spice cake crinkle cookies;

Originally posted October 31, 2016. Updated December 1, 2023 for content and clarity.

Happy Halloween!  I’m probably committing some heinous food blogger crime by not posting a “monster” or “pumpkin” recipe today. But these spice cake crinkle cookies are so amazingly soft and have all the delicious flavors of ginger and spice in a perfect bite-sized cookie. If you like soft gingerbread, these spice cake crinkle cookies are the perfect, four-ingredient, never-been-easier recipe for you!

I’m posting this to break up all the mini cheesecake recipes I’ve been sharing, because as tasty as they are, I needed a different dessert to spread out the cheesecake love! (Check out the cheesecake recipes: strawberry swirl, cookies and cream, peppermint, dulche de leche).

At some point, I’ll get around to making roasted pumpkin seeds too for a savory snack amidst all my fall sugary desserts! But holidays can be stressful and hectic, so how can you say no to a four-ingredient spice cake crinkle cookies recipe?

Especially when these spice cake crinkle cookies are packed with flavor that you don’t have to stress over? Yup, that’s right, all the deliciousness and variety of cake mix flavors, in a cookie! That means no worry about all those nuisance spices and flour and sugar; just dump, mix and go! Really, it could not be easier, or tastier.

No worry about all those nuisance spices, flour, or sugar; just dump, mix and go with this four-ingredient spice cake crinkle cookies recipe!

secret to success

What I love about these cookies, after how easy they are, is how pillowy and light the cookies turn out. They’re stable enough to hold their cookie shape, but even after baking, they’re melt-in-your-mouth soft. Not even chewy, because that implies resistance. There’s no resistance here, they’re basically what I think clouds would taste like if they came in cake flavors. You might think I’m exaggerating, but it’s true!

These cookies are so easy, I don’t even think they warrant secrets to success. They’re hard to mess up. If I have to offer a couple of tips, here’s my take. Make sure your cool whip is thawed. When you first mix the batter, it’ll look a little thin, but after a minute or two it will thicken up. It will still be very moist and sticky–so don’t use your hands! Grab a spoon to coat them in powdered sugar.

When it comes to the powdered sugar, because the batter is so wet and soft, I like to put the sugar in a small bowl or dish. I often use my tiny ramekins, but any small bowl will do. Fill it halfway with powdered sugar, and use a spoon to drop in your roughly Tablespoon of dough. Then I literally will shake or make a circular motion with the cup to get the full cookie dough blob coated, at least enough that I can gently turn or poke at it with my fingers to finish coating.

I put the sugar in a small bowl or dish. Then add the dough and shake or make a circular motion with the cup to get the blob coated, at least enough to turn or gently poke without it sticking to your fingers.

secret to suceess

I made these with spice cake mix, as that was how I was introduced to this recipe. A good friend, Andy brought them to our Bloomsburg fair adventures (read about them here) and I was hooked. I absolutely can’t wait to try this recipe with other cake mixes, but I think these spice cake cookies will always be one of my favorites.

I love traditional gingerbread cookies, because I have such great memories of my family making, icing, and decorating gingerbread cookies every Christmas. (And my mom’s gingerbread recipe is amazing.) When I have kids I definitely want to pass down the tradition. But honestly, spice cake crinkle cookies might be the new alternative to holiday gingerbread cookies.

They’re just so darn easy, and you get all the flavors without hours of work.

secret to success

They’re just so darn easy, and you get all the flavors without hours of work. Especially when “there’s only two of us but it doesn’t feel like Christmas but we can’t just make one type of cookie!” A lot of traditional holiday cookies in our family take time. Mixing, chilling, baking, topping. Which I love. But it’s nice to have some easy options to sprinkle in, or a last-minute option for unexpected guests or gifting.

Just stock up on some spice cake mix and leave it in the pantry! Or go wild and get a whole variety of cake mixes so you can make a whole variety of flavors and colors! I’ve also made pink lemonade cookies with pink lemonade cake mix. But spice cake crinkle cookies are a definite favorite.

Next on my to-do list for this recipe is to try it with a key lime pie cake mix! Unfortunately, I think key lime is more seasonally a summer flavor. I haven’t seen them in a while and I tried several different stores. So I’ll need to stock up, come summer! If you try these out, let me know what cake flavor you try or what flavor I should try next! Leave a comment if you try this spice cake crinkle cookies recipe!

secrets to success;

Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!

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more recipes;

Looking for other cookie recipes? Here are some suggestions:

• Peppermint sugar cookies can add something festive and new to your holiday cookie baking.
• Apple pie is another holiday staple, and these apple pie cookies are a fun new take!
• You can never go wrong with classic cinnamon snickerdoodles.