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Birthday cake flavor meets soft, gooey cookies in these M&M cake batter treats. They're packed with chocolate chips, bright sprinkles, and colorful M&Ms for a chewy, irresistible snack.
Basic Cookie Ingredients
- Yellow Cake Mix: Forms the base and brings that birthday cake taste everyone loves.
- Baking Powder: Makes them puff up nicely and keeps them soft and chewy.
- Large Eggs: Holds everything together and adds needed moisture.
- Canola Oil: Keeps your cookies soft for days after baking.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds a sweet backdrop that makes other flavors pop.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: Spread throughout each cookie for little chocolate surprises.
- Colorful M&Ms: Look great and give you crunchy pockets of chocolate.
- Rainbow Jimmies: Bring extra pop of color and slight crunch.
- Nonpareils: Make cookies look fun and add tiny sweet bits.
Cookie Making Steps
- Mixing Your Dough:
- Warm your oven to 350°F. Put parchment on two cookie sheets. Mix cake mix and baking powder in a big bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs, oil, and vanilla. Pour wet stuff into dry stuff and stir until you get smooth dough.
- Adding The Fun Stuff:
- Carefully mix in the mini chocolate chips, M&Ms, and sprinkles. Let the dough sit for about ten minutes to soak up moisture.
- Forming Your Cookies:
- Scoop out two tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Roll them in your hands and put them on your sheets about two inches from each other. Press some extra M&Ms and chips on top to make them look fancy.
- Baking Just Right:
- Bake for 10-11 minutes until the edges look done but the middle seems slightly soft. Let them cool on the pan for three minutes before moving to a wire rack.
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Fun Serving Suggestions
Pair these cookies with fresh strawberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a pretty dessert plate. Try using school colors in the M&Ms for team events or enjoy them with cold milk for a childhood throwback.
Holiday Color Ideas
Switch to red and green M&Ms for Christmas, red/white/blue for Fourth of July parties, or go with orange and black when Halloween comes around.
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M&M cake batter cookies are your ticket to quick, colorful treats that everyone will love. They're foolproof and bring that nostalgic birthday cake flavor to any party or gathering.
Frequently Asked Questions
- → Can I use a different flavor of cake mix for these cookies?
- You bet! Yellow cake mix gives you that classic birthday cake taste, but feel free to try any cake mix you like. A chocolate cake mix works great with M&Ms for a double dose of chocolate goodness. Want more color? Go with Funfetti cake mix. White cake, strawberry, or even lemon cake mix will all do the trick. Just make sure you pick a cake mix with pudding included to get the right soft texture.
- → Why do these cookies need to rest for 10 minutes before baking?
- That 10-minute break does two important things. First, it lets all the dry stuff soak up moisture, which means your cookies will bake more evenly and feel better in your mouth. Second, it helps the dough firm up a bit, so you can shape it into those tall, oval balls that make thick, soft-centered cookies. Skip this waiting step and you might end up with flat, crunchy cookies instead of puffy, chewy ones.
- → Can I freeze the dough or baked cookies?
- For sure, both work great in the freezer! To save dough, roll it into balls, chill them on a tray until they're hard (about an hour), then pop them in a freezer bag. When you're ready to bake, no need to thaw—just cook them straight from frozen and add 1-2 more minutes to the baking time. For cookies you've already baked, wait till they're totally cool, then stack them between sheets of parchment paper in a sealed container. Frozen cookies thaw quickly on the counter in 20-30 minutes, or you can warm single cookies in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to make them taste fresh-baked.
- → Why do my cookies flatten too much when baking?
- Got flat cookies? Try these fixes. First, make sure you're rolling the dough balls taller instead of wider like the recipe says. Second, your baking powder might be old—check if it's still good and grab a new can if needed. Third, your dough could be too warm; try cooling it in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. Lastly, cake mix brands can be different in how wet they are, so you might need to stir in 1-2 tablespoons of regular flour if your dough feels too sticky.
- → Can I make these cookies without the M&Ms or sprinkles?
- Sure thing! These cookies work with all sorts of mix-ins. Don't want M&Ms? Swap in the same amount of chocolate chips, white chocolate bits, or any baking chips you enjoy. You can skip the sprinkles completely and the texture won't change. Other tasty options include chopped nuts, toffee pieces, crumbled cookies, tiny marshmallows, or dried fruit bits. Just keep your total extra goodies around 3/4-1 cup so the dough stays the right thickness.
- → Why does this recipe specifically call for cake mix with pudding in it?
- Cake mixes with pudding already mixed in (often called 'moist' or 'super moist' on the box) contain special stuff that keeps moisture locked in during baking. This matters a ton for these cookies because it's what gives them that wonderfully soft, tender feel. If you used cake mix without pudding, your cookies would turn out drier and more crumbly instead of soft and chewy. Look for brands like Pillsbury Moist Supreme or some types of Betty Crocker Super Moist cake mixes that include pudding in the mix.