Description
These Christmas Crinkle Cool Whip Cookies are soft, chewy, and festive holiday treats made with vanilla cake mix, Cool Whip, and a few simple ingredients. Colored red and green and coated in powdered sugar, these easy cake mix cookies have a beautiful crinkled appearance and a delicious sweet vanilla flavor. Perfect for Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, holiday dessert trays, and baking with kids, they come together in just 40 minutes!
Ingredients
Scale
- 13.25 ounces vanilla cake mix (1 box)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 8 ounces Cool Whip (1 tub), thawed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Red and green gel food coloring, as needed
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the dry vanilla cake mix, lightly beaten egg, thawed Cool Whip, and vanilla extract until combined. The dough will be thick and sticky.
- Divide the cookie dough evenly between two bowls. Add a few drops of red gel food coloring to one portion and mix until evenly colored. Add green food coloring to the second portion and mix until combined.
- Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the dough directly into the powdered sugar and roll until completely coated.
- Arrange the coated dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving approximately 2 inches between each cookie because they will spread during baking. Work in batches if necessary.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the cookies are set around the edges. The centers will still be soft.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool for 5–10 minutes. Carefully transfer them to a wire cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- Use thawed Cool Whip for the best dough consistency.
- The cookie dough will be very sticky. Use a cookie scoop to make portioning easier.
- Gel food coloring produces vibrant red and green colors without adding too much liquid to the dough.
- Coat each dough ball generously in powdered sugar to achieve the classic crinkle appearance.
- Leave approximately 2 inches between cookies because they spread considerably while baking.
- Do not overbake. The centers should remain soft when removed from the oven and will firm up as they cool.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
- Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2–3 days.
- These cookies can be frozen in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between layers.
- For different flavors, experiment with chocolate, red velvet, lemon, strawberry, or spice cake mix.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 97 kcal
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 130 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Trans Fat: 0.001 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Fiber: 0.04 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 9 mg