These white cake mix cookies are shaped like cute bear paws and are simple to make with white cake mix, macadamia nuts, homemade coconut frosting, coconut shreds, and milk chocolate chips/candy melts. They are soft with a crunch, coconutty, and delish, making easy Christmas cookies for your holiday table or to give away as edible presents just like these Christmas tree coconut sugar cookies.
Cookie season is here, folks!
There are many to choose from, but this year we decided to make our Christmas cookies shaped like bear paws. Aren't they super cute?
You'll need simple ingredients that are widely available.
They make an awesome holiday treat to make with your children or grandchildren... and create memorable moments!
Cake Mix Cookies Recipe
This easy cookie recipe calls for only 5 ingredients for the cookie dough and a few more for the homemade frosting and decorations.
However, if you prefer you can use a store-bought coconut frosting.
If you skip the 30-minute chilling time, you can make, bake, and decorate these cookies in less than 30 minutes.
You can even use your own homemade cookie recipe and decorate them as we did to look like bear paws.
They are perfect for the holidays and also to give away as edible gifts.
My kids love to decorate them! And so will yours...
Don't be shy! Go ahead and use our white cake mix cookies recipe as a base for making different flavored cookies such as strawberry or chocolate for different seasons or occasions (Easter, Thanksgiving, V-day, etc). You will only need to swap the flavor of the cake mix and extract.
You are also welcome to change the flavor of the frosting to pair well with the flavor of the cookies, and of course, the decorations.
INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
To make these easy Christmas cookies, you'll need:
White Cake Mix Cookies:
- 15-ounce box white cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted (or mild vegetable oil, same amount)
- ½ cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped (or any other nut of choice)
Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (OPTIONAL but it will balance out the sweetness)
Decorations:
- Milk chocolate candy melts
- Semisweet chocolate chips (or milk chocolate if you prefer)
- 1 cup coconut shreds (or shredded coconut) -- NOTE: Coconut flakes are larger and thicker than dried shredded coconut and are not as suitable for these cookie decorations!
EQUIPMENT
To make these white cake mix cookies for Christmas, you will need the following equipment:
- Hand mixer
- Two baking sheets
- 1 ½ tablespoon cookie dough scoop
How to Make Cake Mix Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C). Then, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats to prevent the bottom of your cookies from browning. Set them aside!
- Make the cake mix cookie batter: In a large mixing bowl, combine the white cake mix and baking powder. PIC. 1 Using a hand mixer, add the melted butter and then the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed until fully incorporated. PIC. 2 TIP: If you don't have a hand mixer, you can alternatively mix everything with a rubber spatula.
- Fold in the chopped macadamia nuts using a rubber spatula.
- Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes to reduce spreading. PIC. 3 NOTE: If you skip this step your cake mix cookies will be slightly thinner because they will spread more. However, the baking powder will still help to give it some rise.
- Using a small cookie scoop or a spoon, drop 1 ½ tablespoon-sized balls onto the lined baking sheets. Make sure to space them a few inches apart to leave room for the cookies to spread. PIC. 4
- Bake them for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are set (and it reaches desired doneness). PIC. 5
- Let the white cake mix cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to fully cool. Use a metal spatula to transfer them!
- While the cookies are baking, prepare the frosting. In a mixing bowl, beat the room temp butter until smooth and creamy. Then, add the powdered sugar gradually, mixing until combined. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts and the salt, mixing again until you have a smooth, easily spreadable frosting. PIC. 6
- Frost and decorate: Once the cookies have fully cooled, use a small icing spatula to frost about 1 tablespoon of frosting on each cookie. Add a chocolate candy melt and 3 semisweet chocolate chips to make the bear paws. Cover the rest of the frosting with coconut shreds, but do NOT cover the paws! PICS. 7 & 8
TIPS FOR THESE EASY CHRISTMAS COOKIES
- You can use any boxed cake mix flavor of your liking! But if you use a bigger cake mix box, you will have to proportionally increase the amount of butter used.
- If you want to make bear paw cookies using your own homemade cookie recipe, go for it! Just add the coconut frosting, coconut shreds, and candy melts/milk chocolate bear paw decorations.
- If you don’t have butter at home, no worries! Use equal amounts of mild vegetable oil.
- Swap the macadamia nuts for any other nut (or omit it entirely but the cookies won't have that crunch).
- You can skip the baking powder. However, your white cake mix cookies will be slightly thinner!
- If you are in a hurry, you can also skip the 30-minute chilling time. But your cookie dough will spread out more, resulting in slightly thinner cookies.
- It is key to use softened butter in the homemade cookie frosting in order to get a creamy spreadable mixture.
Cake Mix Cookie Variations
You can adapt our cake mix cookies recipe by simply using extracts and cake mixes with different flavors. These will render the following variations:
- Lemon cake mix cookies -- lemon cake mix + lemon extract only
- Yellow cake mix cookies -- yellow cake mix + vanilla extract only
- Gingerbread cake box cookies -- gingerbread mix + gingerbread spice mix
- Strawberry cake mix cookies -- strawberry cake mix + strawberry extract
- Chocolate cake mix cookies -- chocolate cake box mix + vanilla extract
- Cake mix chocolate chip cookies -- yellow cake mix + 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips + vanilla extract
- Funfetti cake mix cookies -- funfetti cake mix + vanilla extract
- Red Velvet cake mix cookies -- red velvet cake mix + vanilla extract
- Vegan cake mix cookies -- vegan cake mix + egg substitute + vegetable oil (use only vegan ingredients)
HOW TO STORE
These easy Christmas cookies are best eaten the same day. However, you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To freeze them (without frosting), let the cookies cool completely after baking. Then, place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them for about 30 minutes. Once they're hard, store the cookies in a freezer container or freezer bag and freeze them for up to 3 months.
To thaw them, remove them from the freezer for about 2 hours before frosting and decorating them.
Other Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Brigadeiro cookies
- Low Carb Chocolate chip coconut cookies
- Dulce de leche cinnamon cookies
- Gingerbread cookie bars
- Double chocolate chip cookies
- Gluten-Free ginger molasses cookies
- Argentinian alfajores
- Candy cane cookies
PIN & ENJOY!
White Cake Mix Cookies
Equipment
- 1 hand mixer
- 2 Baking sheets
- 1 (1 ½ tablespoon) cookie dough scoop
Ingredients
White Cake Mix Cookies:
- 15 ounce box white cake mix I used Betty Crocker
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted (or mild vegetable oil, same amount)
- ½ cup macadamia nuts roughly chopped (or any other nut of choice)
Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt OPTIONAL but it will balance out the sweetness
Decorations:
- 22 Milk chocolate candy melts
- 66 Semisweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate if you prefer
- 1 cup coconut shreds or shredded coconut -- NOTE: Coconut flakes are larger and thicker than dried shredded coconut and are not as suitable for these cookie decorations!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C). Then, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats to prevent the bottom of your cookies from browning. Set them aside!
- Make the cake mix cookie batter: In a large mixing bowl, combine the white cake mix and baking powder. Using a hand mixer, add the melted butter and then the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed until fully incorporated. TIP: If you don't have a hand mixer, you can alternatively mix everything with a rubber spatula.
- Fold in the chopped macadamia nuts using a rubber spatula.
- Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes to reduce spreading. NOTE: If you skip this step your cake mix cookies will be slightly thinner because they will spread more. However, the baking powder will still help to give it some rise.
- Using a small cookie scoop or a spoon, drop 1 ½ tablespoon-sized balls onto the lined baking sheets. Make sure to space them a few inches apart to leave room for the cookies to spread.
- Bake them for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are set (and it reaches desired doneness).
- Let the white cake mix cookies cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to fully cool. Use a metal spatula to transfer them!
- While the cookies are baking, prepare the frosting. In a mixing bowl, beat the room temp butter until smooth and creamy. Then, add the powdered sugar gradually, mixing until combined. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts and the salt, mixing again until you have a smooth, easily spreadable frosting.
- Frost and decorate: Once the cookies have fully cooled, use a small icing spatula to frost about 1 tablespoon of frosting on each cookie. Add a chocolate candy melt and 3 semisweet chocolate chips to make the bear paws. Cover the rest of the frosting with coconut shreds, but do NOT cover the paws!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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2pots2cook says
So cute to have after three years of celebration without friends and families....... Thank you so much!