dawn Nicole}
Omigosh, these are TOO cute! Pinning to make this week. My kids will love them!
Lil' Luna
I hope they like them as much as my kiddos did!! Thanks for stopping by. 😀
claire
Great project !!
I would love you to come and share @ Craft, Create & Inspire linky party !!!
Look forward to seeing you there 🙂
http://lemonpaperdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/craft-create-inspire-linky-party-3.html
Claire x
Cindy
Where do you get the eyeballs? Order them? A chain store? This is adorable, but I have never seen enough eyeballs outside of a kit that I could make these
Lil' Luna
Hi Cindy! I’ve seen the eyeballs alone at Walmart in the Wilton section as well as at Target in the Baking section. I have also seen the Eyes at Michael’s, Joann’s and Hobby Lobby near the Wilton/Baking sections. Hope that helps. 🙂
Maria
Oh my goodness, how CUTE!!!! I love this idea, so fun and so creative!!! (And yummy looking, too!)
Lil' Luna
Thank you so much, Maria!! Let me know if you make them yourself… they are so easy and delicious and look so cute! 😀
liz
Did you use the neon gel food coloring or the standard liquid in neon colors?
Lil' Luna
I used the neon gel food coloring for the pink and orange, and then used bright/neon food coloring from Hobby Lobby for the turquoise and green just because that is what I had on hand. I think most neon colors work well, and after the powdered sugar goes on it’s just slightly less brighter than the dough color, so you should know what color it ends up by looking at the dough. Hope that makes sense. 😉
Erin
Just made these for my kids classes and they are very excited about them! They are tasty and so simple! Thanks!
Lil' Luna
So glad hey were a hit, Erin!! Hope you had fun making them too. 🙂 Happy Halloween!
Audrey
Hi I’m probably a dummy because it seems like everyone else got this, but do you make up the cake mix first then add that to your other ingredients, or do you just use the dry powder from the cake mix and add your ingredients??
Thanks a bunch (trying to make these tonight, so any quick replies would be most welcome!!)
Erin
Just the dry cake mix with the ingredients she has listed 🙂
Audrey
Thank you Ladies! They turned out fabulous – I am at 7500 feet and added 1 TSP flour (I usually add flour to get rise), could’ve added maybe 1.5. I put them in the fridge for 30 mins and they came out solid (not gooey), about the consistency of my regular chocolate chip cookie dough. 9.5 mins in the oven and they’re perfect!!
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly Erin, and for getting back to me Luna! Great recipe, the kids at preschool were already fawning over them when I dropped them off!
Lil' Luna
Sorry, Audrey – just now seeing this… just the dry cake mix. 🙂
Zuzu
These are EPIC!!!! Thank you so much. Did the tri color platter and got kudos from all ages. Followed directions to the t and they were perfect. THANK YOU!!!
Making with M&Ms for birthday tonight, thinking Toffee bits for November, and Peppermint for December. I feel a tradition in the making!!! THANK YOU!!!
Lil' Luna
YAY!! I’m so happy to hear they were a hit!! I have a few more versions coming up too in the next few weeks. They’re such a yummy and easy cookie recipe. 🙂
Hannah
Hey!
I just wanted to let you know, that I tried making your cookies for Halloween time and they are DELICIOUS! I couldn’t find candy eye balls though, so I substituted with white frosting and mini hershey kisses. 🙂
Thanks for inspiring me. 🙂
Lil' Luna
Great idea, Hannah! So glad I could inspire, and that they were delicious. Thanks also for taking the time to comment back and let me know how they were. Have a great week! XO
Kate
Wow, cookies look scary and delicious at the same time! Thanks for an awesome recipe.
Gemma
Very cute, planning on making for my boys 1st birthday.. Cookie Monster theme… I think they will fit in 🙂
Wanting to confirm the quantity of cream cheese… (We don’t really go by oz in Oz (Australia!! Ha ha).. Is it 18 oz (532g) or 1 x 8 oz (236)??
Jill Waichunas
These are adorable! I will be making these this weekend. Too cute!
Lil' Luna
I hope you like them as much as we did. 🙂
Kbear
These are adorable! About how big do these cookies turn out? Thanks!
Lil' Luna
Mine usually end up being about 3 inched diameter. 🙂
Kristin
I was wondering, how many cookies does the recipe yield?
Lil' Luna
It makes about 2 – 2.5 dozen cookies. 🙂
Jesse
Just wondering what size cake mix you use? We have all different sizes here and obviously it would have quite an impact on the outcome. Thanks, can’t wait to try them 😉
Erika
So where would I find the candy eyeballs?
Lil' Luna
Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Joann’s or your local grocery store might in the Halloween section. 😉
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie
Oh my gosh I love these cookies!
Lil' Luna
THANK YOU!! They are so easy to make and festive too (always a hit with the kiddos!) 😉
lydia
Do you know if putting the eyes on before baking them would work? I’d like to try this with my niece but I couldn’t let her mess around near hot cookie sheets.
Lil' Luna
I’d definitely recommend doing it after. I learned that some of the eyes melt to goo when they’re baked. :/
Kevin
MONSTER COOKIES! I just made these today to try out the recipe and I was not disappointed! I didn’t have the neon colors so I ended up making some darker more halloween-esque monsters, but they were perfect! I say “were” because everyone in my house already ate them. You can take a look here: http://instagram.com/p/tsyyVtlPA7
I’ll be keeping an eye out for more of your recipes!
Lil' Luna
They turned out awesome!! LOVE the colors!! Glad they were a hit. 😉
Keaton
I love this idea! Where do you find the candied eye balls?
Lil' Luna
They can be found at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, Joann’s, Wal-Mart and some grocery stores. 🙂
Brenda Boston
Candy eyeballs. Where do you buy them? Are they some type of mint painted with black
for the pupil? Never seen them? Thanks, BB
Lil' Luna
They are a candy with not much flavor. You can find them at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, Joann’s, Walmart and some grocery stores. 🙂
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom
I am just now seeing these for the first time. . LOVE these!!! Pinned! and these might have to happen for my kids’ Halloween party. . love!!
Sass
Hi! Making these for my daughter’s kindergarten class Halloween party. How many cookies does one recipe yield? Thank you, I know it’s been a year since you posted this! Such a cute idea!
Vanessa
The cookies are ADORABLE!! I can’t wait to make them!!
Lil' Luna
Hope you like them!!
Ali K
Love love loved this recipe!! SOOOO delicious, so fun, so so easy. Even made it without a mixer! A bit of an arm workout, but quite the success! Check out my tumblr for pictures! Thanks for the great recipe 🙂
Lil' Luna
SO glad they were a hit!!
Steph
Hi there,
I love this idea and want to make them for my son’s party (monster theme).
I just want to know what is the weight of a Cake Mix Box? I live in South Africa and I am worried that the weights are different (we get different sizes here).
Thanks for your help.
Lilouche
These look fantastic! I wanted to make these for my neighbor’s kids but I can’t seem to find a reply to the question of how big the cake mix box is? I see several people from all over the world have a similar concern. Would you mind letting us know which size works best for this recipe? Again, thanks for sharing and I cannot wait to make these!
Lil' Luna
It’s the standard 18.25 OZ box. 🙂
Angela
Where do you find the candy eyeballs? I can’t find them anywhere.
barbara
walmart.com will tell you if they are in a store near you. it’s where i found mine :))
Lil' Luna
Great tip! Thanks, Barbara!
Lil' Luna
Michael’s, JoAnn’s, Hobby Lobby and most grocery stores during the Halloween season. They are usually with the baking/Wilton Supplies.
BunnyD
Fabulous looking cookies! I’m dying to make a batch for my neighbor. I bring him cookies now and then when I make them for my husband. These will make him laugh. He’s 85. Lovely couple and super neighbours. =D
Lil' Luna
Did you make these for your neighbor? If so, I hope they liked them!! You’re so sweet to do that. 🙂
Wei
Hello from Singapore! These monster cookies are so adorable I had to make some tonight. Taste wise, they rock! But the cookie texture is crumbly and wouldn’t hold up. I did use a white cake mix that says super moist on the box. Could this be the reason?
Lil' Luna
Hmm – not sure why. They shouldn’t be really crumbly. They are soft and gooey though… I’d make sure you refrigerate them after each batch so they are hard when you are rolling them in the dough. 😉
Ashley
I just made these with my daughter for her class Halloween party tomorrow. They turned out perfect and oh so cute! Thanks so much for this recipe!
Natasha
Made these tonight! Awesome!
Stupidly bought only one pack of eyeballs and ran out for the second batch.
Also it’s difficult to tell when to take the cookies out. First batch was more cakey. Second batch was perfect albeit no eyeballs lol.Big hit with the kids -but honestly they just ate the eyeballs lol.
Can’t wait to make again!
Lil' Luna
So glad they worked out for you! I always stock up on the eyes when I see them so I have plenty on hand. 😉
Caroline
I love the idea of these but, like other people have mentioned, wasn’t crazy about the taste which was synthetically sweet. Is there a white cake mix that you could recommend? I used the Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic White.
Brooke
Just wanted to let you know that I made these last weekend and besides being cute, these cookies are DELICIOUS!!!!!
Lil' Luna
SO glad you like them, Brooke!! 😀 Have a great day!
Moshe
Hi, I would like to make this cookies in Israel for my son birthday (big monster fan) , just few clarification that it will succeed. 1. 8 oz. Cream Cheese Bar softened – it means a cream cheese like Philadelphia? 2. Cake mix is the ready mix you buy to make a cake ? thank you for your help, Moshe
Moshe
Hi, I would like to make this cookies in Israel for my son birthday (big monster fan) , just few clarification that it will succeed, 8 oz. Cream Cheese Bar softened – it means a cream cheese like Philadelphia? thank you for your help, Moshe
Lil' Luna
Yes – Philadelphia Cream Cheese. 🙂
andee
All of these are fantastic ideas! However, what’s the serving size for each?
Brenna Roach
These are seriously some of the cutest cookie I’ve ever seen. How many cookies do you usually get out of this recipe?
Lil' Luna
THANK YOU!! I can usually get 2 dozen out of one batch. 😉
Rachel @ Style & Spice
These are adorable! We just used the Wilton Candy Eyeballs for some Halloween cupcakes. They are such a fun product and so easy to decorate with!
Lil' Luna
Yes they are – I use them for so many of my Halloween treat!! Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!!
Jordan Propps
I absolutely love the monster cookies! I am having a monster themed birthday party for my daughter’s first birthday. How many cookies did you get out of your recipe?
Lil' Luna
I’m so glad you like them. We got almost 2 dozen out of them but it depends if you want big or small cookies. Ours were about 2.5 inches. 😉
Vysh
My SO and I saw these and thought they looked so cool! We went to Target to find the eyeballs (which they had) but they also had this new Duff Goldman cookie mix for Halloween. “Jeepers Creepers”. Waaaat?! We ended up going with the mix, since it was actually cheaper than the eyeballs themselves. Just thought I’d leave that here 🙂
Lil' Luna
How did it turn out with that mix?
Vysh
The colours looked great, but the cookies were a bit on the sweet side (birthday cake flavoured?). Good texture, chewy insides with crisp edges and a box made about 20-25.
We made them to share, so I stretched the eyeballs out (there’s about 100 per kit) over a batch of chocolate cookies. Added extra Halloween decorations to make them creepier. I’d recommend the kit for convenience (1 box – $3.99).
Lil' Luna
I’ve never tried them with that cake mix, but the regular cake mix always turns out great. Way to go on stretching everything out!! 😀
Dominique
Hello hello, I’m about to try this monster cookie recipe as a halloween treat for my students, I was just wondering how many cookies can be made from one batch? Thanks!
Dominique
just saw the answer to my question so no need to answer (about 2 dozens) 🙂
Darlene
I found this cookie recipe on Pinterest in time for Halloween this year and they were perfect. The cookies were yummy and soft and delicious. I’m going to use the same recipe and make more cookies for Christmas just without the eyes.
Delph2704
Hi!
I want to follow your recipe for my son’s birthday next week, but I was wondering what this line meant:
1 8 oz Cream Cheese Bar
is it 1/8 oz that you mean?
Thank you for this great post!
Lil' Luna
It’s 1 cup cream cheese or 1 (8oz) bar of cream cheese (which is how it is sold in the store if not in a tub). 😉
Shanna Sorenson
These are too cute, my boys would love them!
Lil' Luna
Thanks!! You’ll have to make them for them 🙂
Tina
We made these today! I only had enough eyeballs for 2 per cookie, except the last cookie only got 1! I had blue, pink and yellow food gel colors that I used, leftover from a princess cake. 🙂 It was hard to mix in the color into the dough, but these were pretty good! We watched Goosebumps while making them!
https://s6.postimg.org/dibzg6q1t/2016_10_08_Gooey_Monster_Eyes_Cookies_0009.jpg
Lil' Luna
How fun!! Sorry, you ran out of eyeballs!! Thanks so much for giving them a try 🙂
Meghan
I love these! they’re so cute! I tweaked the recipe a little bit. I added a full teaspoon of Vanilla (which is what i do to all my cookie recipes, I double the vanilla) and about a half a cup of white chocolate chips and made them in orange and purple . I also did them in chocolate since I wanted black cookies, but added a half a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips instead of white. They look awesome and smell so good. I made them for my family, as well as my best friend in the Navy, and I got high praises all around!
Lil' Luna
Those are great changes!! I’ll have to try them! They sound cute 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing!
Melissa G Welch
This is my go to cookie recipe . I have always received high reviews any where I take these. Yes , the dough can be hard to work with the key is to make sure it’s chilled at least 30 minutes , I put mine in the freezer divided in half . I leave one half in the freezer while I work on the first half. It also really helps to coat your hands in powdered sugar. My ultimate favorite version is white cake mix with chopped pecans added . When not using the cute eyeballs I dust mine with a little powdered sugar after they cool . Don’t give up on this recipe , you can use so many different flavors and ingredients . Get creative !!!! I’ve done coconut cake mix and rolled in coconut, added chocolate chips , used chocolate cake mix and peanut butter chips . The variations are only limited by your imagination. But tonight we are making the monster version for the kids in our family for Halloween.
Lil' Luna
Thank you Melissa for sharing those ideas!!! That’s what I love about these cookies!! They are for sure one of my go-to cookie recipes! Thanks again!
Danny S
I know its several years since you posted this but I tried this last weekend for a horror movie night with my friends. They were a big hit. Making them again right now for tomorrow’s potluck at my office! The taste was great, too. Nice and fluffy. Almost cake-like (which I suppose makes sense since it uses cake mix). Even my extremely picky roommate liked them.
Lil' Luna
Thanks so much for giving them a try! Glad they were a hit!! Have fun and thanks for letting me know!
Joanne
I *love* these cookies! So cute! I want to make them for my kid’s Halloween party at school, but due to peanut allergies everything needs to be homemade. Is there an ingredient list I can use to replace the box cake mix?
MegMeg
These are so yummy! The dough needs to chill longer than a half hour to get a really good cracked effect (~1 hour). The eyes stick fine if you do it as soon as cookies come out and you give them a little push. Thanks for the idea!!
Lil' Luna
Thanks for stopping by Meg..glad you like them!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
These cookies are too cute — and your photography is gorgeous! Was wondering if you use Tailwind — because I am starting a new tribe called CHRISTMAS COOKIES and I’d love for you to participate! If you’re interested, send me an e-mail and I’ll invite you! Thanks!
Jakob Boman
Hi, I made the cookies together with my sister’s children over the weekend, and they simply loved them! Thanks for sharing:-)
Lil' Luna
What a fun uncle!! Thank you so much!! I’m so glad they liked them!!
Darin
Any idea if these freeze well? I have a halloween party that I need to make ~50 cookies for — I’d love to make them in advance and freeze
Kristyn Merkley
I personally haven’t tried freezing them. I wish I knew! I don’t see why if you made the dough, froze it, then baked them, they shouldn’t turn out. They will be a hit!
BB
These are so cute!! Im thinking of making them for my employees and my child’s halloween party! About how many cookies does one batch make?
Kristyn Merkley
It can make quite a few..anywhere from 2-4 dozen, depending on how big you make them 🙂 They’d be a hit!
Samantha Anaya
I was really excited to do this recipe. I had a friend a long long time ago who made these kinds of cookies and I never bothered to ask for the recipe. The fact that they are so cute was a plus for me. However, the dough is SUPER sticky. That’s just with the recommended time of 30 minutes of chill time. I put them again for 15 more minutes but they are too hard to work with. Am I doing something wrong? I was sure I was following this recipe right. Such a shame they taste good but too hard to work with.
Kristyn Merkley
I’m honestly not sure why they are so sticky. Yes, they are a little sticky, but not so much that you can’t work with them. I’m sorry they were. I do like to drop spoonfuls into the powdered sugar, then I will roll them, so that does help. Thanks for trying them, though!