Adorable Santa Gnome Cake Mix Cookies
These Santa Gnome Cake Mix Cookies are an ultra-easy cookie recipe to make and let your creative side out to create a cookie SO cute it might be too cute to eat!
I love the Christmas season. There is NO shortage of adorable ideas and delicious goodies you can make for the holiday season – and when you can combine these two things….well, it’s kinda magic!
More Delicious Fun Christmas Inspiration
- Festive Easy Peppermint Bark Recipe From Only 3 Ingredients!
- Make This Deliciously Easy Oreo Fudge Recipe
- 3-Ingredient Grinch Punch Mocktail Recipe
- Easy and Festive Holiday Fruitcake Cookies
- Homemade Decadent Holiday Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
Making Cookies With Cake Mix Couldn’t Is The Easiest!
You know I love easy recipes. I won’t make something – no matter HOW cute it is if it’s hard to do or ultra time-consuming. Like you and most moms, I just don’t have the time.
That’s my favorite part about baking using cake mix. It’s a genius short cut trick that I can wholeheartedly embrace! Cake Mix is the ultimate timesaver when you want some delicious cookies.
While I don’t use it all the time (I can definitely groove on homemade cookies with the best of them), I feel that, without question, it’s my go-to in a pinch!
How To Make Cookies Using Cake Mix
Now that you know how quick it is to use a cake box mix to make cookies, it’s important to quickly cover how easy it is too!
Many people prefer cookies made with cake mix as opposed to totally homemade because they always turn out and you only need to add three ingredients with cuts down on the measuring, mixing, and time needed to make them.
Ingredients needed to make cookies from box cake mix:
- Cake Mix. This contains all your dry ingredients. Pick your flavor – for this Santa gnome recipe we used red velvet!
- Eggs. Use large eggs for structure so that your cookies don’t spread too much.
- Oil. This is the moisture you need for your cookies. I prefer to use olive oil, but you can use any other light-colored oil such as vegetable or canola oil if that’s what you have.
Putting Together Santa Gnome Cake Mix Cookies
Ok, so now that you know how to make cake mix cookies, it’s time to make our cookies and put together some adorable Santa Gnome cookies that your kids (or guests) will be gawking over!
Ingredients Needed
Stock up on these ingredients and you’re all ready to go.
- Red velvet cake mix -the dry ingredients of the cookies
- Eggs – hold the cookies together and keeps them from spreading too much
- Olive (or vegetable) oil – the moisture needed for the cookies
- Red candy wafer melts – the coating for the sugar cones to make them red
- Cream cheese frosting – used to attach the cones to the cookies and for the beard.
- Sugar cones – the hats!
- Red sugar sprinkles – add the fun sparkly element to the Santa hats
- Mini marshmallows – optional, but add that fun little bob at the end of the Santa hat
- Peanut Butter M&M’s – the Santa gnome noses
- Medium cookie scoop – used to keep all the cookies the same size
How to Make Santa Gnome Cake Mix Cookies
Follow these step-by-step instructions to create cookies so festive and adorable that everyone will want to skip the main meal and get right to these!
Bake the Cookies
- Heat the oven. Mix together the cake mix, flour, eggs, and oil in a large bowl. Don’t over mix.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop to measure out the dough. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are set.
- Let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then move to a cooling rack.
Prepare the Sugar Cones (hats)
- Pour red sugar sprinkles on a small flat plate. Place 1⁄3 cup of the red candy wafer melts in a glass bowl, and heat according to package instructions until fully melted. Pour melted candies on a plate or tray
- Roll a piece of aluminum foil up, and place it inside of a sugar cone, leaving some hanging out to use as a handle. Holding the foil “handle”, roll the cone in the red candy melts.
- Note: In order to fully cover the cone, I used a silicone spatula to help spread the candy melts evenly. Then immediately roll the cone in the red sugar sprinkles.
- Dip the tip of the cone back in the candy melts, and then top with one mini marshmallow.
- Place the finished hat at the top of the parchment-lined pan to set. Repeat the process for the remaining cones. The candy wafer melts harden pretty quickly, which is why I only heated 1⁄3 c at a time.
Constructing the Santa Gnomes
- Open a pastry or quart size freezer bag, and drape it over your hand. Fill the bag with cream cheese frosting. If using a pastry bag, use a wide tip. If using a freezer bag, cut the end of the bag at an angle.
- Pipe frosting around the outer rim of the cookie. Place the cone hat onto the frosting to secure it to the cookie.
- Pipe a frosting beard onto the bottom of the cone hat, connecting to the cookie.
- Immediately place a Peanut Butter M&M on the beard as the “nose”.
- Note: I used the brown and green M&M’s, but I think using all the colors would be really cute.
- Let the frosting set, and then enjoy your Santa Gnome Cookies!
Helpful Tools For Making These Santa Gnome Cookies
*Not pictured in the ingredients photo, but helpful tools include:
Aren’t these Santa gnome cookies adorable? My kids couldn’t wait for me to finish them up so they could dig into them! I hope you love this fun cake mix cookies recipe as much as we do!
Santa Gnome Cake Mix Cookies
These Santa Gnome Cake Mix Cookies are an ultra-easy cookie recipe that you can make and then let your creative side out to make a cookie SO cute it might be too adorable to eat!
Ingredients
- 1 15.25oz box red velvet cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 1⁄4 all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 c vegetable oil
- 1-2 c (or more if needed) red candy wafer melts
- 1 16oz container of cream cheese frosting
- 24 sugar cones
- 1 c red sugar sprinkles
- 24 mini marshmallows
- 1 family size package Peanut Butter M&M’s
- Medium cookie scoop
Instructions
Bake the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl add the cake mix, flour, eggs, and oil. Blend until well incorporated, but be careful not to over mix.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a medium (2tbsp) cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the baking sheet, approximately 2-3” apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are set.
- Let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then move to a cooling rack.
Prepare the Sugar Cones (hats)
- Line another baking sheet with parchment paper(or to save paper and dishes, re-use the baking sheet from your cookies once completely cooled).
- Pour red sugar sprinkles on a small flat plate. Place 1⁄3 cup of the red candy wafer melts in a glass bowl, and heat according to package instructions. Once fully melted, pour the candy melts at the bottom of the parchment-lined pan.
- Roll a piece of aluminum foil up, and place it inside of a sugar cone, leaving some hanging out to use as a handle. Holding the foil “handle”, roll the cone in the red candy melts.
- Note: In order to fully cover the cone, I used a silicone spatula to help spread the candy melts evenly. Then immediately roll the cone in the red sugar sprinkles.
- Dip the tip of the cone back in the candy melts, and then top with one mini marshmallow.
- Place the finished hat at the top of the parchment-lined pan to set. Repeat the process for the remaining cones. The candy wafer melts harden pretty quickly, which is why I only heated 1⁄3 c at a time.
Constructing the Santa Gnomes
- Open a pastry or quart size freezer bag, and drape it over your hand. Fill the bag with cream cheese frosting. If using a pastry bag, use a wide tip. If using a freezer bag, cut the end of the bag at an angle.
- Pipe frosting around the outer rim of the cookie. Place the cone hat onto the frosting to secure it to the cookie.
- Pipe a frosting beard onto the bottom of the cone hat, connecting to the cookie.
- Immediately place a Peanut Butter M&M on the beard as the “nose”.
- Note: I used the brown and green M&M’s, but I think using all the colors would be really cute.
- Let the frosting set, and then enjoy your Santa Gnome Cookies!
Notes
*Not pictured in the ingredients photo, but helpful tools include: parchment paper, aluminum foil, and pastry bag or quart size freezer bag
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