Fudge Crinkles (A Great 4 Ingredient Cake Mix Cookie)

"These are chewy, fudgy, SUPER EASY cookies that you can probably make right now! I have watched these disappear time and again and everyone is always asking for the recipe. It is almost embarrassing to give it out, it is that easy :) Enjoy! (12/14/06: I wanted to add that Betty Crocker has updated this recipe by adding 1 tsp. vanilla extract, but I don't want to change the original recipe.) *12/22/07: Please see my tips at the end of the recipe! **12/23/08: Betty Crocker has now added a version of the same exact recipe in which the cookie dough balls are rolled in granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar. I've tried this and they're also very good."
 
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photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Amanda M. photo by Amanda M.
photo by Cheyenne L. photo by Cheyenne L.
photo by longtrail18 photo by longtrail18
photo by Barbara R. photo by Barbara R.
Ready In:
15mins
Ingredients:
4
Yields:
30-48 cookies
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Stir (by hand) dry cake mix, oil and eggs in a large bowl until dough forms.
  • Dust hands with confectioners' sugar and shape dough into 1" balls.
  • Roll balls in confectioners' sugar and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes or until center is JUST SET.
  • Remove from pans after a minute or so and cool on wire racks.
  • *My Notes*:

  • I have tried these with several different cake mix brands. They all come out good, but the Betty Crocker does come out the best.
  • I was having a problem with my cookies flattening while baking. This usually happens with the generic cake mix brands. You can play with your oven temp and try them on 375 to keep them from spreading. Adding more oil than called for will also cause the cookies to spread -- I wouldn't suggest it, they really don't need extra oil.
  • Another way to keep them nice and thick and to get the most "crinkled" or "crackled" look is to make them bigger. When I roll them at about 1.5 inches they look prettier.
  • And my best tip: My confectioners' sugar was consistently being absorbed by the dough. The last time I baked them, I rolled them into balls without rolling in the sugar and let them "dry" for a few minutes. Then I rolled them in sugar and baked. These came out with a nice coating of sugar that didn't disappear.

Questions & Replies

  1. Where did you find a cake mix that many ounces? The only size I can find in a little over 15 oz. should I change the amt of oil and eggs I use? Thanks Laura R.
     
  2. My cake mix is 13.5 oz will this work for this recipe?
     
  3. How much apple sauce do I use instead of the oil in this recipe?
     
  4. How would these work with brownie mix instead?
     
  5. Could you substitute melted butter for the oil?
     
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Reviews

  1. I have always had trouble making the usual Chocolate Crinkles - they always turned out crunchy! These are so easy - I have made them three times for Christmas already and will probably make more today. I do chill the dough which makes them a little easier to work with. Great recipe!
     
  2. A super easy and fast recipe. I had a bit of trouble getting the cookies to "set" -- a few passes back through the oven did the trick. I recommend a beginning bake time of no less than 12 minutes. Also, really dredge the cookie balls in the sugar ... much is absorbed during baking, which leaves the cookies with only a minimum of white powdered coating. I plan on decreasing the oil to 1/4 cup to see if this helps stop the powdered sugar from "disappearing."
     
  3. **NOTE**<br/>Dec, 2012<br/>Following are the adjusted ingredient amounts from the Betty Crocker website (http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/fudge-crinkles/9b11c0b4-37d5-45ed-b417-a218792ebc35) for the new smaller (15.25 oz) size box of cake mix. <br/><br/>1 (15.25 oz) box Betty Crocker? SuperMoist? devil's food cake mix<br/>1/3 cup vegetable oil<br/>2 eggs<br/>1 teaspoon vanilla<br/>Powdered sugar
     
  4. Awesome; just adding a tip that I learned from Julie VanRosendall: for the chewiest cookies (with any recipe) it's more about not overMIXING than it is about not over cooking. Of course, overcooking them doesn't help... but they may end up too doughy if you undercook. Basically... after you combine the wet and dry ingredients, only mix until the dough comes together or else the flour/gluten gets overworked and becomes tough.
     
  5. I had to re-review this simply because I tried the same recipe using STRAWBERRY cake mix and wanted to tell y'all about it. I increased the oil to 3/4 cup because even though I LOVED the chocolate ones, I ended up overcoooking them by just a couple minutes and when they cooled, they were very hard. So I wanted to ensure that even if I overcook them again by accident, that I'll still end up with a soft, chewy cookie. This worked wonderfully with 3/4 cup oil!~!! Sent a batch of the strawberry ones to hubby's work and everyone asked how in the world strawberry cookies can be made? They'd never heard of them and LOVED 'em!! Karen, this will be my ALL TIME FAVORITE cookie recipe for the rest of my life!~ 10 stars at least! Karen, you're awesome!
     
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Tweaks

  1. I added a handful of extra chocolate chips for good measure.
     
  2. used lemon cake mix instead of chocolate
     
  3. Cocoa and Hershey's syrup.
     
  4. I was excited to see such great reviews on a "soft" chocolate cookie recipe. But once I made these I could not believe just how greasy these cookies are. They are SO oily that they soaked through 3 layers of brown paper bags and my table still had oil on it underneath. They were wet to the touch no matter how long I cooked them. Trying it again I used 1/4 cup of soft butter in place of the oil, but don't think boxed cake mix is the answer either. Very disappointed that I lost time trying this recipe twice. Still on the hunt for a tried and true chewy chocolate cookie.
     
  5. Thank you Karen=^..^=<br/>These were phenomenal. Made them to bring to a Christmas party. Used colored sugar instead of powdered. I never expected them to turn out as good as you/others said... but they were even better. After the first guest tried one, they were gone within 15 minutes. People were coming to the table to get one of your cookies! Mine came out almost "brownieish"/"browniesque" -- you know moist and almost chewy. Fantastic. Thanks!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I live in Pa (outside of Philadelphia) and cooking, baking, cross-stitching and reading are my hobbies. <br /> <br />I collect cookbooks and cookie stamps/cutters and have a pretty big collection of both. I am also a fan of all things Amish, so I have quite a collection of things picked up in Reading, Lancaster and surrounding areas here in Pennsylvania. <br /> <br />I have 4 kids, who are the loves of my life and cooking for them and my husband keeps me on my toes! ;) <br /> <br />We bought an ice cream parlor in March 04 and it's been quite an experience! <br /> <br />Note: I love getting feedback on my recipes; all I ask is that you actually *make* them before reviewing them. <br /> <br />Also, if you make changes or substitutions, I'd love to see your suggestions and/or comments, but I'd appreciate no rating at all if it's not made as posted. Too many recipe reviews state margarine subbed for butter (if I list butter, it's REAL butter), different spices, low-fat ingredients, whole wheat flour instead of white, etc. The recipes will not work/taste as intended, so it's really not fair to rate them as such. <br /> <br />I'd also really appreciate it if you refrain from rating a recipe if you overcook or overbake it or it you don't refrigerate or store as listed. <br /> <br />I, of course, will adhere to the above when rating recipes, too! <br /> <br />Thanks and have a great day! <br /> <br />My Rating System: <br /> <br />***** A delicious recipe that was thoroughly enjoyed. It has excellent, detailed directions and is perfect as is. If a dish is especially easy, and I'm on the fence, I will give it 5* for ease even if it's very good instead of great. Something I will definitely make again. <br /> <br />**** Excellent recipe but confusing directions that I will make again in my own less confusing way OR Very good recipe that I'll probably make again if I find the time! <br /> <br />*** Good/OK recipe but probably not something I would make again OR Very Good recipe that doesn't have clear, detailed directions. <br /> <br />** Recipe was edible but not really enjoyed and will not be made again. Work involved not a good trade-off for the end result. <br /> <br />* Not edible and probably an error in the recipe. I feel that I pick recipes with ingredients our family likes, so in my opinion, there's an error somewhere. If there's a chance I made the error, I won't rate the recipe. ;) <br /> <br /><img src=http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/lauralie41/swapbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /> <br /><a href=http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/?action=view&amp;current=cookieswapparticip.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/cookieswapparticip.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> <br /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/honey-pot-print-c10069558.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br /> <br /><a href=http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/?action=view&amp;current=09holidayparticipationbanner.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/09holidayparticipationbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a></p>
 
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