Celebrate the season with a festive recipe for Cake Mix Grinch Cookies that are soft, chewy and studded with red M&M candies. Quick and easy to make, they require only five ingredients!
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Cake mix is my secret to the softest, chewiest Grinch cookies studded with red M&M’s. Using cake mix not only yields a fantastic taste and texture, but it also cuts down on measuring (read: prep time) since all of your dry ingredients are already conveniently combined.
If you’ve never used cake mix as a shortcut ingredient, what are you waiting for? It is such a fantastic way to make freshly baked goodies quickly and easily. Just like with chocolate chip cake mix banana bread or red velvet chocolate chip cake mix cookies, a boxed mix is a handy way to cut down on prep time with delicious results. I always keep a few boxed cake mixes in my pantry for those last-minute baking needs.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Only five ingredients! You read that right. A box of cake mix is the heavy hitter here; you just need to add eggs, oil, food coloring and the M&Ms.
- Unbelievably chewy texture. Cake mix cookies always have the chewiest, softest texture.
- Fun and festive. With the bright-green dough and the red M&Ms, these cookies are some of the best Christmas cookies to serve at holiday parties or to give as gifts.
- Quick and easy to make. The dough comes together quickly and it’s easy to scoop portions onto a baking sheet. Just make sure to allow time for the dough to chill.
- Eggs: Two eggs bind the dry ingredients and give the cookies richness and structure.
- Oil: Vegetable oil serves as the fat to make these cookies tender and moist.
- Green food coloring: Tint the dough to make vivid green cookies. I like gel-based food coloring because a little goes a long way and it yields vibrant colors.
- Cake mix: A box of white cake mix is the hero of this recipe, providing the flour, sugar, leaveners and flavoring all at once.
- M&Ms: Look for single-color M&Ms online or in the candy aisle. During the holidays, you can often find bags of red and green M&Ms.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Cake mix is a shortcut secret ingredient to making these cookies. Since the cake mix already includes all the dry ingredients, measuring ingredients is quick and easy!
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil and green food coloring.
- Add the cake mix. Stir in the entire box of cake mix just until combined. Fold in ½ cup of the red M&Ms.
- Chill the dough. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the dough will firm up and spread less while baking.
- Preheat the oven. With the oven rack in the center position, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
- Form the cookies. Remove the dough and portion out the cookies using a large cookie scoop, ice cream scoop, or two spoons. The cookies should be about the size of two tablespoons of dough. Space the cookies at least 2 inches apart, since they’ll spread.
- Bake the cookies. Bake until they’re just set in the middle, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately press the remaining ¼ cup of M&Ms into the top of the cookies, dividing them evenly between the cookies. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a baking rack and cooling completely.
Kelly’s Note: I always prefer gel food coloring, rather than classic water-based food coloring. You need much less of it to achieve a very vibrant color, and it leads to a much richer color as well. My favorite brands are AmeriColor and Wilton.
The key to using cake mix to make cookies is that you must refrigerate the dough after mixing it together. The cake mix leads to a much softer dough, so chilling it will ensure your cookies don’t spread too much and get too flat.
The great news is you only need to refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes to get the ideal texture for scooping and baking.
- Add the food coloring before the cake mix. It’s important to whisk the food coloring with the eggs and oil before adding the cake mix so that your cookies are uniformly green in color and not streaked.
- Any brand of cake mix works. You can use any brand of white cake mix for this recipe, just make sure the package size is 15.25 or 16.25 ounces. I like the ones with pudding in the middle — your cookies will be extra moist!
- Leave plenty of room. Make sure to leave at least two inches of space between cookies on the baking sheet. As they bake, these cookies will spread.
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
Stack the cookies in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper or wax paper. They’ll stay fresh for up to 5 days. Cake mix cookies also freeze well. Stack them between layers of plastic wrap in an airtight container or a resealable freezer bag. They will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a very soft dough, so cake mix cookies will spread a lot when baking. To keep them from spreading too much, be sure to refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking.
These Grinch cake mix cookies will stay fresh for 3 to 5 days at room temperature or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
You can use any brand of white cake mix to make these cookies. Use packages that measure 15.25 or 16.25 ounces.
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Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon green food coloring
- 1 (16.25-oz.) box white cake mix
- 1 cup red M&Ms, divided
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil and the green food coloring.
- Stir in the cake mix until combined then fold in ¾ cup M&Ms.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and using an ice cream scoop (or two spoons) portion out about 2 tablespoons of the dough into mounds on the baking sheets, spacing the mounds at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies until they are just set in the center, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately press the remaining ¼ cup M&Ms into the tops of the cookies. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Kelly’s Notes
- It’s important to mix the food coloring with the eggs and oil prior to adding the cake mix so that your cookies are uniformly green in color and not streaked.
- You can use any brand of white cake mix for this recipe. Make sure the package size is 15.25 or 16.25 ounces. I like the ones with pudding in the middle — your cookies will be extra moist!
- Leave at least two inches of space between cookies on the baking sheet. As they bake, these cookies will spread.
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Happy Holidays, Kelly! Enjoy your recipes and love all things Grinchy. Also easy & tasty cookies. Made a recipe and a half ( used the small jiffy one layer golden cake box mix to add to the white cake and halved other ingredients again for correct measurements) and it turned out great. Just remember since these are oil based they will really spread so space accordingly. Also, cooked green turns out lighter than the batter so start out VERY Grinchy green for best results. Merry Christmas to all!
Thanks so much for your notes, Kim! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe. Happy holidays!
So easy and so festive! My kiddos loved helping to make these and (of course) loved eating them. Thanks for another great recipe, Kelly!
I’m so thrilled your family enjoyed the cookies, Heather!