Gingerbread Cake Mix Cookies

A spice cake mix with just a few added ingredients yields two dozen decadent, chewy gingerbread cookies. Glaze them with a simple vanilla glaze or decorate as desired - nobody will guess that they were made with just half the effort of a typical batch!

Course Dessert, Desserts, Holidays

Cuisine Cookie, Dessert

Keyword cake mix gingerbread cookies, gingerbead cookies, gingerbread cake mix cookies, gingerbread cookies with cake mix

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Refrigeration Time 30

Total Time 55

Servings cookies

Calories 174kcal

Ingredients

15.25 ounce box spice cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
2 large eggs room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup molasses

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar sifted
2-3 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Pour the cake mix into a large mixing bowl, and whisk the flour and ginger into the mix until thoroughly incorporated.
15.25 ounce box spice cake mix, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and molasses. Add to the dry ingredients, and stir together until a thick dough forms.
2 large eggs, ½ cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup molasses
Divide the dough in half and form into two discs. Wrap the discs in parchment or plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll the dough into a ¼-inch thick oval
Use a cookie cutter to cut out your desired shapes, then gently use a spatula to transfer them to parchment-lined baking sheets, at least 1 inch apart.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are just golden brown.
Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Repeat the process with your other disc of dough, then serve.

For the glaze:

Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Continue adding milk by the teaspoon until you have a smooth, medium-consistency glaze.
1 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Dip the cookies into the glaze or drizzle it over them with a spoon.
Allow any excess glaze to drip off, then place the cookies back onto the wire cooling rack to rest until the glaze is set before serving.

Notes

My top preference is a Duncan Hines brand 15.25 ounce Perfectly Moist spice cake mix. Pillsbury and Walmart’s Great Value brand also have 15.25 ounce spice cake mixes. I have also tested this recipe with the Betty Crocker 13.25 ounce spice cake mix, and it turns out great. If you choose to use this specific cake mix, the dough will be just slightly more dense (not enough to really notice a difference) and it will yield 22 cookies, rather than 24, depending on how thick you roll the dough.
Use unsulphured molasses, NOT black strap molasses. I used Grandma’s molasses.
I highly recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of chill time in the fridge before rolling and cutting the dough to minimize spreading, but if you can stretch it to 60 minutes or even overnight, that's better.
My gingerbread man cookie cutter is 4 inches x 3.75 inches. Your dough may yield more or less than 24 cookies, depending on the size of your cutter.
If you feel like your kitchen is too warm, you can cut your cookie cutouts and place them onto your parchment-lined baking sheet, then pop it into the fridge and chill for another 15-30 minutes before baking.
These cookies will overbake easily, so be sure to keep an eye on them around the 7-8 minute mark if your oven temperature runs high.
I don't recommend using this dough for gingerbread houses. It’s too soft and chewy to hold up against the weight of heavily frosted joints and lots of candy decorations.

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