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We have been making Gooey Butter Cookies almost our whole lives! They’re one of our favorites, which is why we decided to make a lemon version. We are glad we did, because today’s Lemon Cake Mix Cookies have become a family favorite!
These cookies are soft, flavorful and beyond simple. You just need 5 ingredients (including our shortcut cake mix) and some powdered sugar to dip them. The cream cheese and butter in the recipe make these cookies melt in your mouth.
Other than chilling the dough for half an hour, these lemon cream cheese cookies can be made quickly, and with the help of the kiddos. For more lemon cookies, try our Frosted Lemon Cookies and the Lemon Sugar Cookie recipes as well.
Why we think you’ll love it:
- A favorite shortcut. A cake mix makes this dessert EXTRA easy with just a few ingredients.
- Bright flavor. We love lemon and these easy cookies are gooey and chewy with plenty of tasty lemon flavor.
- Saves you time. The chilled dough can easily be made ahead of time, and baked cookies are PERFECT for freezing for a last-minute treat!
Lemon Cake Mix Cookie Ingredients
- 1 (15.25-ounce) box of Lemon Cake Mix – use only the cake mix powder in the recipe
- ½ cup butter softened – We use unsalted butter, see How to Soften Butter Quickly
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract – or 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 large egg – room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- optional ingredients – Add white chocolate chips to the dough, top with toasted coconut, or even drizzle a powdered sugar/lemon glaze on top of your baked cookies.
How to Make Lemon Cake Mix Cookies
STEP 1. PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F.
STEP 2. BATTER. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter, lemon extract, egg, and cream cheese until fluffy.
STEP 3. Add in cake mix and beat until smooth. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
STEP 4. ROLL. Add ½ cup powdered sugar to a small bowl. Roll dough into ½-1 inch balls and dip in powdered sugar. Placed on greased cookie sheet.
STEP 5. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Sift these easy lemon cake mix cookies with more powdered sugar if desired. ENJOY!
Lemon Cake Mix Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25-ounce) box lemon cake mix
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- With a hand mixer, beat butter, lemon extract, egg, and cream cheese until fluffy. Add in cake mix and beat until smooth.
- Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Add ½ cup powdered sugar to a small bowl. Roll dough into ½-1 inch balls and dip in powdered sugar. Placed on a greased baking sheet (or line the pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat).
- Bake for 12-13 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking pan before transferring them to a cooling rack. If desired, sift more powdered sugar over the tops. ENJOY!
Video
Notes
- Do not make the cake into batter. You will only be using the lemon cake powder in the cookie recipe.
- We always use room-temperature cream cheese and eggs because they incorporate the best.
- This dough is a little sticky. We chill the dough and use a cookie scoop to help make it easier to scoop. This also prevents flat cookies!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Do not make the cake into batter. You will only be using the lemon cake powder in the cookie recipe.
- We always use room-temperature cream cheese and eggs because they incorporate the best.
- This dough is a little sticky. We chill the dough and use a cookie scoop to help make it easier to scoop. This also prevents flat cookies!
Recipe FAQ
To add even more flavor to these cookies, mix 1 teaspoon of lemon zest into the cookie dough. You can use lemon juice to make a lemon glaze to drizzle on top of the baked cookies.
Store the cookie dough, covered, in the fridge for up to 2 days, or freeze cookie dough balls for up to 3 months. See How to Freeze Cookie Dough for tips.
Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months.
More Like This
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Cake Mix Snickerdoodles
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Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
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1 hr 27 mins
Lemon Sugar Cookies
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Frosted Lemon Cookies
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Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
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This recipe was originally published April 2018.
Your lemon cake mix cookies are just excellent. Made them for three different parties over
the Easter Week and they were completely gone each time. The recipe was requested so many times that by the third party I printed out your recipe to hand out to guests! Those were also gone!’
Wonderful to know how easy to make and easily pleasing to so many!
Thanks so much
Awe, that makes me so happy!! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I am so glad they were a hit!
Very good and simple!!! Will be added to my baking desert list. Thank you for sharing.
My cake mix is 13.25 oz. (Thank you Betty Crocker 🤦♀️)
Do you know how I should adjust recipe for this amount of mix?
The recipe should turn our more or less the same even with the smaller cake mixes now. You could take a Tbsp of butter and cream cheese out if you’re worried about it, but I think the cookies will still turn out quite similar!
About how many cookies does the lemon cake mix cookies make?
I do not like to use lemon extract. Can I use lemon juice or zest instead? And how much? Thank you.
Can you use cake mix with pudding already in the mix?
Yep!
These lemon cake cookies are the kids fav after snack! They love the summer flavor vibe of the cookies as well as their texture! Such a great treat!
oh my goodness! I cannot thank you enough for this delicious recipe! all my friends ate this up at our game night!
These lemon cake mix cookies are so soft and delicious! Thank you for the recipe, I’ll definitely be making these again!
We’re doing a narrow-boat trip with a picnic for older people, so we will definitely be baking these delicious-looking goodies.
Thank you