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Like a lot of bakers, boxed cake mix was my first exposure to baking as a child. And boxed cakes were pretty good until I figured out how to bake from scratch.
For a while I turned my back on boxed cake mix, and all semi-homemade recipes for that matter, viewing them as “beneath me” as a “serious” baker. But one flavor of cake mix in particular is as good as irreplaceable by the from-scratch version, as far as I’m concerned. Strawberry cake mix, and its nostalgically artificially sweet, strong strawberry flavor, can’t be reproduced. Just like artificial vanilla can sometimes taste better than the real thing, artificial strawberry flavored cake has a certain je ne sais quois that I’ve never fully gotten over.
I’ve seen recipes for strawberry flavored cookies, and even made my own in the past before, and despite their good looks, they never deliver the flavor my brain is expecting. So recently I had the bright idea to use strawberry cake mix to make ultra strawberry-y cookies.
The problem with boxed cake mix cookies
The problem was that all the boxed cake mix cookies I had made growing up (funfetti cookies, anyone??) all tasted very much like cookies made from boxed cake mix. That is, they were all fluffy and cakey — not what I’m looking for when I reach for a cookie.
I did a quick search to see if boxed cake mix cookie technology had advanced, and whether any bloggers had cracked the code and didn’t find anything, so I set out to develop my own recipe. The result I ended up with surprised me. It hit all the dense chewy notes I look for in a bakery-style cookie — not the fluffy muffin tops I was familiar with. And, of course, they had the perfect strawberry flavor I was looking for.
It’s worth noting that I’ve tested both the Betty Crocker Super Moist Strawberry and Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme cake mixes with this method and while both worked well, I preferred the Betty Crocker version slightly more. For the matcha dough, I’ve only tested with Betty Crocker yellow cake mix. I’m fairly confident you’ll get pretty close results with any brand or flavor of cake mix, but can’t guarantee results if you venture outside of the ones I’ve tested with. If you do happen to test a different brand or flavor, let me know how it goes!
Why this recipe works
- I increased the sugar in this recipe to help the cookie spread and give it additional chew.
- I swapped oil for butter, which gives the cookies a better flavor.
- I omitted one egg white (leaving 1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk) to reduce the liquid and fluffiness/rise.
- Extra salt just makes everything taste better, including (/especially) overly-sweet boxed cake mix. Plus, with the addition of extra sugar, extra salt is needed to balance things out more.
- Letting the dough rest allows the flour to hydrate for more even baking and also firms the dough up a bit for better scoopability and less spread.
- Using the pan banging method (optional) gives the cookies an even spread and bakery-style ripples/rings.
I then decided to take things a step further and make a strawberry-matcha version. This time I used yellow cake mix as the base for the matcha dough but the recipe is largely the same. I did add a bit of milk since the matcha powder creates a drier dough that doesn’t spread as much, but otherwise, the matcha version whips up just as quickly.
While this recipe isn’t quite as quick and straightforward as your standard boxed cake mix recipe, it’s also definitely not nearly as time consuming as making cookies from scratch.
Of course you can make just matcha or just strawberry cookies using the recipes provided, but the mix is a lot more fun.
Bakery-Style Chewy Strawberry Cookies from Cake Mix
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Dough
- 1 box strawberry cake mix like Betty Crocker or similar, see notes
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 40 g granulated sugar a bit shy of a quarter cup
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Matcha Dough
- 1 box yellow cake mix like Betty Crocker or similar
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 40 g granulated sugar a bit shy of a quarter cup
- 1.5 Tbsp whole milk or non-dairy milk
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 large egg
- 1.5 Tbsp matcha powder up to 2 Tbsp if you like a stronger taste
- 1/4 tsp salt
- finishing salt, like maldon optional but recommended
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Dough
- In a medium sized microwave proof bowl, melt your butter until it's mostly melted with a few chunks left (this takes about 45-75 seconds in my microwave).1 stick unsalted butter
- Add the sugar and salt and whisk well. This step melts some of the sugar while cooling the butter a bit.1/4 tsp salt, 40 g granulated sugar
- Double check that the butter mixture is no longer hot (warm is ok) before adding your eggs — if it's still hot, keep mixing or just leave it to cool for a few minutes. Add the eggs and whisk well to combine.1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk
- Add the cake mix and combine with a spatula until no lumps of cake mix remain.1 box strawberry cake mix
- Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight. Towards the end of the chilling period, preheat your oven to 350F.
Make the Matcha Dough
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 for strawberry dough, but with yellow cake mix.1 stick unsalted butter, 40 g granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp salt
- Repeat step 3 of strawberry dough instructions, but add milk and sift matcha powder directly into the mixture. Whisk everything well to combine.1.5 Tbsp whole milk, 1 large egg yolk, 1 large egg, 1.5 Tbsp matcha powder
- Add the cake mix and combine with a spatula until no lumps of cake mix remain.1 box yellow cake mix
- Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight. Towards the end of the chilling period, preheat your oven to 350F.
Assemble and Bake
- Scoop medium-large balls (my scoop is about 2 Tbsp) of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 2" between each (these will spread quite a bit). You'll want each scoop to be half matcha and half strawberry dough. You'll need to use 2 baking sheets if you don't want them to spread into each other.
- Sprinkle a bit of finishing salt, like Maldon, onto each cookie, then bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges just start to brown. If baking 2 trays at the same time, you'll need to rotate them halfway through baking.Optional but recommended step: about 8 minutes in, remove the baking sheet(s) from the oven and drop them from about 2-3" up onto your stove or a countertop with a tea towel laid down for protection. This is the "pan banging" technique and will give your cookies a bit more spread/chewiness and those beautiful bakery-style "rings" you're probably familiar with. Return the trays to the oven and continue baking, but repeat this "banging" step every 2-3 minutes until baking is complete, finishing with one last "bang" on the counter once the cookies are taken out for the last time.finishing salt, like maldon
- Let cookies cool on the tray for at least 10-15 minutes to allow them some time to firm up a bit (they'll be quite soft/fragile immediately upon baking).
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature — they somehow taste even better the second day.