Julie Clark
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Strawberry Cookies
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Soft Strawberry Cookies made with a cake mix and jello for the ultimate strawberry flavor. An easy summer dessert!
Do you love strawberries and cookies? If so, these Strawberry Cookies made with a cake mix are for you! The jello cookies bring together the summery taste of strawberries and the comforting texture of a soft cookie.
Made with Duncan Hines white cake mix and strawberry jello, these cake mix cookies are a quick and easy treat for any time of the day. There’s no long list of ingredients or complex cooking skills needed!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Reader Kathy says, “Absolutely delicious. My 5 year old neighbor helped me make these. He was commenting on the wonderful smell. Then the frosting in his words was “superb”. These are very easy and the strawberry flavor is decadent. Thank you for sharing!”
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Reader Nadine says, “These cookies were incredible. Now I know why. I had them at an event and I could not stop eating them. Super good. Really really moist and chewy in all the right ways. Thank you!”
About these Soft Strawberry Cookies:
- Flavor: Although this recipe doesn’t have fresh strawberries, they are exploding with strawberry flavor. Strawberry jello and strawberry frosting add all the strawberry flavor you need.
- Texture: The cake mix and cream cheese help keep these cookies soft and chewy, even for a few days after baking. That makes them the best strawberry cookies to have around.
- Method: Simply mix the cookie dough and bake. No chilling the dough needed!
Can you make cookies from cake mix?
Yes! Although we love a great homemade cookie recipe, sometimes you might find box cake mixes on sale or have a spare cake mix you’d like to get creative with. That’s where cake mix cookies come in.
We love cake mix cookies because they are so versatile. You can use any flavor of cake mix you’d like. And the cookies stay soft. Try our peppermint patty cookies and yellow cake mix cookies!
Ingredients for Strawberry Cookies
This cake mix cookie recipe has simple ingredients, but not your typical ingredients. There’s no added all-purpose flour because of the cake mix and Jello.
- Cake mix. I used a white cake mix, but use strawberry cake mix for even more strawberry flavor. The cake mix has all of the dry ingredients needed such as baking powder, flour and sugar.
- Jello. I like Jello brand gelatin. Some gelatin is colored with natural dyes, which is great, but can make the cookies less of a vibrant pink color.
- Cream cheese. Have the cream cheese softened so that it mixes in easily.
- Butter. If you only have unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon salt to the recipe.
- Egg.
- Freeze-dried strawberries. I love how popular these have become. They are so great for baking! I bought a 1-ounce bag and did not use them all. No fresh berries needed, which can be tricky to bake with.
- Powdered sugar. For sweetening that frosting.
- Heavy cream. This makes the frosting smooth and creamy.
✨ See the recipe card for full ingredients and amounts. ✨
How to Make Strawberry Cookies
- In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, jello, egg, cream cheese and butter until it is all well combined. This batter will be very thick and works best if the cream cheese and butter are very soft.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop 24 cookie dough balls. Make the cookies as big as you’d like them, but remember that a bigger cookie will take longer to bake.
- Place the cookie dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet (spaced 2 inches apart) and gently press down on the top of the balls to slightly flatten them. If you don’t flatten the cookies, they will stay a little thicker.
- Bake at 325ºF for 11-13 minutes. Try not to let the cookies get browned. They’ll stay softer this way.
- Allow the cookies to rest for 3 minutes or so on the pan, then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Strawberry Frosting for Cookies
I originally posted this strawberry cake mix cookies recipe back in 2014 with a creamy, fresh strawberry glaze. Although that frosting was amazing and tasted like a strawberry milkshake, it was not very stable and made the cookies a little messy thanks to all of the wonderful strawberry juices.
In 2023, I switched up the frosting and used freeze-dried strawberries rather than fresh. You can find that original recipe in the notes of the recipe card, but I prefer this strawberry buttercream now. It makes the cookies more shelf stable and stackable for storing in the fridge or freezer.
- Add the butter and strawberry powder to a medium bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to mix these two ingredients together. It will end up crumbly.
- Add the powdered sugar and heavy cream a little at a time, alternately, mixing between each addition. You may not need all the heavy cream. Add enough so that the frosting is spreadable.
Strawberry Jam frosting
You can also use strawberry jam to make a melt-in-your-mouth buttercream frosting. Find our recipe here.
Recipe Varations
- Leave off the frosting and add white chocolate chips for a simple sweet addition.
- Add lemon zest to the cookie recipe and the frosting recipe. You can even use a lemon cake mix and/or lemon Jello for more strawberry lemonade flavor.
- Drizzle dark chocolate on top of the cookies, or add dark chocolate chips for a chocolate covered strawberry cookie.
- To make strawberry vanilla cookies, add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the cookie dough.
Storage Instructions
- Room temperature: Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 hours.
- Refrigerator: Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze the cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Allow them to defrost completely before opening the container. This will help the moisture stay in the cookie, preventing them from drying out.
Other Strawberry Recipes
Strawberry Cookies
Soft Strawberry Cookies made with a cake mix and jello for the ultimate strawberry flavor. An easy summer dessert!
Servings 24 cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 box Duncan Hines white cake mix 15.25 ounces
- 1 small box strawberry jello 3 ounces
- 1/4 cup salted butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 large egg
For the frosting:
- 1/4 cup salted butter softened
- 1/2 cup dehydrated strawberry powder Less than 1 ounce dehydrated strawberries
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Make the cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
- In a small bowl, use an electric hand mixer to mix the cake mix, jello, egg, cream cheese and butter until it is all well combined. 1 box Duncan Hines white cake mix, 1 small box strawberry jello, ¼ cup salted butter, 4 ounces cream cheese, 1 large egg
- Roll the dough into about 24 balls. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, with about 2 inches in between each cookie. For flat cookies, gently press down on the top of the balls to slightly flatten them. This is optional. If you don't press them down, they'll be slightly thicker and rounder.
- Bake for for 11-13 minutes.
- Move the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Make the frosting.
- Add the butter and strawberry powder to a medium bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to mix these two ingredients together. It will end up crumbly. ¼ cup salted butter, ½ cup dehydrated strawberry powder
- Add the powdered sugar and heavy cream a little at a time, alternately, mixing between each addition. You may not need all the heavy cream. Add enough so that the frosting is spreadable. 1 cup powdered sugar, ¼ cup heavy cream
- When the cookies are cooled, spread the frosting on top of the cookies.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Video
Notes
- I used freeze dried strawberries and blended them in a food processor. I used less than 1 ounce of freeze dried strawberries to make ½ cup of powder.
The Original Frosting Recipe
The original frosting recipe was 2 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup salted butter and ⅛ cup frozen strawberries, thawed. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and melted butter. Chop the strawberries into tiny pieces or chop them in a food processor for just a few seconds. Mix the strawberries into the powdered sugar/butter mixture to create a frosting. Then spread on the cookies. The calories shown are based on the recipe making 24 cookies, with 1 serving being 1 frosted cookie. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**Nutrition
Serving: 46g | Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 13mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 229IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Made this last night exactly as written. They were so delicious!! My husband couldn’t stop eating them and kept saying how good they were! Thanks for a great recipe!
Made these today for my husband to to take to his card game; so have not “tested” them yet — but they smell wonderful! I used a strawberry cake mix; strawberry/kiwi jello (all I had)… creamed the butter & cream cheese to start with; then mixed in jello which was all nice and “fluffy.” Then added the cake mix a bit at a time; next added 1/2 cup of vanilla chips — the dough was very “thick” so I added 1-1/3tablespoons (4 teaspoons) of milk which created a very good consistency. Used a medium siized cookie scoop and got 24… Read more »
Has anyone tried putting actual straw in the cookies themselves instead of in the frosting? I make apple pie cookies that my boyfriend is crazy over, was thinking I could do the same thing with strawberry, but I’m not sure if the moisture content would be an issue.
Absolutely delicious. My 5 year old neighbor helped me make these. He was commenting on the wonderful smell. Then the frosting in his words was “superb”.
These are very easy The strawberry flavor is decadant. Thank you for sharing