Easy Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies are such a classic cookie that is craved year-round. These peanut butter cake mix cookies are both easy and quick to make. They taste so good that no one will guess these are yellow cake mix cookies!

This is the recipe to use when you want to make a quick batch of peanut butter cookies! No one will even realize you use a cake mix unless you tell them (or share this recipe).

If you don't have a cake mix at home and want to make peanut butter cookies, my easy Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies recipe is also quick and delicious.

Why I love these

• The peanut butter flavor is just right on point with these cookies! They are delicious and will be devoured by friends and family.
• The texture is just a little softer and chewier than a fully-from-scratch recipe. Unless you are actually comparing, you probably wouldn't know it's not from scratch.
• From start to finish, these take about 20-25 minutes to make. The longest step is heating up the oven! Baking time is only 10 minutes. Yes, you can bake something so quickly and easily in only 10 minutes!

Ingredients and Substitutions

These cookies use only a handfull of ingredients! Do you have these at home already?

• Yellow cake mix - I usually stock up on Betty Crocker mixes when they are on sale. You can use whatever brand you normally use.
• Peanut Butter - You can use either smooth and creamy or crunchy peanut butter. From experience, I find that regular commercial brands (non-organic) tend to work better. My understanding is that the fat content of some organic peanut butter varies (or it just might not have been well stirred before use).
• Eggs - I always use large eggs. If you have small ones, you may want to use 3 small ones instead of 2 large ones.
• Butter - use softened butter. Many people like using unsalted butter for baking. I use salted in this recipe because it adds to the peanut butter cookie flavor. Butter should not be melted; it should be allowed to soften to room temperature. If you are in a pinch and don't have butter, use a mild flavored oil like vegetable oil as a substitute.
• White sugar is optional, but I like using it when I do the traditional hatch marks on these cookies.

Instructions

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350ºF and either put parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on your cookie sheet (or baking pan).

Step 2
In a large bowl, mix together your wet ingredients which are your peanut butter, oil and eggs. I use a hand mixer. It's much easier than hand mixing.

Step 3
Add the dry cake mix to the wet ingredients and mix until everything is combined. It will be a thick dough which is typical for cookies.

Step 4
I use a cookie scoop to get even sized balls of dough. My scoop is sized at about 2 tablespoons of product. This cookie scoop would be very similar.

Step 5
I don't hand roll my dough. The rounded scoop shape works fine for me. Use a fork and dip the tines into granulated sugar and then press each cookie twice to get the cross hatch pattern.

Step 6
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Cookies should just start to brown at the bottom.
Let cookies sit for 5-10 minutes on baking sheet, then remove with a flat spatula and let cool on a baking rack.

Storage

I keep these cookies on the counter if they will be eaten within 2 - 3 days. Keep them in a sealed contianer (cookie jar, storage container or even plastic storage bags.
Refrigerating them will keep them fresh for a week but ensure they are in a container or zip closure bag.

I also freeze these if I'm making some ahead. These simple peanut butter cookies are fine for up to two months if well wrapped. I find the biggest issue while freezing is breakage when they get stuffed into my too full freezer.

FAQs

Other Easy Cookies and Bars

Please come back and leave a good rating if you enjoyed these cookies!