Easy Cherry Chip Cake Mix Cookies with Sprinkles

Are you searching for an easy, gorgeous, cherry-flavored cookie? If you can round up a box of Betty Crocker cherry chip cake mix and some sprinkles, you can make a treat that will satisfy your sweet tooth and your love of pink.

Cherry chip cake mix cookies are thick, soft, and gooey. They are infused with a pronounced cherry flavor softened with a quick dunk in white chocolate.

Sprinkle on some colorful nonpareils for a stunning cookie no one can resist. Best of all, this easy dessert comes together in a flash thanks to a cake mix.

This recipe yields 12 (3-inch) cookies that will get gobbled down by all the cherry lovers who cross your path.

Ready to bake your way to cherry heaven? Then grab your apron, and let's roll.

You're Gonna Love These Cookies -- Here's Why

• The cookies practically make themselves. With simple ingredients (premeasured), the cookie batter comes together in a flash.
  
  Open the boxed mix, melt a cube of butter, and add the eggs. The recipe is easy and kid-friendly.

• The intense cherry flavor will wow you. These cookies are for anyone who loves cherries. There is nothing subtle about the taste.
  
  But dip them in melted chocolate, and the cherry flavor is roped in just enough. One of my hubby's coworkers said this is the best cookie she's ever tasted!

• The pretty cookies look like decorations. The pink-flecked cookies with gorgeous sprinkles will get everyone's attention.
  
  Looking for a dessert to serve at a showing of Barbie? These are the cookies for you.
  
  Getting festive for a Galentine's celebration? Make these treats.
  
  Ready to reveal you're having a girl? These cookies will do the trick.

Ingredients

• 15.25-ounce box cherry chip cake mix. This is one of those cake mixes that can be a pain to find in local grocery stores. You may have to buy it online.

• Unsalted butter. You will like the taste of cookies made with butter instead of vegetable oil. Nothing beats that buttery flavor.

• Large eggs

• Almond extract. Optional, but recommended. You'll like how the flavors of almonds and cherries complement each other.

• Ghirardelli white melting wafers. You can melt white chocolate chips if you like. But Ghirardelli wafers were made for melting and dipping, so they are a better choice.

• Red, pink, and white sprinkles. I prefer nonpareils (round balls). But jimmies will work just fine too.

RELATED: You may be interested in the shelf life of cake mix. The good news is that leftover cake mix is great to use with these cookies.

Substitutions

A box of cherry chip cake mix can be hard to find, especially in some regions of the United States. If you can't find it in your local store, try Amazon. 

However, you can swap out cherry chip mix and still get delicious cookies. Try this:

Use a white cake mix, ½ teaspoon of cherry extract, and red/pink nonpareils sprinkles in the batter. The cherry extract will flavor the cake batter, and the sprinkles will approximate the look of the cherry bits in the dry mix.

Add the butter and eggs as called for in this recipe. Then follow all of the rest of the instructions.

Who knows. You may even prefer these cherry cookies to the originals.

Variations

Want to change up the recipe a bit? Try these ideas.

• Mix in a cup of white chocolate chips. Skip the melted chocolate dip.

• Add half a cup of dried, chopped cherries or King Arthur Baking cherry jammy bits into the batter.

• Keep the cookie recipe the same but frost the cookies with cream cheese frosting. Top the cookies with maraschino cherries.
  
  Be sure to dry the cherries off thoroughly so the juice doesn't make the cookie soggy.

Directions

• Heat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper, grease the pan so the cookies don't stick.

• Melt the butter in the microwave in a microwave-safe container. Heat for about 45 seconds. Cool for 2 to 3 minutes.

• Pour the dry cake mix into a large bowl. Add the melted butter, eggs, and almond extract.

• Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough is combined. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl's sides to ensure all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the cookie dough.

• Scoop the cookie dough balls with a large scoop (2 tablespoons size is ideal). Roll the dough ball in your hands to make it smooth. Then flatten the cookie slightly with your palms.

• Place the cookie dough about two inches apart on the lined baking sheet.

• Bake in the oven for 11 to 13 minutes or until the edges are done. The middles may not look completely ready, but they will finish baking with the residual heat when out of the oven.

• Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and turn the oven off when all the cookies are baked.

• Shape the cookies uniformly with a cookie ring larger than the cookie. A 2½ to 3-inch size works well for these cookies. (A cookie ring is essentially a round cookie cutter.)
  
  Position the cookie ring around the warm cookie, ensuring that the ring completely encircles the cookie.
  
  With the cookie inside the ring, start rotating the circle around the cookie. Continue turning for about 5 seconds.
  
  As you spin it, you'll notice the sides of the cookie pulling in and the cookie gradually becoming rounder and more uniform in shape.
  
  The warmth of the cookie will help it conform to the ring. By the end of the rotation, the cookie should have taken on a perfectly round shape. Repeat this technique with all the cookies.

• Cool the cookies on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

• Transfer the cookies from the cookie sheet to the cooling rack. Cool them completely.

Make the Glaze

Make the glaze when the cookies are cool. You will be decorating the cookies right after the glaze is ready.

• Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl at 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir with a rubber spatula until it is smooth.
  
  If necessary, heat again at 50% power in 10-second intervals. Stir each time until the chocolate is completely melted.

Decorate the Cookies

Either dip the cookies in the white chocolate or drizzle melted white chocolate on the cookies.

Dip

• Dip half the cookie in the white chocolate and place it on the parchment paper (best) or wire rack.

• Drop the sprinkles on the wet glaze.

• Rest the cookies until the glaze dries.

Drizzle

If you don't want to dip, you can drizzle.

• Pour the melted white chocolate into a piping bag with a fine tip. If you don't have a frosting bag, use a plastic baggie with the corner snipped instead.
  
  You can also use a plastic squeeze bottle.
  
  Don't make the hole too large or it will be hard to control how much chocolate comes out.

• Gently squeeze the bag as you move it back and forth across each cookie in any pattern you like.

Tasty Tips

• Use a large scoop instead of a small cookie scoop. Larger cookies are easier to dip in melted chocolate.

• Dry the cookies on parchment paper instead of the cooling rack. The cookies will stick to whatever surface they're touching. And they're much easier to remove from parchment paper.

• If you prefer, drizzle the melted white chocolate over the cookies instead of dipping them in the chocolate. Both make pretty cookies. I usually do half the cookies dipped and half drizzled.

• If you plan to freeze the cookies, freeze them before dipping them in chocolate. The chocolate glaze may crack if it is frozen for an extended period.

How to Store

The cookies are ready to store when the white chocolate on the baked cookies has dried and hardened. Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

For longer storage, freeze them. Like many cookies, cherry chip cake cookies are a breeze to freeze.

How Long Do Cherry Cake Mix Cookies Last?

Cake mix cookies can last up to 4 days at room temperature when properly stored. However, they taste the freshest 2 to 3 days after baking.

But they will keep in the freezer for at least 3 months. The only issue for long freezer storage is that the white chocolate might crack.

How to Freeze

This is an easy cookie recipe to freeze. Flash freeze them first to keep them from sticking to each other. Then you can have a single perfect treat anytime you want. No need to thaw all the leftovers.

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The parchment paper will keep the cookies from sticking to the pan.
2. Place the baked, cooled cookies on the prepared cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for 1 hour.
3. Remove the pan from the freezer and transfer the frozen cookies to a freezer-safe container or zip-top freezer bag. Label the container.
4. Return the cookies to the freezer and freeze for 3 months.

The next time you're ready for a cookie, pull one out and thaw it at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes (depending on your kitchen's temperature).

Frequently Asked Questions

What to Serve with Cherry Chip Cookies

These yummy cookies are gorgeous and a great idea to serve at baby showers, Valentine's Day parties, or potluck holiday parties. Here are a few goodies you can serve with them.

• Cake pops (especially red or pink decorated ones)

• Brownies (cherry and chocolate make a fantastic flavor pairing)

• Sugar cookies (drop or rolled)

Hungry for More Cake Mix Cookies?

Want to try another cake mix cookie recipe flavor? Try all the different varieties of these popular cookies. They're great for crowds.

• Strawberry crinkle cookies with strawberry cake mix

• Oreo cookies with chocolate cake mix

• Lemon cake mix cookies with lemon white chocolate glaze.

• Funfetti cake mix cookie sandwiches with cream cheese frosting or frosted Funfetti cookies

• Butter pecan cake cookies with pecans and toffee

• Chocolate chip cookies with yellow cake mix and semi-sweet chocolate chips