Fun, bright and festive cake mix cookies are all dressed up to look like monsters. Gooey monster cookies are great all year long!!
Gooey monster cookies remind me of all the fun monsters in Monster’s University. They are colorful and SO fun! If you need more monsters try Monster Bark, Monster Rice Krispies Treats, and Monster Cupcakes.
Monster Cookies
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, especially their movies!
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!
Making Monster Cookies
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
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 STORE 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 monster ideas check out:
Gooey Monster Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
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!
Video
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.
ENJOY!
This is a sponsored post brought to you by Disney and Blueprint Social. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
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.
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!
Do you have a suggestion for a high altitude alteration for your monster cookies? Thank you so much!
I would just google suggestions. I am not too familiar with cooking in higher altitude. Usually, you have to cook longer, I know that, but that’s all I know :/ Hope you find some tips!
I followed the cookie recipe 100% but thy did not turn out well! They were too creasy and saturated from the butter. I pitched the whole batch.
I made these cookies twice in the same week: one for Monster bash at my kids’ school and the other for halloween. they were a big hit and we had a blast making them. super easy and super effective. i noticed the first time my butter and cream cheese were not completely at room TEMPERATURE, which caused the cookie dough to be really sticky and difficult to work with (even after refrigeration). If that happens, my advise is to only roll them after you put them straight from the cookie scoop to icing sugar. That way is much easier to roll them. The second time the batter was much better because my mixture was more even, so i was able to roll it with my hand easely after being in the fridge. Thanks for this recipe. i’m sure it will became a tradition in our house.
Thank you for sharing that! I am glad you gave them a try! They are definitely a tradition in our home!
I was concerned when seeing everyOnes comments saying theyre not flavorful so i added white chocolate chips and they are amazing!!
That would be great. They are just a butter taste, so it’s not over powering, but adding chips is great! Thank you!
so these cookies are a big hit.
I have used a chocolate cake mix and put some caramel pieces in them
then I made a lemon cake mix and put white chocolate chips and almonds in them they are so good.
Ooh those variations both sound delicious! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoy the cookies!!
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
I haven’t tried freezing them, so I’m not sure exactly how they’d freeze.
The dough was really tacky and hard to work with and after baking the tops were a little crusty to push in an eyeball….but if i took them out earlier, they were not done. I am at high altitude which makes all cookies difficult. I HAVEN’T tasted them yet, Taking them to work tomorrow. Thay are cute! All of the stores around here were out of big eyeballs, so I ised several little ones.
Oh, darn..I am sorry it was. They shouldn’t be, they are pretty soft cookies. I am not too familiar with baking at higher altitude. Hope they were ok 🙂
Do the monster eye cookies need to be refrigerated since they are baked with cream cheese?
Not once they are baked 🙂 I like to keep in an air tight container 🙂
So fun! Your pics are amazing. They look so tasty!
Do you have a suggestion for a high altitude alteration for your monster cookies? Thank you so much!
I would google suggestions for baking at higher altitudes. Usually, it takes longer. There might be more suggestions online though. Good luck!
Do the eyeballs stick on since they’re put on after they’re baked? I’ve always added sprinkles prior to baking, but worried the eye balls might burn. Thanks!
The eyeballs go on right after they come out of the oven 🙂
My family ADORES THESE cookies! I literally will eat 4 dozen by myself.. so we cant make them too often or i will gain a lot of weight! SO good! be sure to not overcook them! Scrumptious sweet treats!!!
LOL…I know what you mean! I am glad you all like them! Thank you!
I almost didn’t make these after reading a few negative comments, but they turned out so great! They are adorable, the kids had a blast making them and they were cery tasty. We chilled the dough for longer (a few hours) so maybe that made a difference, but we didn’t have any issues with the cookies being too gooey. Thank you for the fun recipe!!
You are so welcome!! SO glad they turned out!! Thank you 🙂
My son’s favorite cookies we have ever made! He still talks about the monster cookies we made together! Making great family memories with these delicious treats!
This was the best recipe to make with my kids for Halloween. They loved it!
I have been meaning to post a review for these cookies. They are so good and so much fun to make with my kids. We make them a few times a year.
Could you use red velvet cake mix for a Valentines flair?
That would be a good idea!