The Store-Bought Mix Your Cookies Have Been Needing

The holiday season conjures up memories of roast turkey dinners, glazed hams, pumpkin pie, and a smorgasbord of other seasonal favorites. But I say we call it what it really is: cookie season.

From the moment Halloween ends and people jump right into Christmas festivities, passing over all due respect for Thanksgiving, home bakers start planning the dozens of varieties of cookies they are going to prep for holiday dinners and homemade gifts for their loved ones. Chocolate chip, gingerbread, soft sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles, or one of our holiday favorites, cranberry oatmeal chocolate chunk; there is no shortage of flavors and varieties people come up with every year.

However, buying all that flour, sugar, and eggs really adds up and becomes another major cost during the already expensive holiday season, not to mention the fact that all those bulky ingredients become a real pain to carry home and store in the pantry. Thankfully, there is a hack that gives you everything you need for your cookie-baking endeavors in one convenient package and allows you customize it into any flavor you want. And the secret is in a box of store-bought cake mix.

It might seem counterintuitive to buy a box of cake mix in order to make a tray of freshly baked cookies, but when you really boil it down, they are both made from the same basic ingredients: flour, sugar, oil, eggs, and leavening agents. All that really changes are the ratios, and with a little know-how, you can turn any cake mix into a soft and chewy cookie.

Start off with a box cake mix of any flavor or brand. Toss aside the box and ignore the package directions. Instead of adding all the liquid and eggs that would make for a runny batter (perfect for cake, but not for cookies), you can make cookie dough with just two additions: a neutral oil or melted butter and eggs. Mix it all together and you will get a thick dough that you can bake in an preheated oven. Less time in the oven makes soft and cake-like cookies, while more time creates a crisp texture, which I personally prefer.

There is no limit to the amount of customization you can make to your cake mix cookies. You can use vanilla cake mix for regular sugar cookies, chocolate cake mix for fudgy, brownie-like cookies, spice cake mix for gingerbread cookies, or you can draw upon just about anything you can get in the baking aisle. And if you're looking for inspiration, here are 26 cookie recipes to kickstart your holiday baking spree.

After choosing your mix, you can then consider your mix-ins. Again, the choices available to you are limitless, and include everything chocolate chips and dried fruit to chopped-up nuts and even bacon. My personal favorite is taking strawberry cake mix and adding white chocolate chips and dried strawberries for a fruity and creamy treat. With all the ways you can customize your cake mix, no one needs to know if your holiday cookies are a little semi-homemade.