I love boxed cake mix recipes when I am craving something sweet. Brownies can be bought the same way, the best way to tweak those is to make brownie crinkle cookies y’all. It’s a cheap way to make pretty cookies to take over to a friend’s house or enjoy on a weekend. (affiliate links present)
Brownie Cookies with Ghirardelli Brownie Mix
You can make these with cake mix with a little food coloring to transform them into green and red bites of goodness. So cute. From there you can make a bunch of different varieties depending on the flavor you choose. This time we use boxed or homemade brownie mix!
When it comes to boxed brownie mix you will only have a few options. I love the dark chocolate Ghirardelli variety but there are cheaper versions from Pillsbury that are milk chocolate, some with chocolate chips in them already. Use what you have on hand or the type that seems the yummiest to you.
Ingredients
- Brownie mix is the base for this
- Eggs are best if room temperature but whatever
- Vegetable oil
- Use some all purpose flour so the dough is firmer
- Powdered sugar will be used to coat the outside – optional
- Chocolate chips and instant coffee you can add into the batter as well – optional
Need something even simpler? Use just 2 ingredients to make our cherry brownies some time. For those you really could use any sort of pie filling but cherries seem like the obvious choice with chocolate to me.
How do you make boxed brownie mix fancy?
Follow our recipe below!! Rolled in confectioners sugar makes a cracked look you’ll love. You can make cake mix brownies but for this one you really want the original, and go from there. You will NOT use the ingredients shown on the box itself, only use what is listed below in the printable recipe card below.
Crinkle, crackle, call them what you want but everyone always says how cool these are. What’s the key to this look, it’s when you roll the dough in the powdered sugar of course. Since the brownie batter is rather thick with these ingredients there really isn’t a need to chill the dough.
When your oven is preheating get everything prepped so you can just roll, roll, set on the sheet. If your sheet isn’t really non stick then just lay baking trays / sheets with parchment paper instead.
How Long to Bake Brownie Mix Crackle Cookies
Now let’s talk about baking time for these, because it’s a big deal. The first question is do you like the middle piece or edge the best? Here’s how you get them just right: 11 minutes will create a fudgy middle brownie piece consistency. If you like a more cakey texture then bake for 13 minutes.
Of course this will vary a minute or two depending on your oven itself, and how large you make each ball. Make them all the same size, 24 in all to follow this timing. This needs 5 items, with 2 optional add ins, similar to our small batch of air fryer brownies recipe but made for a crowd and much prettier I say.
Now if you want to use cake instead of brownie mix we do have instructions in our Cake Mix Cool Whip Cookies post. It really doesn’t matter what brand you choose. I will say a bit more expensive will be richer and more tender.
How to Make Betty Crocker Brownie Mix into Crinkle Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, hand mixer or stand mixer add dry ingredients; brownie mix, flour and coffee if you’re adding that. Whisk until combined.
- Add room temperature eggs, vegetable oil, and your mix. The batter will be very thick. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
- Scoop up 1-2 Tbsp of your mix and roll dough into balls with your palms. Put the powdered sugar into a bowl and roll your ball into it.
- Place on a baking sheet sprayed with non stick cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
- Make sure they are 1″ apart so they can spread out a bit.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the tops are cracked and edges are firming up and middle no longer looks raw.
- 11 will give you a very moist chewy texture, 13 will be closer to a brownie edge piece
- Remove pan and set the whole thing on a cooling rack. Keep on baking sheet until cooled for best results.
One reason why these are so simple is that most of the ingredients like cocoa powder and others you may not have on hand are already in the box. You also can use just one bowl and not deal with wet and dry ingredients in separate ones.
Tips
The biggest thing to remember when baking cookies is to NOT overbake them, that is the worst. Seriously they will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet after you take them out y’all. You want to remember that when touching the top because if they are are semi firm on the outer rim and not wet in the middle, they are ready to remove.
To us, all baked goods need to be tender. From our 3 ingredient cake mix cookies, to chocolate chip and everything in between. Remember that when they’re taken out and cooled they will continue to firm up.
If they get to the point where the center is firm they are going to be crunchy and/or dry. Nobody wants that goin’ on. The ooeir and gooeir they are the better if you ask me. Just like making brownie in a mug you will just need one with a glass of milk to satisfy your dessert cravings for sure.
Yes, but don’t follow the instructions on the back of the box. Instead you just need to add a bit of flour, eggs and vegetable oil. This will create a thicker batter you can roll into balls. To make them pretty you can coat with powdered sugar to make crinkle cookies with brownie mix.
You can! In fact if you do it will create a more moist treat you may love even more. Keep in mind they may not rise quite as high because there will be more fat added (but worth it). Try it with boxed brownie mix next time you make a batch and see!
I mean we never have so many that we wouldn’t finish them off within a few days so we don’t but you could. If you will finish them off within 3 days I’d just use a freezer bag, suck the air out and leave them on the countertop. In the freezer do the same thing but lay flat and they’ll last this way for a good 3 months. Take all or one out to thaw at a time but just remember to seal it really good again before putting them back into the coldness.
Brownie Mix Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Bowl
- 1 baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 box brownie mix
- 1/2 c all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 c vegetable oil
- 1/2 c semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tsp instant coffee, optional
- 1/2 c powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl add the brownie mix, flour and instant coffee if you're adding that. Whisk until combined.
- Add eggs and vegetable oil and mix. The batter will be very thick. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop up 1-2 Tbsp of mix and roll into a ball with your palms. Put the powdered sugar into a bowl and roll your ball into it.
- Place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.
- Make sure they are 1" apart so they can spread a bit.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the tops are cracked and edges are firming up and middle no longer looks raw. (11 will give you a very moist chewy texture, 13 will be closer to a brownie edge piece)
- Remove and set on a cooling rack, keep on baking sheet until cooled for best results.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
