Easy Christmas Gooey Butter Cookies: Soft, Chewy, and Melt-in-Your-Mouth with Festive Sprinkles
I’m Alex, and I’m happy you found this recipe. These Christmas Gooey Butter Cookies use a simple cake mix base to give you that soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture everyone loves during the holidays. They are perfect for cookie exchanges and holiday trays.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Total Time: 32 min
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 box (15.25 ounces) yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 box (16 ounces) powdered sugar, divided
- 1/4 cup red and green sprinkles (for festive look)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the yellow cake mix, 1/2 cup melted butter, and 1 egg. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Add the second egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, mixing until just combined.
- Gradually add 1 cup of the powdered sugar to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Take the cake mix dough and roll it into small balls, about 1 inch in diameter.
- Roll each dough ball completely in the remaining powdered sugar until fully coated.
- Press each powdered sugar-coated ball lightly with your thumb to create a slight indentation.
- Place about 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into the indentation of each dough ball.
- Sprinkle the tops with red and green sprinkles immediately.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges will look set, but the centers will still look soft and gooey. Do not overbake.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. These cookies are best when they are soft and chewy.
Notes
- For the best melt-in-your-mouth texture, do not overbake these cookies. They should look slightly underdone in the center when you remove them from the oven.
- You can substitute the yellow cake mix with white cake mix if you prefer a slightly lighter color base.
- These cookies are excellent for Christmas cookie exchanges because they hold up well for gifting when stored in an airtight container.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 18
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 9
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 4
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 24
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 40