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If you love Texas sheet cake, you’re going to flip for these Texas sheet cake cookies! They’re soft, fudgy, and packed with rich chocolate flavor, topped with a velvety homemade chocolate frosting and a sprinkle of pecans. The best part? They’re made with a simple cake mix, so they come together in no time. Perfect for potlucks, holidays, or when you’re craving a little slice of Texas in cookie form! Trust us, these cookies will disappear faster than you can say “y’all!”
Satisfy even the most intense chocolate cravings with these easy Texas sheet cake cookies. They’re richly flavored, soft, moist, sweet, and totally irresistible.
Easy to whip up: Using a boxed chocolate cake mix makes this recipe especially easy. Classic Texas sheet cake flavors: If you’re a fan of Texas sheet cake, you’re going to love these soft and cakey frosted cookies too. Satisfies any craving: If you have a hankering to dive into some chocolatey goodness, you simply can’t go wrong with these sheet cake cookies. A speedy recipe: These take 15 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to bake, along with dough chilling time and cooling time.
Texas Sheet Cake Cookie Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Chocolate cake mix: You can use milk chocolate cake mix, dark chocolate cake mix or any other variety you like best. Using boxed cake mix is much easier than making your own cake mix. Eggs: To give the cake mix cookies a light and airy texture. Vanilla extract: This flavor complements the chocolate so well. Pecans: For a nice crunch as well as a nutty flavor. Powdered sugar: To sweeten the frosting. Cocoa powder: Gives the frosting a wonderful chocolate flavor.
How to Make Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Make the cookie dough: Combine the butter and cake mix using a hand mixer. Whisk in the eggs. Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for half an hour. Make the cookies: Drop cookie dough balls on to a prepared baking sheet. Bake the cookies: Bake the cookies and let the cookies cool on a wire rack. Frost the cookies: Whisk the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla extract together to make the frosting. Pipe or spread the chocolate frosting over the cookies and sprinkle some chopped pecans on top of each one.
Substitutions and Variations
Gluten-free option: If you want a gluten-free version, use a gluten-free cake mix (I love this one!) Cocoa powder: You can use any kind of unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe. Dutch process cocoa powder is one of my favorites because it has a wonderfully smooth, bold flavor. Chopped nuts: You can replace the pecans with chopped walnuts. Salted butter: Sub unsalted sweet cream butter and a pinch of salt.
Store: You can store your cookies in an airtight container for up to a week. If you need to stack your cookies to make them fit in the container then separate the layers with a piece of wax or parchment paper. Freeze: You can freeze these in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I recommend putting wax or parchment paper between the layers. Thaw: Defrost the cookies in the refrigerator overnight.
Top Tips
Use a hand mixer: Although you don’t have to use an electric mixer to make the cake cookies dough, I recommend doing so because it’s the best way to achieve a smooth, lump-free dough. Chill the cookie dough: Don’t skip chilling the cookie dough! Chilling the dough is going to prevent your cookies from spreading too much in the oven. Prepare for freezing: If you’re planning to freeze some, make sure the rich chocolate icing on top is completely set before you do so. This way it will hold its shape.
Sheet Cake Cookie FAQs
Can I serve these still warm?
You can serve these cookies as soon as they are topped with frosting and pecans or let them cool a little bit. The frosting will set well if you give your cookies about 15 minutes to cool down.
What’s the difference between a sheet cake and a regular cake?
A sheet cake is named for its shape. These cakes are baked in large, rectangular pans. Also known as slab cakes, sheet cakes are often decorated with frosting and they’re a popular option for birthdays, graduations and other special occasions, as you can get them in a variety of sizes, such as ¼ sheet or ½ sheet or, for a crowd, a whole sheet!
In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and cake mix, using an electric hand mixer to whisk the ingredients together until homogenous.
Add the eggs and whisk again until the eggs are incorporated with the rest of the cookie dough.
Now cover your cookie dough with plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Use a cookie scoop to drop balls of dough onto a cookie sheet, leaving about 1 ½ inches between each cookie.
Bake them for 11 minutes
While the cookies are baking, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, whole milk, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them onto a wire cooling rack.
Top each cookie with a spoonful of the chocolate frosting and then sprinkle over the chopped pecans.
Notes
Use a hand mixer: Although you don’t have to use an electric mixer to make the cake cookies dough, I recommend doing so because it’s the best way to achieve a smooth, lump-free dough. Chill the cookie dough: Don’t skip chilling the cookie dough! Chilling the dough is going to prevent your cookies from spreading too much in the oven. Prepare for freezing: If you’re planning to freeze some, make sure the rich chocolate icing on top is completely set before you do so. This way it will hold its shape.
If you enjoy Texas sheet cake, you’re going to love these light, soft, boxed cake mix cookies. They’re perfect for pretty much any occasion you can think of and these Texas sheet cake cookies taste so good. The soft, sweet cookies are topped with a creamy chocolate frosting as well as some chopped pecans for added crunch and appeal.
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Instead of using a box cake mix would a chocolate cake recipe work? I try not to eat processed foods! Thank you so much and looking forward to your response
Devoured in minutes and my family raved over each fudgy bite
These cookies are my new favorite! So fudgy and chocolatey, the kids loved them.
Instead of using a box cake mix would a chocolate cake recipe work? I try not to eat processed foods! Thank you so much and looking forward to your response
It should be fine. Happy cooking 🙂