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Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies are super soft, pillowy, and made with my favorite ingredient…cake mix! These adorable pink cookies couldn’t be easier to whip up in just thirty minutes and can be decorated for just about any holiday or event.
I LOVE dressing up a box of cake mix! Listen, I enjoy making baked goods from scratch just as much as the next gal, but there’s something so fun about taking a box of cake mix and transforming it into something exciting and new. These easy strawberry cookies are super soft and moist and come together in just about half an hour. Thank you, cake mix!
Cake mix isn’t the only ingredient responsible for making these cookies as great as they are, though. The cream cheese also plays a huge role here! The unbeatable consistency of the thick, creamy icing is attributed to the cream cheese. Honestly, the icing might just be my favorite part of this entire recipe! Trust me, it’ll have you licking the bowl clean when you’re all done.
Why You’ll Love This
- Cake mix recipe. Sometimes, the simpler things in life really are the best. Grabbing a box of cake mix and mixing it with a few pantry staples is so easy, and in this case, delicious!
- Incredibly moist. Thanks to the box of cake mix, these semi-homemade strawberry cookies always turn out incredibly soft and moist.
- Fun to decorate. You can make the cream cheese icing any color you want, although I do recommend sticking to the pink color scheme! Also, feel free to have fun with the sprinkles. Dress up these cookies for Valentine’s Day, a birthday party, or a Barbie movie watching party. The options are limitless!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here is a list of ingredients you will need to make frosted strawberry cookies. Make sure to scroll down to view the full recipe for exact measurements.
- Strawberry cake mix
- Egg
- Vegetable oil
- Water
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Red food coloring
- Sprinkles
How To Make Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies
Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
Make the cookie dough. Mix together the cake mix, egg, oil and water until combined. If the batter is too thick, mix in 1 tbsp of water at a time until the right consistency is reached.
Bake. Use a cookie scoop to form evenly sized cookie dough balls. Place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 13-16 minutes.
Make the cream cheese frosting. This is great to do while the cookies are in the oven. Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then mix in the powdered sugar, milk, and food coloring until smooth.
Cool. Let the cookies first cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
Frost and add sprinkles. Once the cookies have totally cooled to room temperature, frost them and add all of the sprinkles your heart desires.
Recipe Tips, Substitutions, and Variations
Here’s how to make these strawberry cream cheese cookies the very best they can be!
- Full fat cream cheese. Low fat cream cheese will also work, but cream cheese with the full fat content will create the very best thick, creamy consistency for the frosting. Remember to let it adjust to room temperature prior to using or it won’t be easily beaten until smooth.
- Have fun with the decor. Sprinkles are always a good idea, right? You can add heart shaped sprinkles for Valentine’s Day or just plain pink sprinkles for a fun treat – think baby shower!
- Use a cookie scoop. The best way to make sure that all of your cookies are uniform in size and bake evenly is to use a cookie scoop. Also, make sure that all of the cookie dough balls are placed about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheet so they don’t bake into each other.
- Any brand of cake mix works. I recommend using a box of cake mix from a brand you already know and trust, that way you know you’ll like the final result.
Storage Instructions
If there are any leftover cookies laying around (this never seems to happen at my house), they’ll stay good for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temp. You can keep them in the fridge for about 4 days. I also do not recommend freezing strawberry cake mix cookies.
Enjoy More of the Best Easy Cookie Recipes
You can never have too many cookie recipes, right? Here are just a few of my favorites!
- Twix Cookies
- Dulce de Leche Cookies
- Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
- Almond White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce (432 g) box of strawberry flavored cake mix
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (59 ml) vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (59 ml) water, start with ¼ cup and add extra if needed
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (59 ml) milk
- 2 drops of red food coloring
- Valentine’s day sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, egg, oil and water. Stir by hand with wooden spoon until everything is evenly combined. If the batter becomes too thick, add water, but a tablespoon at a time.15.25 ounce (432 g) box of strawberry flavored cake mix, 1 large egg, ¼ cup (59 ml) vegetable oil, ¼ cup (59 ml) water
- Scoop dough with a medium sized cookie scoop into the palm of your hands and form into a ball. Place on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 13-16 minutes, until slightly crackled on the top and the edges are starting to be golden.
- In the meantime, while the cookies are baking, prepare the frosting by beating the cream cheese in a bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, milk, and red food coloring. Continue to beat until color starts to form and everything is smooth. Set aside.8 ounces cream cheese, 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar, ¼ cup (59 ml) milk, 2 drops of red food coloring
- When cookies are done baking, let sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cookies are completely cool, spread frosting atop the cookies and then garnish with sprinkles.Valentine’s day sprinkles
- Keep cookies in an airtight container. You may choose to put them in the fridge because of the cream cheese or let them sit out (if there are any left!). I didn’t let my cookies sit out for more than 3 days.
Nutrition
Would this recipe work if I used a different cake batter? Chocolate for instance?
Yeah, definitely. Probably wouldn’t use the red food coloring though!
Yummm… these look and sound amazing! I just make a box cake mix cookie with cream cheese and it was to die for. I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! :)
I love these! I’m not a huge fan of the lovey dovey marketing side of Valentine’s Day, but am always game for an excuse to bake something pink :)
Hope you had a great V-Day! Your pink cookies are the perfect way to celebrate, and I love the sprinkles!!
Hi! I just found your blog and I love it! These cookies have got to be the prettiest color pink I have ever seen! :)
I make a cookie almost exactly like these – and they are always a hit. Not to mention – the pink is way to cute for words.
So utterly, utterly adorable. I love how pink these are.
Cute!!