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Four Ingredient Desperation Cookies Recipe

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Last Modified: November 19, 2018
Published: November 19, 2018

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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.

Here's How You Make Desperation Cookies

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.

now simply stir

sdd the mix ins

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!

chocolate peanut butter cookies

The recipe made 3 dozen nice size cookies!

ready to bake

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!!

toffee cookie

And here's how easy it is!!

Desperation Cookies

When you're dying for something sweet or find out you have to bring 3 dozen cookies in 30 minutes

  • 1 box cake mix (any flavor)
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups mix-in chips or baking bits (any flavor)
  1. 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.

Cookies and Bars
American
cookies

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!!

If you enjoyed this recipe today, please share it on your social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

I’d sure be tickled and ever so grateful, thank you! 😊 If you haven’t already, check out my Facebook page where I’ll be posting easy, delicious and family-friendly recipes every week!

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12 comments on “Four Ingredient Desperation Cookies Recipe”

  1. 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!

    1. 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!!

      1. 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!!

  2. […] 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. […]

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