My soft and cakey strawberry cake mix cookies are filled with bright berry flavor and rolled in sugar for an irresistible crunch. These strawberry cookies are quick and easy to make. It all starts with a box of cake mix!
Easy Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
Ever since my lemon cake mix cookies and funfetti cake mix cookies, I set my sights on making a version with strawberry cake mix. After a few rounds of testing, however, I found that the cake mix on its own lacked the bold berry flavor I was looking for, and I’m not a fan of the artificial taste of strawberry extract.
The answer? Freeze-dried strawberries! I took inspiration from my strawberry frosting and blended up some freeze-dried berries, and the flavors absolutely popped. These pretty pink strawberry cake mix cookies are perfect for birthdays and summer baking, and I can’t wait to make a batch for Valentine’s Day!
Why You’ll Love These Cake Mix Cookies
- Irresistible texture. These strawberry cookies are soft-baked and cakey. I roll the cookies in sanding sugar before they go into the oven for glittery, crunchy strawberry sweetness in every bite.
- Authentic flavor. You’ll find lots of 3-ingredient strawberry cake mix cookie recipes out there (made from cake mix, oil, and eggs), but I found that a few “bonus” ingredients, like freeze-dried strawberries and vanilla extract, bring out the flavor in these strawberry cookies even more.
- Easy to make. There aren’t many dessert recipes easier to make than cake mix cookies. The cookie dough comes together in minutes and bakes up quickly.
Ingredient Notes
There might be 5 ingredients in these strawberry cake mix cookies instead of three, but at the end of the day, they all go into one bowl. Below are some quick notes. Scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list of ingredients.
- Strawberry Cake Mix – I use a 15-ounce box of Duncan Hines strawberry cake mix but feel free to choose your favorite. Take note of the size of the cake mix you’re using, as you may need to adapt the recipe slightly (see below).
- Butter – You might have noticed from my other cake mix cookie recipes, but I prefer the taste and texture of melted unsalted butter to oil. If you’d like to make these cookies with vegetable oil instead, that’s fine, too.
- Freeze-dried Strawberries – I buy freeze-dried strawberries from Trader Joe’s, but you can find them at Target or Kroger stores. One 1-ounce bag of freeze-dried strawberries makes about ¼ cup of powder for these cookies. If you can’t find them, you can use 1/4 cup of instant Strawberry Jello as an alternative option, but the cookies do spread a bit more.
- Sanding Sugar – For sparkle and crunch, this is my favorite one from Wilton.
Different Sized Cake Mixes
As mentioned, I based this cookie recipe on a 15.25-ounce Duncan Hines cake mix. For a 13.25-ounce cake mix, this means a difference of 2 ounces (57 grams). To retain the same results in this recipe, I’d add 1/2 cup of flour to the cake mix.
How to Make Strawberry Cookies From Cake Mix
Like most cake mix cookie recipes, these strawberry cake mix cookies need only one bowl, and about 10 minutes to make before they go into the oven. Here are the steps. Scroll to the recipe card for printable instructions.
- Grind the strawberries. Begin by blitzing freeze-dried strawberries in a blender to make a fine powder.
- Make the cookie dough. Now, add all the ingredients to one bowl, and mix!
- Portion the dough. Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough into balls. Roll each ball in sugar and arrange the cookies on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake these strawberry cake mix cookies for 11-13 minutes at 350ºF. I usually aim for slightly underbaked, but not gooey, see below.
How to Tell When These Cookies Are Done
Check the cookies for doneness by sticking a toothpick into the center to see if it comes out clean. In recipe testing, I found a pretty noticeable difference between 11, 12, and 13 minutes of baking time in my oven. At 11 minutes, these cake mix cookies didn’t quite set up after baking and stayed underdone in the middle, while 13 minutes made them a bit dry. 12 minutes was the sweet spot. I suggest doing the toothpick test at the 10 minute mark and going from there.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Add chocolate chips. Optional, but if you love a little extra sweetness in your strawberry cake mix cookies, go ahead and add ¾ cup white chocolate chips. I like to set aside a few to press into the tops of the cookies when they come out of the oven.
- Don’t skip the sanding sugar. I love the sparkly effect and extra crunch that comes from rolling the cookies in sugar before baking. I highly recommend that you don’t skip this step!
- Flatten the cookies a little. You might find that these cake mix cookies puff up quite a bit when they bake. If you’d like a flatter cookie, simply press the tops of the cookie dough a little flatter before baking. Make sure to leave about 2” in between each cookie to account for spreading.
- Decorate. Try frosting these strawberry cookies with vanilla buttercream or give them a drizzle of white chocolate ganache. If it’s a special occasion, don’t forget the sprinkles!
How to Store
- To store. Keep these strawberry cake mix cookies In an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
- Freeze. You can freeze the cookies for up to 1 month. Store them in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container, and defrost at room temperature.
More Strawberry Recipes
- Strawberry Cupcakes
- Strawberry Pop Tart Cookies
- No-Bake Strawberry Delight
- Strawberry Mascarpone Cake
- Strawberry Jello Poke Cake
Pink Strawberry Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 11-12 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These irresistible pink cookies are soft-baked and so delicious. Toss in some sprinkles for extra fun!
Ingredients
- 1 box (15oz) strawberry funfetti cake mix
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-ounce bag (28g) freeze-dried strawberries
- 1/3 cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.
- Using a food processor, grind the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients together and mix until well combined. The dough will be thick.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes. The center of the cookies should be slightly under-baked but not too gooey. Use a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie to check for doneness.
Notes
- Optional add-in: ¾ cups white chocolate chips. Save a few chocolate chips to gently press into the tops of the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.
- Cake Mix: I based this recipe on a Pillsbury cake mix, which is 15.25oz. For a 13.25oz cake mix, add 1/2 cup flour.
- Freeze-dried strawberries: If you can’t find these, use 1/4 cup instant strawberry jello instead. It does make the cookies bake quite a bit flatter.
- To store. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
- Freeze. These cake mix cookies can be frozen for up to one month.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 253
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 343.2 mg
- Fat: 11.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.2 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 2.3 g
- Cholesterol: 56 mg
Tried this recipe as I loved the lemon version. Homerun #2 with the strawberry. So easy and quick to make and SO delicious. Every single recipe I try from beyond frosting has been amazing. Now whenever I see the strawberry cake mix on sale, I stock up so I can make these cookies.
Amazing! Thank you for the kind words.