I’ve seen A LOT of recipes online for how to make valentine’s day sugar cookies– there are few easier ways to quickly whip up something adorable and delicious. I’ve taken my top 3 favorites and mashed them up to suit my tastes (taste, texture, aesthetics) and will be sharing what I do.  My recipe is adapted from Cookies and Cups, Sally’s Baking Addiction and Sprinkle Bakes. If you don’t like “unhealthy” or “artificial” foods– now might be the best time to navigate elsewhere 😉

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Note: my recipes are ALWAYS by weight– read about why that’s important HERE.  My favorite food scales are super economical but I like THIS the best for function, and THESE best for design.

Strawberry Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. salted butter, at room temperature (read about what that means HERE)
• 3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 15 grams strawberry jam, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp baking powder (this is for rise — leavening does NOT cause spread)
• 15.25 oz. prepackaged strawberry cake mix (dry mix) — This is the whole package of Pillsbury brand — other brands have a bit more or less so please use caution and do the math
• 85 grams prepackaged white cake mix (dry mix)
• Chocolate chips or other add-ins – measure with your heart — I used valentine’s day themed M&Ms and festive sprinkles!

*the picture has sour cream– but I omitted for the final version of the recipe since you don’t *really* need it. Same for Crisco.

Directions:

Throw everything EXCEPT FOR YOUR MIX-INs into the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together on low-medium until well incorporated. You may use a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer.

When everything is well combined and the batter is thick and slightly sticky, add in your chocolate chips, nuts, whatever you want. Cover with plastic wrap or transfer to the fridge if batter seems sticky, refrigerate for 20 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F * (use an oven thermometer, most of our ovens are off!); line two baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment. Try our house brand from my shop OR try amazon for a huge variety!

Portion the dough onto the prepared pans using a cookie scoop (2 tbsp) or by the slightly heaped tablespoon. There is no need to flatten but if you want to add sprinkles, now is the time to do it. DO NOT scoop these too big. Due to the high moisture content, they will never bake up properly and be wet… goopy messes… I’ve been there. Still delicious though!

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes for smaller cookies, up to 12 minutes for larger cookies, or until just set. They are “done” when they puff up in the oven and cracks start to form on the top — steam escaping the baked cookies 🙂 Cookies should be a little soft and barely browned on top (avoid over-baking), and some browning on the bottoms is expected.  Allow cookies to cool all the way on the baking sheet (approx. 15-20 min) – they keep cooking during this time, and deflate a bit.  Store the cookies in an air-tight container or heat seal them — these are wonderful in the freezer and can last 2 months but if keeping at room temp, they’ll start drying out within a few days.

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

Tips and Tricks:

• Get fancy: Dip half in chocolate– you get a play on chocolate-dipped strawberries
• For an extra punch of strawberry flavor, make your own strawberry flavored chocolate chips – simply melt 8 oz white chocolate or almond bark in the microwave, mix in 2 TBSP jello mix, pipe onto parchment like little chips and let cool until dry, peel off and use just as you would normal chocolate chips
• If you want a puffier, cake-ier cookie, scoop these small (1 even tbsp, no bigger) and they will puff up more and stay that way– you can also choose to omit the cream cheese for 1 oz water and that will also help!

If you’ve got any additional questions or want to share your cake mix cookie experience with me below– would love to hear from you!! Thank you for reading, and until next time!