These Cake Mix Chocolate Cookies with Peppermint are soft, rich cookies that taste delicious and take almost zero effort. All you need is a boxed cake mix, three ingredients, and 20 minutes to make the most deliciously chocolaty cookies with a blast of holiday peppermint. Bake them up for a quick dessert or add them to your Christmas cookie tins.
Our family has always loved the Christmas season and baking has always been a huge part of it. I just can't see Christmas going by without baking up myriad kinds of cookies to share with family and friends.
These cake mix chocolate cookies are so easy that they are always first on the list to make. Plus the kids love to help since there are so few ingredients and hardly any measuring. And, while I'm on a roll, I'll whip up some other easy cookie recipes like Pistachio Cherry Meltaways, Chocolate Chip Bars, and another cake mix cookie, my Mint Chip Cookies.
When you want cookies that taste like they're made from scratch but without all the hassle, bake up these chocolate cookies with peppermint. The cake mix gives you all your dry ingredients in one convenient package and all you need to do is add the oil, eggs, and your favorite add-ins. That's it!
They're fun to make as-is for the holiday season or try out your own variations (suggestions below) for any time you want a sweet treat fast.
Why you need to make these cookies
- Quick and easy - just 20 minutes start to finish
- They're soft, moist and fluffy
- No need to chill dough
- Full of chocolate flavor for all you chocoholics
- You can make these without a mixer if you prefer
- So many ways to change them up to make them your own!
Flavor variations
Chocolate cake mix flavors - I used devil's food but chocolate fudge, German chocolate and red velvet would be great choices
Other cake mix flavors (depending on your add-ins)- vanilla with mini M&Ms, white cake with candy bar pieces, lemon with white chocolate, banana cake with peanut butter chips, carrot cake with coconut, or spice cake with pecans. Or try something funky like the new Blue Velvet cake mix with white chocolate chips.
Gluten-free option - choose a gluten-free cake mix
More mint - change out the peppermint chips and add more crunch with ½ cup crushed candy cane pieces and ½ cup white chocolate chips.
Add-in choices - chocolate chips, Andes mint chips, M&Ms, candy bar pieces, mini marshmallows, peanut butter chips or cut-up mini peanut butter cups, cinnamon chips, coconut, chopped nuts, and of course sprinkles!
Make it a chocolate peppermint crinkle cookie - roll in powdered sugar before baking
Ingredients for chocolate peppermint cookies
Chocolate Cake Mix - any brand of mix will work. I'm a Duncan Hines Cake Mix girl but Betty Crocker and Pillsbury cake mixes will work as well.
NOTE: This recipe was first made with an 18.25 oz. box of cake mix. Most cake mixes are now sold in 15.25 oz boxes so I reduced the oil in the recipe to ⅓ cup for thicker cookies. You can also opt for the traditional ½ cup oil but I would add ¼ cup all-purpose flour to balance out the extra oil.
Oil - use vegetable oil for the best result as it makes the softest cookies
Eggs - use large eggs
Peppermint Chips - for the perfect holiday flavor
How to make cookies with cake mix
- In a large bowl, add cake mix, oil and eggs.
- Stir or beat until just combined.
- Add peppermint chips or add your own, almost anything goes! Try with Andes mint chips, Reese's pieces or mini marshmallows.
- Stir to incorporate.
- Roll cookie dough into balls between plam of hands. You can then roll in powdered sugar for a crinkle-type cookie or just place on cookie sheet as is.
- Here's a cookie sheet with half crinkle and half regular cake mix cookie ready to bake.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes then let cool on cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Tips & Tricks
- If you want light and fluffy cookies keep mixing to a minimum. Overmixing will make flatter cookies.
- Keep cookies soft by not overbaking them. 10 minutes is plenty of time for these cake mix cookies.
- Get some of your cookie baking out of the way by making the dough ahead of time and freezing for 6 months. Or bake them now, cool and freeze cookies on a cookie sheet then place in resealable plastic bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Caution: different cake mix flavors react differently to this method. You may find some result in thinner cookies, like yellow cake mix, while others, like strawberry, make thicker cookies.
More Christmas cookie recipes
Almond Cloud Cookies - are chewy and light with a touch of sweet and almost wholly comprised of almonds.
Chocolate Snowball Cookies - rich fudgy cookies for the chocolate lover in all of us.
Peanut Butter Sugar Cookies from I Dig Pinterest - what's not to like about soft cookies drizzled with melted sugar cookie kisses!
Peppermint Blossom Cookies - is an easy, festive white chocolate pudding cookie filled with white chocolate chips and crowned by a peppermint kiss.
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Cake Mix Chocolate Cookies with Peppermint
Ingredients
- 15.25 oz package boxed chocolate cake mix
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup peppermint chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, oil, and eggs. Beat just until mixed.
- Stir in peppermint chips.
- Here you have the option of rolling the dough into a ball and then rolling in confectioner's sugar before placing on the prepared cookie sheet or just dropping by teaspoonful onto the cookie sheet, spacing about 2" apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes on cookie sheet on wire rack. Remove from cookie sheet and finish cooling cookies on wire rack.
- Store in airtight container on countertop.
Notes
Nutrition
This post has been updated with easy step-by-step directions and new photos. It was first published on December 10, 2014.
