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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
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!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello!
I live in Germany and haven’t seen cake mixes. Can this be made at home? This is flour and sugar mixed together?
Love this idea! My littles love to bake and these cookies are right up their alley! But where can I find candy eyeballs!?
A lot of grocery stores have them in their baking section. Walmart, Target and even some kroger stores. You can always find them on amazon too.
Love all your cookie recipes. Keep them coming.
these are so cute. Do they taste like cream cheese? I have kids that won’t touch them if they do. LOL
Can this dough be frozen and baked at a later time? Thank you
Yes it can. I like to form it into balls and then freeze. Also, I wouldn’t add the powdered sugar until you are ready to bake. Hope that helps! (There are a few more details about freezing in the post).
Can these cookies be frozen after baked? For how long?
Yes they can! They freeze for about 3 months.
There is a notation to use the right sized cake mix, but there is no reference to what size cake mix was used. Any ideas?
This recipe should work with either a 14.25 oz or a 15.25 oz cake mix.
Thx so much !!! Appreciate the useful info.
I’ve made another cake box recipe, but these are by far my favorite! The guys at work also loved them. I love the cream cheese in the mix. The flavor is much more developed and makes for a chewier cookie!
So happy to hear that! I love the cream cheese addition in there too.
These were so good. I love how easy but festive there were. My daughter was so excited to take them to her class Halloween party!
Perfect for a spooky treat. I doubled the batch which made things a little more difficult because my bowl got super full, but they baked up great and we delivered two bags to “BOO” friends and the rest are headed to a youth activity!
The best cookies. I’ve made them 3 years in a row for Halloween. I’ve made them throughout the year as well (just without the Halloween coloring and eyes). So quick and easy!
Cute, but I found them far too sweet. I am wondering if the cake mix size should be specified as another person commented.
Yum
In TIPS the first thing mentioned is “Did you use the correct size cake mix.” but nowhere in the recipe does it say what the correct size is. DH and BC alone are different weights, so please clarify.
For a non-american, “white cake mix” is absolutely alien. What is in it, and could you mix up flour+baking soda to do the trick as substitution?
Oh yes! It is essentially flour, sugar, baking soda, powdered milk… You could probably search for “white cake mix substitute” or “homemade white cake mix” and find a specific recipe and use that in place of the boxed mix.
These are so fluffy and tasty! My son claims they are “off the charts”! Thanks for the great recipe
Can you make these cookies using a gluten free cake mix?
Yes you can me and my grandson just made them and they are great
These were absolutely awful. Dry no flavor just terrible. I baked for a living and these I thought would be a quick and easy cookie. Even my grandson said they sucked lol
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What size box cake mix?
I really loved these cookies the first time I made them and I was excited to play with the recipe. I tried to make them with lemon cake mix and I used a smaller scoop with a shorter baking time and they turned out way too cakey and not very lemony. Next I tried a chocolate cake mix with the original size scoop and they still turned out cakier than I’d like. I don’t see anyone complaining about them being too cakey. What did I do differently? Is it the box mix?
We have lots of different variations of these gooey cookies, so switching up the cake mix shouldn’t be a problem. I’d say to just make sure the cake mixes are the same size. If it does seem too dry and cakey, you can possibly leave out some of the mix. Usually the problem for readers is the cookies are too gooey, so I’m not totally sure. Could be the baking time too? Maybe pull the cookies out just a bit earlier so they don’t set up so much. It may just take a little trial and error to figure out how to get the just the right texture again. 🙂
We love these cookies! They are so much fun to make and serve. Plus they taste so good that even the adults want to eat them!
Love these cookies! We make them every Halloween!
Great recipe; quick and easy; and fun. Turned out perfectly I can imagine these cookies for many different holidays. There are so many fun shaped candy embellishments, you’re only limited by your imagination. 🙂
Yes, I love that thought!! If you can imagine it, you can make it! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Beautiful consistency & taste!!
Will definitely make more..but something is telling me…you could use this recipe with any boxed cake mix ie: chocolate..red velvet…yellow cake mix..etc..etc..& it would be just as good…Yes?!
And good for any season of the year as well…
You absolutely can! In fact, our Gooey Butter Cookie recipe is where this recipe was born from and we have lots of different variations based on what cake mix you wanted to use. If you scroll down in this post, you can see some of the variations we recommend: https://lilluna.com/recipe-tip-of-the-week-gooey-butter-cookies/
I just made these with my 5 year old granddaughter and they were a huge hit! They were also absolutely delicious for both kids and adults.
I used the Wilton candy eyeballs and the neon food coloring (both from Amazon).
We followed the recipe exactly and did not find the dough difficult to work with. My granddaughter had no problem rolling the dough into balls then in powdered sugar.
Thank you, this one is a keeper!
You’re so welcome!! I’m so glad you had fun making these cookies with your granddaughter. They are a fun one for the holiday!
How many grams is 1 bag of Cake flour? Thank you!.
U.S. cake mixes are typically 15.25 ounces, so you can run that through a converter which would make it about 425 grams.
My family loves these but do they have to be refrigerated after baking due to the cream cheese?
Just saw the answer above 🙂
Yes, we’d recommend storing them in the fridge. They are good for 3-5 days.
Very interesting. Looking forward to making for Halloween Trick or Treaters! Where do you find the candy eyeballs!
Thank you so much!
Mary Jane McGraw
[email protected]
You’re welcome!! What a fun goody for trick or treaters. You can find them at Walmart, Target or possibly even just your local grocery store in the baking section. If not there, probably in the cake decorating section. Amazon would have them too!
Do you think these cookies would be ok to ship? I want to make these for my friends daughters.
Thank you!!
I imagine they would be! You could even freeze the cookies before shipping so they may potentially stay fresh longer? I haven’t tried shipping them before, so you’ll have to let us know how they turn out if you do. I’m sure this would be such a fun surprise for her to receive in the mail!
Can you use gel food coloring with this recipe?
Cutest cookies for Halloween. Easy and fun to make!
I made these with two of my friends’ toddlers that I was watching for her. They had so much fun and ask for them all the time. With October just around the corner I’ll have to plan to make them again.
These cookies are so fun and tasty! Can’t wait to make them again this year!
Thank you so much for this amazing cookie recipe! It’s very easy to follow and taste really good! Well done!
These cookies were so fun to make and my kids loved them!!
We made these last Halloween & they were a hit!! They are already requested for this year! They are fun & so good!
Could you use red velvet cake mix for a Valentines flair?
That would be a good idea!
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.
This was the best recipe to make with my kids for Halloween. They loved it!
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!
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 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!
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 🙂
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!
So fun! Your pics are amazing. They look so tasty!
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 🙂
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 🙂
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.
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!!
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 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.
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 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!
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?
It can make quite a few..anywhere from 2-4 dozen, depending on how big you make them 🙂 They’d be a hit!
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 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!
Hi, I made the cookies together with my sister’s children over the weekend, and they simply loved them! Thanks for sharing:-)
What a fun uncle!! Thank you so much!! I’m so glad they liked them!!
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!
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!!
Thanks for stopping by Meg..glad you like them!
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?
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.
Thanks so much for giving them a try! Glad they were a hit!! Have fun and thanks for letting me know!
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.
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!
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!
Those are great changes!! I’ll have to try them! They sound cute 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing!
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
How fun!! Sorry, you ran out of eyeballs!! Thanks so much for giving them a try 🙂
These are too cute, my boys would love them!
Thanks!! You’ll have to make them for them 🙂
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!
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). 😉
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.
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!
just saw the answer to my question so no need to answer (about 2 dozens) 🙂
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 🙂
How did it turn out with that mix?
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).
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!! 😀
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?
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. 😉
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!
Yes they are – I use them for so many of my Halloween treat!! Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!!
These are seriously some of the cutest cookie I’ve ever seen. How many cookies do you usually get out of this recipe?
THANK YOU!! I can usually get 2 dozen out of one batch. 😉
All of these are fantastic ideas! However, what’s the serving size for each?
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
Yes – Philadelphia Cream Cheese. 🙂
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
Just wanted to let you know that I made these last weekend and besides being cute, these cookies are DELICIOUS!!!!!
SO glad you like them, Brooke!! 😀 Have a great day!
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.
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!
So glad they worked out for you! I always stock up on the eyes when I see them so I have plenty on hand. 😉
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!
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?
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. 😉
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
Did you make these for your neighbor? If so, I hope they liked them!! You’re so sweet to do that. 🙂
Where do you find the candy eyeballs? I can’t find them anywhere.
walmart.com will tell you if they are in a store near you. it’s where i found mine :))
Great tip! Thanks, Barbara!
Michael’s, JoAnn’s, Hobby Lobby and most grocery stores during the Halloween season. They are usually with the baking/Wilton Supplies.
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!
It’s the standard 18.25 OZ box. 🙂
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.
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 🙂
SO glad they were a hit!!
The cookies are ADORABLE!! I can’t wait to make them!!
Hope you like them!!
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!
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!!
Candy eyeballs. Where do you buy them? Are they some type of mint painted with black
for the pupil? Never seen them? Thanks, BB
They are a candy with not much flavor. You can find them at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, Joann’s, Walmart and some grocery stores. 🙂
I love this idea! Where do you find the candied eye balls?
They can be found at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, Joann’s, Wal-Mart and some grocery stores. 🙂
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!
They turned out awesome!! LOVE the colors!! Glad they were a hit. 😉
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.
I’d definitely recommend doing it after. I learned that some of the eyes melt to goo when they’re baked. :/
Oh my gosh I love these cookies!
THANK YOU!! They are so easy to make and festive too (always a hit with the kiddos!) 😉
So where would I find the candy eyeballs?
Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Joann’s or your local grocery store might in the Halloween section. 😉
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 😉
I was wondering, how many cookies does the recipe yield?
It makes about 2 – 2.5 dozen cookies. 🙂
These are adorable! About how big do these cookies turn out? Thanks!
Mine usually end up being about 3 inched diameter. 🙂
These are adorable! I will be making these this weekend. Too cute!
I hope you like them as much as we did. 🙂
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)??
Wow, cookies look scary and delicious at the same time! Thanks for an awesome recipe.
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. 🙂
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
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!!!
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. 🙂
Just made these for my kids classes and they are very excited about them! They are tasty and so simple! Thanks!
So glad hey were a hit, Erin!! Hope you had fun making them too. 🙂 Happy Halloween!
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!!)
Just the dry cake mix with the ingredients she has listed 🙂
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!
Sorry, Audrey – just now seeing this… just the dry cake mix. 🙂
Did you use the neon gel food coloring or the standard liquid in neon colors?
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. 😉
Oh my goodness, how CUTE!!!! I love this idea, so fun and so creative!!! (And yummy looking, too!)
Thank you so much, Maria!! Let me know if you make them yourself… they are so easy and delicious and look so cute! 😀
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
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. 🙂
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
Omigosh, these are TOO cute! Pinning to make this week. My kids will love them!
I hope they like them as much as my kiddos did!! Thanks for stopping by. 😀
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!!
Hi Heather. I bought 2 different packages… one had the smaller eyes and the other had the larger eyes. Hope that helps. 🙂
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
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!
Sorry you didn’t like the cookies. They’re always a HUGE hit at our house. 😉
How do you store them?? Do they need refrigeration because of the cream cheese?
You can store them in an air tight container or plate with saran wrap. Hope that helps!!
Glad its not just me! I thought i Missed a step. Mine were super stiCky aftwr almost 35-40 minutes of refridheration. Have taftes them yet thOugh ??
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. 🙂
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. 😉
I just made these with my 5 year old granddaughter and they were a huge hit! They were also absolutely delicious for both kids and adults.
I used the Wilton candy eyeballs and the neon food coloring (both from Amazon).
We followed the recipe exactly and did not find the dough difficult to work with. My granddaughter had no problem rolling the dough into balls then in powdered sugar.
Thank you, this one is a keeper!
You’re so welcome!! I’m so glad you had fun making these cookies with your granddaughter. They are a fun one for the holiday!
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
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!
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. 🙂
Question- when I mix the “cake mix” is the cake mix just the powder or the cake mix, mixed with what is in box?
It’s just the powder into the mixture in step one 🙂 Hope that helps & hope you like these cookies! They are our fav!
Those lollipop molds are THE best! Totally my favorite. Love they eyeballs too.
Oh, I LOVE The molds too!! Need to buy some more asap. The kids LOVE them! Thanks for stopping by, Bettijo! XO
Where did you get the lollipop molds? I love them
oops now I see the link lol
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…
So glad you made them! We think they are so fun and cute, but SO yummy too!! Hopefully, they travel well. 🙂
The cookies made it from CA to CO just fine and my daughter loved them. Looks and taste. So that would be a
YAY! So glad they got there okay. 🙂
And most importantly a HUGE hit! Not only visually, but taste-wise as well. Thanks for a great website!
You are so very welcome, Jo!! Hope you can come back for more inspiration. 😀
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!
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! 😀
Yeah! I need to find these eyeballs. My DD has informed me she warnts a Mike “owski” birthday.
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. 🙂
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!
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
I love these cookies and suckers!!! They are so adorable!!! How fun to make as a treat while watching Monsters Inc. Pinning!!!
Definitely, Crystal! We’ve been ALL about Monsters this week! 😀
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 🙂
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!
Can I make these the day before Halloween
Yes 🙂 They stay soft for a while! ENJOY!