Secrets from the Cookie Princess: Soft Batch Cake Batter Cookies

Our friends Felise and Nick have a little boy, Theo, who celebrated his first birthday last month. And since every little kid deserves some birthday baking, I couldn't resist bringing these celebratory cookies along. I mean, seriously, they taste like cake and have sprinkles. They are a birthday cookie for sure. But on top of all that, they are soft and chewy. A particularly delicious cookie as far as I'm concerned. This was a fortuitous recipe since I found it from my blog assignment from Secret Recipe Club.

Since it's the second Monday of the month, that means it's reveal day for Group B! What's Secret Recipe Club? Each Monday a group of bloggers post a recipe they've made from another blogger's repertoire. Nobody knows who's featuring their blog until that day and it's a fun chance to visit new blogs and try something different. Visit some of the other bloggers in my group by checking out the blog hop at the bottom of this post. To learn more about Secret Recipe Club, click here. This month I was assigned to Nichole's blog, Cookaholic Wife. Nichole loves to cook and share and pretty much sums it up with a statement I could really identify with, saying, "Nothing makes me happier than feeding people." Here, here. I was thrilled to explore Nichole's blog and as usually had a lengthy list of recipes I wanted to try. From the savory side of things, I considered her Mediterranean Layer Dip and Sriracha Turkey Meatballs, as well as her Crock Pot Cranberry Turkey Meatballs and Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches. But then there was also the sweet: Salted Fudge Brownies, Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles and Cake Batter Doughnuts. But ultimately these Cake Batter Pudding Cookies won, although you should expect to see some of those other recipes soon because I really want to try some of those other recipes. Be sure to visit Nichole's blog to check out all her other delicious recipes.

These cookies are awesome. I used Princess Cake and Cookie Emulsion instead of vanilla extract to enhance the cake batter flavor. Loads of sprinkles make these cookies festive and I flattened them out a bit to make sure the insides were tender and soft without the edges being too crispy. You got to love a soft batch cookie--these will certainly be used to celebrate many other birthdays.

Soft Batch Cake Batter Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup yellow cake mix
3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix (or 1 ounce sugar free instant vanilla pudding mix)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs
1 teaspoon cake and cookie emulsion (or vanilla extract)
2/3 cup rainbow sprinkles

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cake mix, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy, then beat in brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in eggs, one at at time, then beat in emulsion or extract.

Gradually stir in flour mixture until just incorporated.

Stir or fold in sprinkles to distribute throughout.

Using a medium cookie scoop, drop dough onto parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets. Press down slightly to flatten.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until edges are gently golden and tops are set. Turn baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through. If using more than one sheet at a time, rotate positions in the oven for more even baking.