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These gooey butter cookies are prepped in 5 minutes and have a perfectly addicting chewy texture making them one of our go-to cookies!

Gooey butter cookies stacked on top of each other on white plate.
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Cake Mix Cookies!

We love making cookies with the kids, and these gooey butter cookies are a family favorite! This cake mix cookie is pretty much half a cookie and half a cupcake, and you really can’t go wrong with that. You may also want to try our Gooey Butter Cake!

When you need a quick and easy cookie recipe, cake mix cookies are the way to go! They’re so convenient, and you can easily switch up the flavors depending on the mix—like these Frosted Lemon Cookies, or Funfetti Cookies.

WHY WE LOVE IT:

  • Mix it up. Easily change the flavor by using your favorite flavor of cake!
  • Soft and chewy. They are made with cake mix, butter, and cream cheese and are so soft and moist.
  • Easy. Simply dump, mix, roll, and bake. The batter is prepped in only 5 minutes!
Ingredients for gooey butter cookies on white counter.

Ingredients

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese – softened
  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened How to Soften Butter Quickly
  • 1 egg room-temperature incorporates best
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (15.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix or another flavor like strawberry or chocolate cake mix
  • 1 cup powdered sugar – plus more for dusting

How to Make Gooey Butter Cookies

  1. BATTER. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer (or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) to beat 8 ounces cream cheese, ½ cup butter, 1 egg, and ½ teaspoon vanilla with a hand mixer until fluffy.
    • Add the cake mix powder and mix until combined. Chill for 30 minutes.
  2. PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  3. BAKE. Place 1 cup powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Scoop and roll dough into 1½-inch cookie dough balls then roll in powdered sugar until well coated. Place onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
    • Bake for 10–12 minutes.
    • Let cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
  4. ENJOY! Sift more powdered sugar on top, if desired.
Gooey butter cookies recipe stacked on top of each other on white plate.

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4.99 from 439 votes

Gooey Butter Cookies

By: Lil’ Luna
Made easy with a yellow cake mix, these gooey butter cookies are prepped in 5 minutes and have a perfectly addicting chewy texture!
Servings: 24 cookies
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Chill time: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 (15.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, egg, and vanilla with a hand mixer until fluffy.
  • Mix in cake mix until combined, and chill for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Place powdered sugar in a bowl. Scoop out and roll dough into 1½-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar until well coated. Place onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.
  • Bake for 10–12 minutes.
  • Let cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a rack to cool.
  • Sift more powdered sugar on top, if desired.

Video

Notes

Variations. Other cake mix flavors such as strawberry, chocolate, and Funfetti can be used. 
Store cookie dough. Place the dough in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days or see How to Freeze Cookie Dough.
Store cookies. Place cooled cookies in an air-tight container on the counter for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 57kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 0.3g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 4mg, Potassium: 4mg, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 129IU, Calcium: 2mg, Iron: 0.04mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Recipe FAQ

How to store the dough?

Place the dough in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days or see How to Freeze Cookie Dough.

How to store?

Place cooled cookies in an air-tight container on the counter for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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4.99 from 439 votes (332 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




429 Comments

  1. Emily says:

    5 stars
    Light and fluffy! They’re rather plain, but still very lovely. They’d be great with tea or coffee. We served these with fresh strawberries and it tasted like strawberry shortcake!

  2. Nah says:

    5 stars
    I made these. They are really good. Not sure what if did wrong but it was just a bit drier than I thought it should be. My husband says they are the best cookies he’s had.

  3. Karen Knebel says:

    I made these with my granddaughter and they were a hit! Can I make the dough ahead of time and freeze it until I am ready to bake them?

  4. Julie Glasgo says:

    These cookies are the absolute BEST!! M daughter-in-law doesn’t even like cake but these are her favorite cookie ever!! Tastes like heaven!!

  5. Lauren says:

    5 stars
    This receipe is great, and was recommended to me by my bosses mother. I love that you can try different cake mixes with it. Last year I tried strawberry, and chocolate. This year I will be doing a red velvet mix with some white choc chips, a devils food cake with toffee bits, and the standard yellow cake mix with lemon zest. My only thoughts on it are that on my first go around it was tough to tell when these were done bc the top stays very gooey (as the name suggests), and the bottom of the cookies brown but very little. Not to mention they are too squishy to really check the bottom so that can be difficult. You also have to let them cool on the pan for several minutes (like 5-10) before putting them on a wire rack if you’re going to, and even then as they are such a soft cookie I would recommend parchament paper down on the cooling rack. Lastly they should be fully cooled if you plan to sprinkle them with powdered sugar afterwards, otherwise they wont get that pretty snowed on effect. This recepie is so easy, and if you like to bake cookies the things I just mentioned are easy enough to figure out, although it couldn’t hurt having these tips in the recepie so it was easier for newbies. Either way its still a 5 * receipe as its so easy to create and play with.

  6. Katie says:

    Hi what did you use to put the cookies on the pan with? Was it wax paper? Thank you!

    1. Jane says:

      You can’t put wax paper in the oven, but you could use parchment paper.

  7. Coene says:

    I’m a bit turned off by description of “gooey”. I’d prefer soft and moist, but not sticky. Are they really sticky, gooey?

  8. sheryl says:

    Yeck! These tasted bland and perhaps needed more ingredients. I have used yellow cake mix before in pan cookie bars but those usually have more ingredients which enhances the cake mix and in the end, you can’t distinguish the cake mix. These cookies were so bad that my brother-in-law put his back. That’s a first in 35 years!

  9. Jennifer Miller says:

    I’ve made this recipe many times over the years. I substitute 1 Tbs. cornstarch and 1 Tbs. water for each egg because my elder nephew is allergic to eggs. It never fails me.

  10. Lisa Taggart says:

    5 stars
    Baked these cookies first using yellow cake mix, followed by chocolate fudge and then red velvet. Bake these cookies and you will not regret it! Chocolate fudge are the favorite, but any flavor cake mix works and will not disappoint!