Cake Mix Cookie Bars

It is easy to make Cake Mix Cookie Bars with just a few staple ingredients! The cookie bars are loaded with chocolate chips, they are chewy, moist, delightfully cakey, and rich.

I love baking from scratch, but sometimes when I’m short on time grabbing a box of cake mix is a great idea. But time is not the reason why I like to make these cake mix cookie bars, I make them because I love their taste and texture. They’re like a cross between a cookie and cake, they’re moist, and absolutely delicious.

These cookie bars are perfect for potlucks, family gatherings, and holiday baking! The effort is minimal, but you end up with a large batch of this sweet treat.

Wondering what else can you make with boxed cake mix? Try my Honey Bun Cake, or this easy Pumpkin Dump Cake.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Shortcut Recipe – We’re making these cookie bars with a box of yellow cake mix, and a few more simple ingredients!
2. Rich and Flavorful – These cookie bars have a unique flavor and a velvety texture. I’m sure that everyone is going to love them.
3. Customizable – Make these your own! I’m showing you how to make basic chocolate chip cookie bars, but will give you more ideas on how to change these up.

Ingredients Needed

Here’s what you need to make these easy cake mix cookie bars:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Cake Mix: I’m using a 15.25oz box of yellow cake mix, but this recipe works with any other cake mix. Think red velvet, strawberry, chocolate, pistachio, funfetti, etc.
• Fat: To turn cake mix into cookies, you need vegetable or canola oil, or melted butter. I used vegetable oil, but to make them richer and buttery use unsalted melted butter.
• Extras: I kept it simple and added semi sweet chocolate chips to my cookie bars, but feel free to add your favorite type of chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruits, candy, or sprinkles.

How To Make Cake Mix Cookie Bars

The detailed instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, but here I wanted to give you an idea of how to make these cookie bars:

1. Preheat the oven, then in a large bowl combine the ingredients (cake mix, eggs, and oil or melted butter). Mix until well combine, the cookie dough will stiff but that’s okay.
2. Add the chocolate chips, and fold them in with a spatula.
3. Press the cookie dough in a 9×13 inch pan, and even it out with a spaula.
4. Bake until golden brown. Allow to cool in pan, the slice into 16 squares and serve.

Recipe Tips

• Want to make chocolate cookie bars instead? Grab a box of fudge chocolate cake and use that.
• Room Temp Eggs: Make sure that you use 2 large eggs that are brought to room temperature, they incorporate in the cookie dough much better than fridge-cold eggs.
• If you are worried that the cookie bars will stick to the pan, line the pan with parchment paper.
• Cookie Dough will be Stiff: It will take you a minute to spread the cookie dough in the pan because it will be stiff. Just use a rubber spatula and press it down until it’s spread evenly.
• Serve at room temperature, or warm with a scoop of ice cream!
• Don’t have a cake mix handy? Bake up a batch of Toll House cookie bars from scratch instead.

Storing Tips

Store the baked and cooled cookie bars in an airtight container or a sealed ziploc bag for up to one week at room temperature.

To freeze: Allow them to cool completely, slice and place in a ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.

I hope that you enjoy this easy shortcut recipe as much as I do! If you try it, let me know what you thought and if you added any delicious extras! Pin it for more people to enjoy too!