Cake mix cookies with cream cheese are moist and chewy using any flavored of boxed mix you like. Yellow cake mix cookies, lemon, vanilla or chocolate are great. All can be made with the same simple ingredients listed below, bake in oven and enjoy your dessert.

Cake Mix Cookies with Cream Cheese
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Cake mix cookies are my favorite cake mix hacks because there are so many varieties you can make. From fruity to Devil’s food, or spiced for the holidays they are easy to mix together and leftovers store well too. Let us know which are your favorite. (affiliate links present)

Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies

Cookies made with cake mix are just that. Instead of starting from scratch these are semi-homemade starting with a bagged mix. That means you need fewer items since the leavening agent it already in there. Most of what you need are refrigerated items to moisten into a batter, chill and then bake.

You need some type(s) of thick moisture elements to make these. In one case we just used butter to make Cake Mix Cookies with Butter. Here we use both for a creamy rich flavor which if you keep an eye on them and don’t over-bake them the texture will be perfectly chewy.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies

Cake Mix Cream Cheese Cookies

Now if you wanted to make them prettier you can add the extra step of rolling them into powdered sugar like we did with our Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies you can make into red velvet or any flavor you want. The end result looks “fancy” with cracks all across the top with two different colors peeking thru.

During the winter months I will use spiced to mix together a batch of Pumpkin Cookies with Cake Mix, with or without mini chocolate chips. Like I said, a ton of different versions out there, we have kinda’ done it all….. The basics you need are;

Ingredients

  • 1 box cake mix lemon used, any flavor works
  • Vanilla extract is a nice add in
  • egg should be added at room temperature
  • Butter softened, or use vegan plant based sticks for dairy free option
  • 8 oz cream cheese softened, there is a lactose free variety I have seen if needed

Biggest brand name is Philly like we use in our Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cheesecake Recipe. There are store brands too, just don’t use low fat. I have made tweaks to this for my husband who doesn’t do well with dairy. Nowadays you can find alternatives that taste almost the same at your local grocery stores. If you have trouble, try a natural foods or organic market instead.

Easy Cream Cheese Cookies Recipe

How to Make Cream Cheese cookies with Yellow Cake Mix

  • In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and cream cheese.
  • Add egg and vanilla. Continue to mix until fluffy.
  • Add the cake mix and beat until you have a smooth batter.
  • Cover the bowl and place in your refrigerator for 2 hours.
  • When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Spoon the batter on your prepared baking sheet. 
  • Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until edges are starting to crack, getting firm and middle no longer looks wet to stay chewy, or firming all the way across to become crispy.
  • Cool on baking sheet when done.

Yes, if you want Lemon Cookies From Cake Mix, Duncan Hines has a great brand with that flavor you love. Some say there is pudding inside which means that the powder is present making the end result more moist. I don’t think in this case that is necessary since you do want it to firm up more than a cake texture.

How do you Make Cake Mix Cookies without Butter?

Cake Mix Cool Whip Cookies is another fun one that we think is best with chocolate mix. During the holidays I like a variety when creating tins full of goodies so starting with a mix makes it easier to make more.

Cream Cheese Cookies Chocolate Chip

Cream Cheese Cookies with Chocolate Chips

You can add a bit of color making them Sugar Cookies with about 1/4 cup folded in at the end of your dough too. Ok so let’s go over a few baking tips and tricks to make sure every batch come sout great every single time.

  1. Make sure your cream cheese and butter are softened to room temperature so they blend together well and smooth.
  2. You can tweak white cake mix by adding extracts to it or lemon flavored could use lemon juice with dried lemon zest bits inside the batter.
  3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat for easier clean up.
  4. Once starting to crack on outsides and center no longer looks wet you should pull them out to remain chewy.
  5. Allow to cool completely or at least for 15 minutes to continue baking on the sheet for the best texture.

That is the gist of it basically. Whether you use vanilla cake mix or make a batch of red velvet cake mix cookies you’re in for a real treat. Jump to recipe and get to experimenting.

Cake Mix Cream Cheese Cookies
A hand holding a delectable cookie, with more cake mix cookies with cream cheese and a cake mix box in the background.
5 from 7 votes

Cake Mix Cookies with Cream Cheese

By The Typical Mom
Cake mix cookies with cream cheese are moist and chewy using any flavor of boxed mix you like. Lemon cake mix cookies or chocolate are great.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Servings: 24
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Equipment

  • 1 baking sheet
  • 1 Bowl

Ingredients 

  • 1 box cake mix, lemon used, any flavor works
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 c butter, softened
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and butter. Add egg and vanilla. Continue to mix until fluffy.
  • Add the cake mix and beat until you have a smooth batter. Cover the bowl and place in your refrigerator for 2 hours. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Spoon the batter on your prepared baking sheet. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until edges are starting to crack, getting firm and middle no longer looks wet to stay chewy, or firming all the way across to become crispy.
  • Cool on baking sheet when done.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1oz, Calories: 149kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 27mg, Sodium: 220mg, Potassium: 27mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 255IU, Calcium: 57mg, Iron: 0.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

About The Typical Mom

Justine is the creative mind behind The Typical Mom and The Typical Family on YouTube. She began blogging about easy recipes, budget friendly activities for kids, and fun family travel destinations in September 2012.

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5 from 7 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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5 Comments

  1. Great for a quick-er treat! The cream cheese really does add something special to these goodies!

  2. The addition of the cream cheese makes such a huge difference in the flavor! I really loved these cookies.

  3. I made these with lemon cake mix and they came out so good! Loved the texture and I’ll be making them again soon!