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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.
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Lemon Sugar Cookies
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Frosted Lemon Cookies
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This recipe was originally published April 2018.
Can I use bottle lemon juice instead of extract?
Yes. Lemon juice is a bit more tart and acidic, but it should work to swap. You’ll have to let us know how the cookies turn out!
So if I’m reading this right you don’t flatten the cookies? You just bake them in a ball ?
Correct!
Can I use parchment paper instead of greased cookie sheet?
Can I use parchment paper instead of a greased cookie sheet.
Can I use parchment paper instead of a greased cookie sheet.
You bet!
I’ve used to recipe for all cookies. Change the cake mix box to your liking! Everyone loves cookie day. Thank you
I’m not a huge lemon fan, but my husband is. These made me change my mind. So good!
Can you use this recipe to make snickerdoodles bu changing the lemon cake mix and extract to vanilla and using granulated sugar and cinnamon instead of powdered sugar?
Absolutely!! That sounds delicious and such a fun twist on the recipe!
I’ve made these twice and they are really delicious. I was wondering if this same recipe could be used for chocolate chip cookies but just use yellow cake mix, vanilla extract, and add chocolate chips🤔 Do you think it’s possible?
Absolutely! We actually have that very recipe on our site. We call the our Gooey Butter Cookies. And you could totally add chocolate chips to these. https://lilluna.com/recipe-tip-of-the-week-gooey-butter-cookies/. Another great cake mix/chocolate chip cookie mash up are our Cake Mix Cookie Bars: https://lilluna.com/cake-mix-cookie-bars/ These have m&m’s and chocolate chips but you could just use chocolate chips if you’d prefer.
Awesome sauce! I’ll give these a try. Thanks so much!!
When short on time these cake mix cookies are the thing.
I do roll my cookies first into white granulated sugar and then roll in powdered sugar before baking.
Love it! The more sugar the better! 🙂