Cool Whip Cookies

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4 ingredients make up these delightfully easy Cool Whip Cookies. Make these cookies to fit any occasion by switching the flavor of cake mix!

Cake mix recipes are so fun. One of my favorites? Strawberries and Cream Cookies. One of your favorites? Cake mix pancakes. You can turn a box mix into just about anything, even cake mix cinnamon rolls!

Today, you’ll learn how to make Cool Whip Cookies with a cake mix. Only 4 ingredients and under 30 minutes, and you’ll have the prettiest cake mix crinkle cookies that you’ve ever seen, and just as fun as our yellow cake mix cookies.

stack of cool whip cookies with cool whip on top

Where this recipe came from.

About a month ago, I was visiting my 90+ year old Grandma and she handed us me recipe box.  I love looking through recipes.  And seeing a stack of recipe cards either typed out or written in my Grandma’s handwriting makes them pretty special.

One of the first recipes I came across were a cookie called Lemon Whippersnappers. They used Cool Whip and a cake mix to make lemon cake cookies. I’m not sure where the Cool Whip Cookies recipe originated, but I have my grandma’s copy and that is pretty special to me. They are unique little treats!

Ingredients for Cool Whip Cookies

You’ll need just 4 ingredients:

ingredients for cool whip cookies on a table
  • Cake mix. Chocolate crinkle cookies are a classic, but use any flavor: chocolate cake mix, spice cake mix, red velvet cake mix, even strawberry cake mix. Showcased in this post are red velvet, lemon, and strawberry. And can you imagine carrot cake at Easter time?
  • Cool whip. Although both cool whip and whipped cream try to achieve the same thing in recipes, they are not the same product and can’t always be used interchangeably. Both are light and fluffy and perfect for dolloping on top of shortcakes and ice cream, but a tub of Cool Whip, the frozen whipped topping is what you’ll use in this recipe. I have not tried these cookies with homemade whipped cream.
  • Egg. Just 1 large egg.
  • Powdered sugar. This is what the cookie dough balls will get rolled in before baking. This is also called confectioners’ sugar.
cool whip cookies with bite out of one

How to Make Cool Whip Cookies in 4 Steps

This recipe is a one-bowl recipe that can be made in 4 easy steps.

collage of how to make cool whip cookies
  • Place the cake mix, egg and cool whip in a large bowl.
  • Mix the dough using a hand mixer. The dough should be easy to mix up. The texture will be smooth, but very sticky.
  • Use a cookie scoop to drop the cookie dough by teaspoons into powdered sugar and roll the dough to coat the cookies. If you have trouble with the dough sticking to your hands, spray your hands with cooking spray first. This trick should help.
  • Place the cookies on a prepared baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Remove them from the oven when they are set, but before they get too brown. As the cookies bake, they spread slightly which give them the “crinkle cookies” look because of the cracked powdered sugar.

Pro Tip:

The hardest thing about making cool whip cookies was that they wanted to stick to the pan just a little. We use either a Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat or parchment paper and don’t have any problems with not getting them off the pan.

closeup of a cool whip cookies

Recipe Variations

  • Use a Funfetti cake mix and add a few extra sprinkles to the batter. They’d make a great birthday cookie!
  • Devil’s food cake with ½ cup mini chocolate chips is the ultimate for chocolate cookie lovers.
  • Try butter pecan cake mix with ½ cup finely chopped pecans.

How to Store Cool Whip Cookies

Store the cool whip cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I do not recommend storing in the refrigerator as they might dry out.

For longer storage, store in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer. Place parchment paper between the layers so the cookies don’t stick when you defrost them. The powdered sugar may not be as pretty when you thaw the cookies.

You may also love our cinnamon rolls and apple pie filling, cream cheese cherry cookies, cream cheese sugar cookies, and almond sugar cookies.

closeup of a cool whip cookies
closeup of a cool whip cookies

Cool Whip Cookies

4.63 from 395 votes
4 ingredients make up these delightfully simple Cool Whip Cookies. Make the cookies to fit any occasion by switching the flavor of cake mix!
Servings 20
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes

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Ingredients
 

  • 1 box lemon cake mix (15.25 ounces or a traditional 9×13 box cake mix)
  • 2 cups frozen whipped topping (thawed)
  • 1 large egg

To roll the cookies:

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a cooking sheet with a non-stick baking mat or spray with nonstick. cooking spray.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, Cool Whip and egg. Stir until well mixed. 1 box lemon cake mix, 2 cups frozen whipped topping, 1 large egg
  • Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drop the cookie dough by teaspoons into the powdered sugar and roll the dough to coat. Place the balls 1 ½ inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. ½ cup powdered sugar
  • Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Remove them from the oven when they are set, but before they get too brown.
  • Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack and allow them to cool. Makes about 20 cookies (2 1/2" in diameter).

Video

Notes

  • 1 batch makes about 20 cookies.
  • Because the cake mix has so much flavor, there’s no need for extra vanilla extract.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 20 cookies, with 1 serving being 1 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

Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 24mg | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 0.6mg
Course Cookies
Cuisine American
Calories 122
Keyword cool whip cookies, easy cake mix cookies, EASY COOKIE RECIPE, fruity cookie recipe, how to make cake mix cookies
About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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4.63 from 395 votes (371 ratings without comment)
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Kathy
8 months ago

4 stars
Great recipe. I found refrigerating dough 15 minutes first keeps dough from being sticky

Rose
9 months ago

5 stars
I love these cookies, to give it a boost, I added zest of 1 lemon, and a tsp lemon flavoring!

Susan
9 months ago

5 stars
Everyone loves these Cookies and ask for the recipe. I always send them here to you.

Victoria Ketter
11 months ago

5 stars
We used a Funfetti Cookies & Cream recipe and sugar free cool whip. They taste amazing but they are so flat. Why is that? Is it the mix or the cool whip?

Debbi
1 year ago

5 stars
These are the easiest,best tasting cookies ever. We started making these when our son was younger and he still request them all the time. We use all kinds of cake mixes.

Jaime
1 year ago

5 stars
These cookies are go-to for my family and I. They are so fast and easy, red velvet being our favorite. Have not tried the lemon yet but you can bet we will real soon.

Joyce
1 year ago

2 stars
I just made these and was hugely disappointed – followed the recipe using 2 cups of cool whip, definitely not enough. The dough was very stiff and dry. The cookies did not spread at all and didn’t taste good either

Cathy
1 year ago

5 stars
These are delicious! I did the lemon ones, and I added a little ginger to the cake mix and it was amazing. I also bought a devil’s food cake mix and added a little orange zest. Yummy 😋

Mika
2 years ago

5 stars
Hi! I’ve always loved making cookies very similar to these-with cake mix and cool whip- and they always turn out great! But my problem is they always flatten as soon as I take them out of the oven. I don’t know if it was the recipes I’ve been using or if this one is different, but do you have any tips to keep the cookies tall and fluffy?

Donna T.
2 years ago

Cool whip lemon cookies Added 1 teaspoon each of lemon and vanilla extracts.