Lemon Crinkle Cookies a la Cake Mix

Baking is among my favorite hobbies, but that’s not to say that I do it often or even especially well. Nevertheless, I  know an awesome recipe when I find one. And if it tastes delicious with relatively little effort involved, all the better.

Because we’re all friends here, I’ve decided to share my latest discovery: the single best, easiest lemon cookies you’ll ever eat. And they start with a boxed cake mix.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies a la Cake Mix

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• Dash of lemon juice
• Powdered sugar, at least 1 cup to be on the safe side

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a baking sheet.

Mix all ingredients until combined, except powdered sugar; I used my trusty stand mixer, but you could probably do this by hand if necessary. The dough will essentially be one big, greasy-looking blob. Don’t let that deter you.

Scoop out batter by tablespoon (or smaller depending on desired size). Roll each dough ball in powdered sugar and place on baking sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes until edges are set. I  found that trying to lift up the edge of a cookie right around the 8-minute mark helped me gauge how much longer to leave them in. It’s not a science, I assure you. In fact, I really don’t think you can do these wrong unless you forget to take them out altogether. My general rule of thumb is to check early and check often to ensure they’re nice and chewy.

Dust with more powdered sugar after you take them out of the oven. Leave on baking sheet for a few minutes then move to cookie rack to cool.

Let me tell you, these are divine! If I still had the metabolism of 17-yr-old me, I’d make these suckers at least once a week. They’re sweet and lemon-y without being overpowering on either count, and the texture is chewy but also silky.

I’d imagine you could manipulate this recipe for any flavor of cake mix. I intend to try strawberry or confetti cake soon (minus the salt and lemon juice, of course).

Small investment, big return…what’s not to like?!