It was dark and stormy on Saturday night. And it was really, really cold. We'd had ho-hum leftovers for supper and suddenly we were overcome by craving something sweet.
No way did we want to leave the house. The clock ticked. The hankering intensified.
We rummaged through the cupboards, nothing. The freezer, nothing. Then I remembered!
Back then I called them Idiot Cookies because they're ridiculously simple to make. No mixer needed! This time, it was desperation that drove me to bake and fast.
I pulled an old working-mom-of-teenagers rabbit out of my hat and grabbed a cake mix. I keep an "emergency stash" on hand in case the church calls and it's my turn to bring a cake. I usually grab them when they're on sale for a dollar or less.
I dumped the mix in a bowl, dropped in two eggs and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. Then, I and stirred it up with a spoon. Next, I dug in the freezer to see what chips I might have around, found a bag of peanut butter chips and I mixed them in.
I used a tablespoon and made walnut-size balls of dough, arranged them on my age-blackened Pampered Chef jelly roll pan, and baked them for 12 minutes in a 350-degree oven.
Less than 20 minutes had elapsed since the light bulb went off in my head! Warm, yummy, chewy cookies!
Brought back memories of late-night ball games, play practice, or finding out that school needed 3 dozen cookies in a half-hour from right now!
The recipe made 3 dozen nice size cookies!
I made another batch using a vanilla cake mix and a bag of milk chocolate toffee chips. Oh My Goodness! Now THOSE were a home run!! Here's the way they baked up!!
And here's how easy it is!!
When you're dying for something sweet or find out you have to bring 3 dozen cookies in 30 minutes
Combine cake mix, eggs and oil in bowl, stir with a spoon until blended. Add desired add-in, stir until well mixed.
Bake in 350 degree oven on greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on rack. Store tightly covered.
Think of all the yummy possibilities!! Lemon cake mix with white chocolate chips! Spice Cake with butterscotch chips! Chocolate cake with cherry chips or crushed peppermint (you can buy that in a bag nowadays!)
Strawberry cake mix with mini dark chocolate chips! Oh, the delicious options! I'd love to hear about the combination you come up with!!
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My mom made this exact recipe ALL the time! They freeze well too. She always had a couple of different kinds of cookies in the freezer. I found a couple of cake mix recipes online that I like. I think I'll try this recipe with one of my mixes! If it turns out as well as I hope, making cookies will have gotten a lot easier for me!
Thank you for posting!
So many ways you can be creative and quick!! I’m excited to try more! Bought a spice cake and butterscotch chips! Yum! Thank you!!
It mentions they freeze well...do you freeze the unbaked dough or the baked cookie?
I mean the cookies freeze well. I haven't tried freezing the dough but that should work too! So sorry for the long overdue delay in answering!!
Sounds delicious
They are simply amazing! Just be careful not to over bake! Like 'em chewy!
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Oh wow!! I'd LOVE them!! Thanks for a new idea!!
Hi there! Such a wonderful post, thanks!
Gosh thanks! They are soooo good! Especially yellow cake with brickle bits~
I made cookies using orange cake mix and chopped pecans. Everyone loved them.
[…] always have a little something sweet for them and often it’s something simple like Desperation Cookies or a pan of Lemon Bars. As the kids file out the door and back to class, they grab and go. […]