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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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Lemon Cookies
Lemon Crinkle Cookies
1 hr 27 mins
Lemon Sugar Cookies
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Frosted Lemon Cookies
14 mins
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
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This recipe was originally published April 2018.
I was thinking for making these cookies cause they sound so yummy. But I was wondering if I could add some raspberry and make them into raspberry lemonade cookies? Do you have any suggestions on how much I should add and what I should use?
I haven’t tried adding raspberries to this cake mix cookie recipe but if you do try it out I would suggest using frozen raspberries instead of fresh because they hold up better in the batter and tend to look more pretty coming out of the oven. The fresh raspberries usually create a mess in the batter and they don’t turn out looking as good. As far as taste goes – they taste the same. I would add however many raspberries you think looks like a good ratio of “batter to berry”. Hope this helps!
Great recipes but how can I print “magic custard cake” recipes?
Did you flatten them slightly before baking? Mine were very tasty but didn’t look as good as yours. Mine were still a half ball but good.
I do flatten them slightly by using the bottom of a drinking glass and pressing down on the dough ball very lightly to flatten it out just a bit. Hope this helps!
These cookies are like eating air! Light and moist! Perfect tea cookies.
I’m so happy you like them! Thanks for sharing!
Just made these, and our family loves them! 💛
Yay! So glad to hear the cookies were a hit!
Super easy and very soft and moist! I subbed a white cake mix as I didn’t have lemon on hand and upped the lemon extract to 2 1/2 tsps. And I didn’t chill for 30 minutes as I was pressed for time. Will be making these again. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing what you do! 🙂
Is there a substitute for lemon extract
You can substitute lemon juice for lemon extract. 1 tablespoon of lemon juice equals 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract. You can also use orange juice if you don’t have lemon juice on hand. Hope this helps!
I took these to a whole new level today by adding diced frozen strawberries.
Perfect! That would be so good! Thank you for sharing that!
I love the ease of these cookies! Not to mention how good they are!
Best cookies ever! I am NoT a cookie maker but these are super easy and delicious!
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear! Glad you tried them. Thank you!
This recipe is… average at best. I added extra lemon juice and zest and they still had no flavor. The result is cakey and crumbly, not soft and chewy!
Thank you for trying them!