Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies are made with a strawberry cake mix which is doctored up with additional flour, sugar, and butter for a delicious bakery style strawberry cookie! They are topped with a homemade cream cheese frosting.
Even though the weather says otherwise, it is springtime and I am dying to cook and bake with spring flavors! I have everything lemon and strawberry on my mind, and I've been wanting to make Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies for weeks. Oh and I'll be making Strawberry Dump Cake very very soon, too!
I have a handful of cookie recipes made with cake mixes, from my Pumpkin Cake Mix Cookies and Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies to my Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies, and I just knew I had to make a strawberry version when I eyed strawberry cake mix at the store!
All of my giant bakery style cake mix cookies are "semi-homemade" as they use a cake mix for their flavoring, which also keeps them super soft. The addition of other ingredients like butter, sugar, and flour, give them a chewiness and keeps them sturdy. These cookies are not cake-like at all!
As mentioned, this recipe uses cake mix, so no fresh strawberries are needed.
Beat cold butter. To start, beat the cold cubes of butter until they're well combined. This usually takes about a minute. Next, add the sugar and beat until well combined. You'll likely need to scrape down the edges of the bowl, as the cold butter tends to stick to the edges of stand mixer bowls.
Add eggs and vanilla. Once the butter is well combined, add the eggs and egg yolk one at a time. Again, you'll need to scrape down the edges of the bowl. Add vanilla extract and beat to combine, followed by baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add cake mix and flour. The last addition is the cake mix and flour, beating until well combined.
Make the cookies. To form the dough into dough balls, use a ⅓ cup measuring cup. I like to spray the measuring cup with cooking spray, which makes the dough easy to remove. Otherwise it is quite sticky. Roll the dough into nice large balls and then place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Since these cookies are very large, I usually only have 3 cookies per baking sheet. Press gently down to flatten them slightly.
Bake. Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes in a 375 degree oven. The edges should be slightly golden and the middle should be set. Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting. To make the cream cheese frosting, beat together cream cheese and room temperature butter until creamy. Add the vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar until well combined and then add some milk to thin it out just a little.
Frost. Frost the cooled cookies with the cream cheese frosting and then enjoy!
Don't over bake. The cookies may not seem completely baked after 9-10 minutes, however they will set up as they cool.
Use a measuring cup to measure out the cookies. These cookies are much larger than regular cookies. I recommend using ⅓ cup measuring cup. If you'd like slightly smaller cookies, use a ¼ cup measuring cup and bake for closer to 8-9 minutes.
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. This will ensure the cookies don't stick to the baking sheet. Alternately, you can use a silicone mat on the baking sheet.
Store in an airtight container. Place the cookies in a large Tupperware or Ziplock baggie. Since it has cream cheese frosting, I recommend storing them in the refrigerator. These also freeze well and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Giant Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies