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These Christmas Crinkle Cookies are incredibly soft and chewy. A easy almond crinkle cookie made with cake mix! Whip up a batch of these 5 ingredient cookies in under 20 minutes!
My mom made these red and green Christmas crinkle cookies every year along with chocolate crinkle cookies! They were a nice break from the more labor-intensive rolled cookies like gingerbread cookies or soft cut-out sugar cookies.
Made with just 5 ingredients, they were by far the easiest cookies on the list! Let these easy cookies be a colorful addition to your Christmas cookie platter or gift box! Complete the cookie box with more of these easy Christmas cookie recipes or try some traditional Christmas cookies this year.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love these Crinkle Cookies
- An easy, fast cookie recipe made with cake mix. Mix up a batch of these cookies in under 20 minutes with only 5 ingredients!
- Bright, festive cookies. These cookies are an easy way to add variety to your Christmas cookie tray or as an easy, last-minute cookie swap cookie!
- Almond flavor that tastes like cake mix. The almond extract makes these cookies taste like cake mix, which seems appropriate since they are made with cake mix!
Professional Tips for Christmas Crinkle Cookies:
- Make sure the cake mix is a 16.5 ounce box. There are different sizes of cake mix boxes out there. I know this because I accidentally bought a small one and my dough was super oily and I had to throw it out.
- Liquid food coloring is preferable to gel food coloring in this recipe. The liquid disperses better in the batter. To get the right color with the gel, you had to use so much that I could taste it. Blech! It was also difficult to incorporate, so I ended up over-mixing my batter.
- Generously roll your dough in powdered sugar. An appropriate amount of powdered sugar on the dough ball is so much that it is caked on the ball and there is powdered sugar all over your hands, the counter and the cookie sheet.
- Cook time is super important. The cook time will drastically alter the texture of your almond crinkle cookies. If you do not want dry, cakey cookies, then watch them!
Ingredients Needed:
- White Cake Mix: It must be 16.5 oz and I prefer this Duncan Hines.
- Whole Eggs: Eggs are the emulsifier for the oil and add a little extra richness and chew.
- Canola Oil: I prefer a neutral vegetable oil like canola oil here but you could also use grapeseed oil or melted coconut oil
- Almond Extract: McCormick makes a good cost-conscience almond Extract but Nielsen Massey’s is my favorite!
- Food Coloring: I used red and green, but the choice is yours! It is also optional. But, it will put the festive in the Festive Almond Crinkle Cookies.
- Confectioner’s Sugar: Also called powdered sugar or 10x because it is ground ten times finer than regular sugar.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations:
- Flavorings: I added ½ teaspoon of almond extract to really pop the flavor! I’ve also tried ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, which is delightful, and I plan to try peppermint next year!
- Texture: The texture of the almond crinkle cookies is easily customizable as well. The longer you bake them, the cakier they become. They are made with cake mix after all!
- Mix-Ins: Mix in chopped almonds or dried fruit for more added texture.
How to Make Christmas Crinkle Cookies
Use these instructions to make the perfect almond crinkle cookies! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place about ½ cup powdered sugar in a bowl and set aside.
Step 2: In a medium bowl mix together the cake mix, eggs, oil and extract until few lumps remain.
If you are going to add food coloring, do so now; mix to combine. I divided my dough in half and then colored half green and half red.
Step 3: Roll dough into balls, approximately 1.5 inches across, and then roll in powdered sugar until they are generously coated. Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. The dough is very soft and will not stay in ball form, which is fine.
Step 4: Bake in preheated oven for 7-11 minutes. 7 for very soft, underbaked cookies and 10-11 for cakier, lighter cookies.
Step 5: Let cool 5 minutes on baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
This cookie dough does not sit well. It is best to mix, roll and bake immediately. I learned this the hard way at a very large scale. I do not recommend refrigerating or freezing the dough prior to baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
I store these chewy Christmas crinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days or frozen for several months. They are best when consumed within 3 days when stored at room temperature. They gradually dry out and lose their chewiness.I find the refrigerator dries them out faster and the powdered sugar absorbs moisture.
You can freeze the baked cookies for up to 2 months. I do not suggest freezing the unbaked dough. I found that it did not bake the same.
You can make as large a batch of these festive almond crinkle cookies as you would like; however, I will caution that they are best bake immediately after mixing. Only make as many as you can bake that day.
These cookies ship wonderfully. Package in a decorative tin or just place in a zip-top bag in a mailer box. They keep for 7 days and they stay chewy for almost as long. The larger the cookie, the longer they stay chewy!
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Christmas Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- 16.5 oz white cake mix
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- Food Coloring if desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place about ½ cup powdered sugar in a bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl mix together the cake mix, eggs, oil and extract until few lumps remain.
- If you are going to add food coloring, do so now; mix to combine. I divided my dough in half and then colored half green and half red.
- Roll dough into balls, approximately 1.5 inches across, and then roll in powdered sugar until they are generously coated. Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. The dough is very soft and will not stay in ball form, which is fine.
- Bake in preheated oven for 7-11 minutes. 7 for very soft, underbaked cookies and 10-11 for cakier, lighter cookies.
- Let cool 5 minutes on baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go!
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The flavor is great! I used the almond for the green and peppermint for the pink…. But I’m having trouble getting the color bright for the pink. Looks more mauve following the 12 red, 4 blue suggestion by McCormick. Any suggestions? Delicious- Thank you!!!
Just keep adding red 🙂
Does it have to be canola oil?
No but I use vegetable oil in order not to add flavor.