These cake batter chocolate chip cookies are a cross between soft-baked chocolate chip cookies and funfetti cake. For over a decade, this has remained one of the most popular cookie recipes on my website, and after baking a batch, you’ll taste why. If you love chocolate chip cookies and sneaking a taste of cake batter, you will love these fun cookies!
I originally published this recipe in 2012 and have since added new photos and a few more success tips.
Since 2012, this recipe for cake batter chocolate chip cookies has consistently been one of my most popular cookie recipes.
It was my very first recipe to “go viral,” which led to an appearance on Good Morning America and in People magazine. It even caught the eye of a cookbook publisher… which led to my first published cookbook, Sally’s Baking Addiction. (And they’re on the book cover, too!)
They’re like chocolate chip cookies and confetti cake in one irresistible treat.
What Makes Them a Fan Favorite?
- Soft-baked chewy centers with crispy edges
- Sweet, buttery cake batter flavor
- Loaded with both chocolate and white chocolate morsels
- Customize the sprinkle colors to fit a party or holiday theme
- Freeze wonderfully, both before and after baking
- Make fantastic cookie ice cream sandwiches
- A birthday party in cookie form!
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Just skim through some of the comments and reviews fans of these cake batter chocolate chip cookies have left over the years:
One reader, Kim, commented: “Still one of my favorite recipes after over a decade! ★★★★★“
One reader, Katie, commented: “Love making this recipe for birthdays and holidays with themed sprinkles!! Always a hit. People are always surprised how AMAZING they are, much more than a basic chocolate chip cookie!! ★★★★★”
One reader, Geri, commented: “Everyone needs to try these at least once and after that, you’ll know one time isn’t enough. I love them with regular vanilla cake mix but we use the butter flavor cake mix sometimes too. Very chewy and soft cookies with fun flavor, kids and adults alike can’t get enough of them. ★★★★★”
Cake Batter Cookie Dough Ingredients:
The cookie dough is made from your standard cookie ingredients: flour, leavener, salt, sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. What makes these cookies stand out in the crowded arena of cookie recipes is the add-ins:
- Cake Mix: My team and I prefer baking from scratch, but adding dry cake mix is the SECRET to this recipe. I usually reach for vanilla cake mix, but any flavor you love works. You won’t need the whole box of cake mix, so use the leftovers another time to make a batch of cake batter rice krispie treats!
- Chocolate Chips & White Morsels: I love to use a mix of both in these cookies. Semi-sweet chocolate chips make them taste like classic chocolate chip cookies, while white chocolate morsels taste like frosting—adding to the flavor that’s reminiscent of birthday cake.
- Sprinkles: Use your favorite color sprinkles here! I used rainbow sprinkles today, but love switching them up for different holidays. You can customize these cookies with a mix of specific colors or holiday sprinkles. Have fun with them!
And if you’d like to try Oreos as an add-in, see my similar recipe for cake batter Oreo cookies.
Best Sprinkles to Use
I’ve been baking sprinkles into cookie doughs and cake batters for years and have learned exactly which sprinkles work, and which don’t. Happy to share my best advice:
- Do not use nonpareils (the little balls) in dough/batter. They will bleed their color as you fold them in, resulting in a less-than-appetizing-color baked good.
- Rainbow sprinkles (aka “jimmies”) sold in the U.S. are intensely colored, but sprinkles sold in other countries may lose their color when baked. “Sugar strands” may be the same shape as jimmies, but they dissolve in wet batter/dough. For best results, try to use American-style rainbow sprinkles. I also really like Canadian-brand Sweetapolita sprinkles.
- Confetti quins (the little discs) are also great to use in sprinkle cookies and cakes. They rarely bleed their color in batter.
- Be careful using naturally colored sprinkles. They are wonderful as decoration, but—depending on the brand—can lose their color in doughs and batters.
Overview: How to Make Them
The cookie dough does need to chill, so if you’re in a rush, try these giant chocolate chip cookies instead (no dough chilling!).
Sift the dry ingredients together.
Cream the wet ingredients together. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Then add the chocolate chips and sprinkles.
Chill the cookie dough. This step is imperative. If you skip it, your cookies will spread into a flat, greasy mess. Chilling the dough for at least 2 hours firms up the butter, allows the flour to absorb the wet ingredients, and helps prevent the cookies from overspreading. If you’re interested, I wrote a post all about how to prevent cookies from spreading. It’s helpful to read before making ANY batch of cookies.
Roll the cookie dough into balls. Use about 1.5 Tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie. Shape your cookie dough balls to be taller than they are wide—see my tall cookie trick below.
Bake. Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly browned. The centers will still appear very soft, but they’ll continue to set as the cookies cool. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops. This is just for looks!
My Tall Cookie Trick
Before I leave you with the recipe, here’s one final tip. Use my favorite tall cookie trick to reduce excess spreading. Roll your dough balls to be taller rather than wider. This doesn’t necessarily mean using more dough per cookie—we’ll simply shape the cookie dough ball to be nice and tall, with a firm solid bottom to ensure the cookie doesn’t topple over as it bakes. This one trick gives us perfectly thick and chewy cookies every time.
By the way, if you can’t get enough cake batter flavor, try these cake batter blondies. Or give someone special a delicious start to their special day with birthday cake cinnamon rolls or birthday cake pancakes.
You can even sandwich ice cream between two cookies to make a birthday cookie ice cream sandwich. Enjoy right away or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to eat.
Print
Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 28-32 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These cake batter chocolate chip cookies are a cross between delicious, soft-baked chocolate chip cookies and sprinkle-filled funfetti cake. If you like chocolate chip cookies and you like the flavor of cake batter, you will love these soft & chewy cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cup (167g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/4 cup (190g) yellow or vanilla boxed cake mix (not the whole box and you just need the DRY mix)*
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (180g) chocolate chips (I use 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup semi-sweet)
- 1/2 cup (80g) sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift flour, cake mix, salt, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the egg and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and beat on high until combined. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low-medium speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and sprinkles. Mix on low until the add-ins are evenly combined.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours, or up to 3-4 days. This step is imperative. The dough is fairly sticky, so chilling the dough is required in order to avoid the cookies from spreading too much. If you chill longer than 2 hours, make sure you roll the cookie dough into balls after the 2 hour mark. Place dough balls on a plate, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. You may also freeze the balls at this point for up to 3 months. (Then bake as directed adding 1 minute to the bake time without thawing.)
- Once dough has been chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (always recommended for cookies).
- Scoop rounded balls of the cold dough onto an ungreased baking sheet, use around 1.5 Tablespoons (about 35g) of cookie dough per cookie. A medium cookie scoop is helpful for this. Shape your cookie dough balls to be “taller” than they are wide, as pictured above. Make sure to keep dough refrigerated when working in batches.
- Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. The centers will still appear very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies. This is optional and only for looks.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. See step 3. Baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Cake Mix: You can use funfetti cake mix and leave out the sprinkles called for in this recipe. I usually use vanilla cake mix. Remember, you only need 1 and 1/4 cups of dry mix. Not the whole box. Gluten free cake mix is not recommended.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Absolutely phenomenal cookies, with a disclaimer that I tweak baking technique often to achieve my ideal cookie texture. For these cookies I used one of those cookie sheets that have an air pocket between the bottom and the top surface where you bake on….”Cushionaire” is the brand I have. I baked the well chilled tall mounds of dough in a pure convection oven setting at 300° for 18 minutes. Shut down the oven and let the cookies dwell until completely cool. The result were shatteringly crunchy cookies that feel light and almost meringue like, and yet richly flavored and buttery at the same time. Hooked for life on these!
5 year old granddaughter shared her cookie with her teacher at lunch. She came home and told her mom that she needed the “ birthday cake” cookie recipe! Very tasty.
My picky son, LOVED this cookies. He said “Mom these cookies are the BEST!” I definitely agree with him.
I made this recipe vegan (due to allergies) by subbing Miyoko’s vegan butter unsalted for the butter, and I used bob’s red mill egg replacer for the eggs. Because coconut oil based vegan butter seems to harden more readily than dairy butter, I found via experimentation that I only needed to chill the cookies for 15 minutes prior to baking. I also found that dough balls cooked similar to the cylinder shape.
I used mini vegan white chocolate chips and mini vegan chocolate chips as well as organic natural sprinkles and they turned out well (though definitely a very sweet cookie as others have said). The texture is crisp-tender and very fun.
Can you use chocolate cake mix? Thank you
Hi Diane, you certainly can. The chocolate flavor will be light, though, as there is no additional cocoa powder in the dough. So keep that in mind. Let us know what you try!
These were a huge success and so quick and easy! I used a yellow cake mix and everyone loved them. I only refrigerated for an hour as I was pressed for time, but I made them very tall as you suggested, and they came out perfectly!
These cookies have a great flavor, but they came out flat, even though I chilled the dough overnight for one batch, and made a second batch from frozen cookie dough balls. I did make the cookies slightly larger than the recipe called for (about an ounce of dough per cookie, vs the 1 1/2 TBSPs called for in the recipe, which is about 3/4 of an ounce). Also, the butter I used was just a touch softer than room temperature, but since I chilled and froze the dough, should that still have an impact on the cookie? Thanks for your help!
Hi Cat, there are quite a few different factors that can cause cookies to spread, including starting with butter that is too warm (even if chilling the dough). This post on how to prevent cookies from spreading will be a helpful resource to review. So glad you still enjoyed the cookies!
These tasted great! Only issue I had is my family loves large cookies (I usually make 65g dough balls). These really spread and flattened out instead of being round and fluffy. Any recommendations on how I could tweak them to keep them thicker?
Hi Shaena, there are quite a few different factors that can cause cookies to spread. This post on how to prevent cookies from spreading will be a helpful resource to review. So glad you still enjoyed the cookies!
I thought the dough was very stiff, not sticky. But I refrigerated as directed. The cookies spread, so need to do the trick of making high cookies, instead of balls.
Could I substitute white whole wheat flour?
Hi Roberta, you can try it, but the texture may be a little different, more dense.
By far one of the best cookies. I used Betty Crocker Delights Rainbow Chip cake mix. I sifted out the sprinkles and added my own. Soo good
Have you ever made it as a one pan cookie bar, instead of individual cookies? If so was it as good and how long to bake?
Hi Stacy, for bars, we recommend an 11×7-inch baking pan. A 9-inch square pan could work, but the bars will be pretty thick. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, so keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
This was so good! I loved it! They barely lasted 1 hour
My kids said this was the best cookie they’ve ever had in their lives!
These came out of the oven a short time ago – delicious. Formed the cookies and stored them in the fridge overnight. The thing I’ll change next time is to reduce the sugar, they are very sweet, even using all dark chocolate chips.
Going to visit friends this afternoon and will bring them some as a treat.
Do you know the total amount in a cake mix, I mean # cups? I was asking to see how many batches can be made from one cake mix. Thank you!!
Hi Marcia, it can vary a bit by brand, but the Betty Crocker French Vanilla that we typically use is a 13.25 oz box.
I used the same mix as Lexi mentions – Betty Crocker French Vanilla, 13.25 oz box. Measured by weight, not cups, but the result would be pretty much the same – got 2 batches out of one box with a little of the mix left.
Would angel food cake mix work?
Hi Jessica, I haven’t tried these with angel food cake mix. Let me know if you do, though. You may be better off just skipping it and using regular vanilla cake mix instead.
These are good! I was skeptical about the cake mix (French Vanilla), but it really works. Used all chocolate chips, and another commenter suggested, rolled the cookies in sprinkles rather than incorporating them. I can see making these often.