Red White & Blue Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies

These festive Red White & Blue Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies are the perfect patriotic treat for your summer celebrations! They’re incredibly easy to make, using just a few simple ingredients and a clever box cake mix hack.

The vibrant colors and soft, chewy texture make these cookies absolutely irresistible and my kids can’t get enough of them whenever I make a batch!

For more colorful treats your family will love, check out my Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies.

Why We Love These Red White & Blue Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies

Easy to Make: Using cake mix as the base means these cookies come together in minutes with minimal ingredients.

Kid-Approved: Sophia and James absolutely devour these cookies, making them perfect for family gatherings or school events.

Versatile Design: While perfect for Fourth of July, these can be adapted with different colors for any holiday or celebration.

I love recipes that look impressive but require minimal effort, and these cookies definitely fit that description!

The beautiful crackled surface with powdered sugar creates a striking contrast against the vibrant red, white, and blue colors.

They’re soft in the center with slightly crisp edges exactly how a perfect cookie should be.

Ingredients for Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies

Here’s everything you’ll need to make these patriotic cookies:

• 1 box (15.25 oz) white cake mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or canola oil)
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• Red gel food coloring
• Blue gel food coloring

Ingredient Notes

White Cake Mix: The white cake mix creates the perfect blank canvas for our red, white and blue colors. Any brand works fine, just make sure it’s around 15-15.25 oz.

Gel Food Coloring: I strongly recommend using gel food coloring rather than liquid.

Gel colors are more concentrated, so you’ll get vibrant patriotic colors without adding excess liquid to your dough.

You can find gel coloring in the baking aisle at most grocery stores or at craft stores.

Powdered Sugar: Don’t skimp on the powdered sugar coating!

This is what creates that beautiful crackled effect as the cookies bake and expand.

How to Make Red White & Blue Cake Mix Cookies

Let’s break down this simple process step by step:

Prepare Your Equipment

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If you don’t have either, a light coating of cooking spray will work too.

Mix the Cookie Dough

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs until well combined. This should take about 1-2 minutes using a hand mixer.
2. Start on low speed to avoid a powdery mess, then increase as the ingredients begin to incorporate.

Create Your Patriotic Colors

1. Divide the cookie dough evenly between three separate bowls.
2. Leave one bowl with white dough (your first color).
3. Add red gel food coloring to the second bowl and mix until you achieve a vibrant red color.
4. Add blue gel food coloring to the third bowl and mix until you get a nice, deep blue.

I don’t bother measuring the dough perfectly for each bowl just eyeball it to make them roughly equal.

I use a separate spoon for each color to avoid mixing them accidentally.

Form and Coat the Cookies

1. Place your powdered sugar in a shallow bowl or plate.
2. Using a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons), scoop the dough and roll it into balls.
3. Work with one color at a time, and wash your cookie scoop between colors to keep them separate.
4. Roll each dough ball in powdered sugar, making sure it’s completely coated.
5. Place the coated dough balls on your prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart (aim for 12 cookies per sheet).

Bake to Perfection

1. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are set and the cookies look puffy.
2. Let them cool on the warm baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
3. Once completely cooled, you can dust them with a little additional powdered sugar if desired, as sometimes the original coating can appear less vibrant after baking.

Tips for Perfect Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies

Sticky Dough Solution: If your dough seems too sticky to handle, don’t panic!

Simply cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. This makes the dough easier to work with.

I rarely need to do this, but it’s a good trick to have in your back pocket.

Color Vibrance: For the most vibrant colors, gel food coloring is a must.

The liquid stuff just doesn’t give the same intensity and can make your dough too runny.

Powdered Sugar Trick: The key to beautiful powdered sugar cookies is making sure the dough balls are completely coated before baking.

Don’t be shy with the sugar! After baking, I often add a light dusting of additional powdered sugar to make them look extra pretty.

I use a powdered sugar duster tool, but clean fingers work just fine too.

Even Sizing: Using a cookie scoop ensures all your cookies are the same size, which means they’ll bake evenly.

If you don’t have a scoop, aim for balls that are about 1.5 tablespoons in size.

Variations for Your Box Cake Mix Cookies

One of the things I love about this cake mix cookie recipe is how versatile it is. Here are some fun ways to customize it:

Change Up the Colors: These cookies can be adapted for any holiday!

Try green and red for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, or your favorite team colors for game day.

Try Different Cake Flavors: While white cake mix creates the perfect canvas for bright colors, you could experiment with other flavors too.

Yellow cake mix works well, or try chocolate cake mix with red and white for a different patriotic look.

Add Mix-Ins: For some extra texture, fold in 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips or sprinkles after coloring your dough.

Flavor Boost: Add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract or vanilla extract to enhance the flavor.

Storage Tips for Crinkle Cookies

These Fourth of July cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

If you want to make them ahead of time, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before baking.

You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months. Just layer them between pieces of parchment paper in an airtight container.

When you’re ready to enjoy them, let them thaw at room temperature for about an hour.

What to Serve With These Patriotic Desserts

These red white blue desserts are perfect for your summer holiday celebrations! Here are some other recipes from the blog that would pair wonderfully:

• Valentines Day Punch Recipe easily adapt this by using blue fruit punch instead!
• Layered Strawberry Jello Cups another beautiful red, white, and blue dessert option
• Pineapple Ginger Lemonade Punch a refreshing drink to serve alongside your cookies

FAQs

Room temperature baking sheets will help prevent excessive spreading.

David and the kids always get excited when they see these colorful cookies cooling on the rack.

There’s something so festive about the bright red, pristine white, and bold blue colors that just screams summer celebration.

Every time I make these for a gathering, people can’t believe they started with a simple box of cake mix!

I’d love to see your patriotic dessert recipes if you give these a try! Drop me a comment below or tag me on social media with your creations.

Happy baking!

Iris

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