Why mess with scratch baking when cake mix snickerdoodles turn out soft, thick and perfectly puffy?
These cinnamon-sugar cookies deliver all the classic snickerdoodle flavor without extra steps.
Perfect for last-minute cravings, holiday trays, or whenever you need cookies fast and still want them fabulous.
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Cake Mix Snickerdoodles Ingredients
Ignore the ingredients listed on the back of the box. We're making cookies, not cake.
- A 13.25 ounce box of yellow cake mix (or white)
- Flour
- Two large eggs
- Cream of tartar
- Canola oil or vegetable oil
- Sanding Sugar
- Ground Cinnamon (I like Vietnamese for its punch)
See recipe card for ingredient amounts.
How to Make These Cookies
- Combine cake mix, flour and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in oil.
- Add eggs-one at a time-and stir until combined.Â
- Your dough should be tacky to the touch but not sticky.Â
- Scoop into balls using two teaspoons or a #40 cookie scoop.
- Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet, 12 cookies at a time.Â
- Let cool on a wire rack before moving.
A note about the cake mix and flour. If you're using a smaller cake mix as I did, 13.5 ounces, you'll need to add ½ cup of all-purpose flour.
I used a #40 cookie scoop, which holds 1.6 tablespoons of dough.
Pro tip: you can reuse the same piece of parchment paper repeatedly.
Recipe Notes
Don't skip the cream of tartar. Tt's crucial for giving these cookies their classic tangy snickerdoodle flavor.
If you don't have sanding sugar for rolling the cookie dough balls, use granulated sugar, turbinado sugar or demerara sugar.
If you really want to gild the lily, make your own freshly ground cinnamon.
What Are Cake Mix Cookies?
Cake mix cookies are made using a box of cake mix and other ingredients, which turns the box mix into cookie dough instead of cake batter.
In fact, be sure to ignore the ingredients listed and the directions on the back of cake mix box.
You're making cookies, not cake.
The texture of cookie dough made from a boxed cake mix is similar to play dough.
If you were making cake using a cake mix, you would also be adding a cup of liquid, such as water or milk.
That extra liquid gives you the loose cake batter texture.
What Does Cream of Tartar Do for Snickerdoodles?
Cream of tartar is key to making puffy, tangy snickerdoodle cookies.
This is a powdered acid, which will help your cake mix cookies rise and puff up. It will give your snickerdoodles a tangy taste as well.
Cream of tartar is also an ingredient in making your own baking powder.
Storage/Make Ahead Instructions
You can freeze this raw dough portioned into balls or freeze baked snickerdoodles for up to three months.
Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and then tuck into an airtight container.
Be sure to mark the name of the recipe and the date on the package.
You probably won't remember when you made them.
More information on how to freeze raw cookie dough and how to freeze baked cookies.
Yellow Cake Mix Cookies
Some of the best-performing dessert recipes on this site start with a yellow or white cake mix.
These include Cake Mix Toffee Bars, Kentucky Butter Cookies, St. Louis Style Gooey Butter Cake and Gooey Butter Cookies.
If you're a fan of cinnamon, also try Red Hots Cookies, which have a lovely pink tinge and a mild cinnamon flavor.
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More cake mix cookies
Curious about making cake mix cookies? Check out my master cake mix cookie recipe from which you can make endless variations of cookies.
Also, if you don't need two dozen cookies laying around, you can make a half-batch of cake mix cookies.
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Recipe
Cake Mix Snickerdoodles
Cake Mix Snickerdoodles are soft, thick cookies with a cinnamon sugar coating and classic tangy flavor thanks to cream of tartar in the dough.
Ingredients
- One (13.5 ounce) box of yellow or white cake mix
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- Two large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup canola oil or vegetable oil
- ¼ cup sanding Sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I like Vietnamese for its punch)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Combine cake mix, flour, cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl, stir in oil, break eggs one at a time and add to bowl.
- Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Pour sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl or plate.
- Portion dough using a #40 cookie scoop.
- Roll each cookie ball in the sugar/cinnamon mixture.
- Bake 12 cookies at a time on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 350F° for 12 minutes. The edges should be set.
- Let cookies rest on cookie sheet for a minute or two before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
You can use a white cake mix if that's what you have.
Don't forget the cream of tartar
I prefer to use sanding sugar for cookie coating but if you don't have sanding sugar, you can use granulated sugar instead.
These cookies are soft and thick. Don't over bake, they'll finish setting up on the cookie sheet. Remember that cookies continue to bake for a minute or two after you remove them from the oven.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 76Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gSodium 0mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 0gSugar 3gProtein 1g
This nutrition information is approximate. I am not a registered dietician.
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