Irresistible Keto Cake Mix Cookies: Easy, Delicious, and Perfectly Low-Carb Treats!

Just because you're following a keto lifestyle doesn't mean you have to miss out on the joy of cookies. These Keto Cake Mix Cookies are incredibly easy to make, requiring just a few simple ingredients and minimal prep time. In 25 minutes or less, you can have a batch of delicious, keto-friendly cookies ready to enjoy.

What are Cake Mix Cookies?

Just like the name implies, cake mix cookies are cookies made from cake mix. This recipe leverages the simplicity of cake mix to create a quick and easy treat.

Why Keto Cake Mix Cookies?

These cookies are a fantastic option for those on a keto diet because they utilize low-carb ingredients and a sugar substitute, making them a healthier alternative to traditional cookies. Keto sweets are low carb and use a sugar substitute instead of the real deal.

Essential Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to gather before you start baking:

Keto Cake Mix: The base of the recipe. There are a bunch of keto-friendly cake mixes out there! I suggest reading the ingredients list first. Look for a keto vanilla cake mix. The brand I used in the Classic Yellow flavor. While this might be hard to find it some areas I picked it up at my local Kroger, and have also seen it at Walmart. If using a different cake mix this will vary, however the boxed cake mix I used has a mixture of almond and coconut flour.
Eggs: To bind the ingredients together. Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
Oil: Adds moisture and helps create the right texture. The best type of oil to use on the keto diet is coconut oil but you can also use avocado oil.
Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor.
Optional Mix-Ins: Chocolate chips or sugar free sprinkles for added flavor and visual appeal. We tried to find some sugar free sprinkles to use in this recipe, but after failing to find any, we did the math and realized a few sprinkles wouldn’t affect the carb count significantly at all. In fact, the number of sprinkles we used in this recipe only added 1 carb to each cookie. Not a huge deal!

Lemon Variation Ingredients

Keto Yellow Cake Mix: The foundation for the cookies.
Eggs: To bind the ingredients.
Melted Butter: Adds richness and flavor. Melted butter could be swapped out for vegetable oil if you prefer this, but I love the buttery flavor.
Lemon Zest, Juice, and Extract: To impart a bright, citrusy flavor. For the amount of zest, you’ll need 2 large or 3 small lemons. You can use fresh or bottled juice if you must.
Keto-Friendly Confectioners Sweetener: For the optional lemon glaze. I used Lakanto’s Confectioners Monk Fruit.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here's how to make these easy keto cookies:

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

Basic Keto Cake Mix Cookies

Preheat the oven: to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Prepare the baking sheet: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, set aside. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone lined baking sheet, or spray with cooking spray, set aside. These silicone mats are used daily in my kitchen.
Combine the ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add the keto vanilla cake mix package, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract and gently mix the ingredients into a batter. Pour the cake batter, eggs, oil, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract into a mixing bowl and mix until a batter forms. Stir in the cake mix and oil or melted butter, and vanilla extract (if using). Stir until a smooth, thick dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Chill the dough: Chill the dough 10 minutes. This is a gluten free dough which means it has very little elasticity.
Form the cookies: Use a small cookie scoop and place the dough on the lined baking sheet (I got 30 cookies). Drop the dough in tablespoon-sized balls about 2-inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. On the baking sheet, use a cookie scoop to drop tablespoon-sized balls of dough about 2 inches apart from each other. Very lightly press the dough down. Form the mixture into 18 evenly sized balls, and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. You can slightly press down on the unbaked cookie dough balls with the bottom of a clean drinking glass to flatten the dough and give it more of a traditional rounded cookie shape.
Bake: Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around the bottom edge. Bake for 8-10 minutes or just until they are golden brown on the bottom. Bake 10-12 minutes until they begin to brown slightly. Keep a close eye on these cookies in the oven. You don’t want to over-bake them! They should just be turning a golden color along the edges.
Cool: Once cookies are done, remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. When the cookies are golden brown, remove them from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack for 5-8 minutes. Remember, they will continue cooking a bit on the pan, so remove them from the oven when they look just BARELY cooked.

Keto Lemon Cake Mix Cookies

Preheat the oven: to 350 degrees F.
Prepare the baking sheet: Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. If you don’t have either of these, make sure to spray the pan with a nonstick spray so that the cookies can easily be removed later.
Combine the ingredients: Pour your keto cake mix into a large mixing bowl, then use a spatula or spoon to create a well in the middle for all of the wet ingredients. Place the melted (and cooled!) butter into the bowl along with the eggs, lemon extract, juice, and zest.
Mix the batter: Begin gently whisking the wet ingredients to break the eggs, then slowly begin incorporating more and more of the flour mixture. Keep whisking until there are no air pockets with unmixed pockets of flour and the mixture is nice and thick. Do not overmix.
Chill the dough: Once there are no pockets of unmixed flour, place dough in fridge to chill for 10-30 minutes.
Form the cookies: Scoop the dough using a small ice cream scoop, then roll each piece into a nearly perfect sphere. Place them at least 2″ apart from one another until the pan is full. Gently press the tops of the cookie dough with a spoon, slightly flattening the top of the dough.
Bake: Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes.
Cool: Remove from oven, then allow to continue cooking on the hot pan for 5-10 minutes before removing.
Make the glaze (optional): In a small bowl, mix together your sweetener and lemon juice. Whisk until nice and smooth, then use a spoon to drizzle this in stripes over the cookies. If you prefer a pour-over glaze the covers the whole cookie, simply thin the glaze with a bit of water or more lemon juice.

Buttercream Frosting (Optional)

To elevate your keto cake mix cookies, consider adding a simple buttercream frosting.

Ingredients

Softened butter
Your favorite sugar substitute
Heavy whipping cream
Vanilla extract

Instructions

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the softened butter, erythritol (or preferred sugar substitute), heavy whipping cream, and teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Mix the frosting with a handheld mixer for 1-2 minutes or until it is creamy.

Tips for Success

Don't over-bake: These low carb delights are very soft and fluffy. These are not crisp cookies. Keep a close eye on the cookies in the oven to prevent them from becoming too dry.
Chill the dough: The batter is thick, that is okay! These are thick, soft, chewy cookies. This is a gluten free dough which means it has very little elasticity.
Mix it up!: Lightly press the dough. The dough will spread some, but not a ton.
Use quality ingredients: For the best flavor, use high-quality keto cake mix and extracts.
Cool completely: Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting or storing.

Storing Your Keto Cookies

The best way to store cookies is to keep the air off of them and keep them at room temperature. Store them in an airtight container.

Countertop: Cookies in an airtight container on the counter will last about 5-7 days.
Fridge: Cookies stored in the fridge will stay fresh for 7-10 days.
Cookie Dough: If you’re not ready to bake the cookies, the dough will last 5-7 days in the fridge.
Lemon Glaze: Lemon glaze will last about a week in the fridge, but it does thicken up quite a bit.

You can freeze them, too. Wrap each cookie in parchment paper and store them in a freezer-safe food storage bag or container. Cookies in the freezer are best when eaten within 3 months. Freeze on a baking sheet in a single layer (not touching) for 1-2 hours, then transfer to a freezer bag for the remaining time. You can freeze the cookie dough, too! Before baking, simply store in an airtight container, roll it up into a log for an easy slice-and-bake cookie, or scoop, roll, and gently press the dough into shape. Place the individual dough pieces on a baking sheet (not touching) in a single layer, then freeze for 1-2 hours.

Variations to Try

Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Muffins: For a stronger chocolate flavor, make keto chocolate chip cookie dough muffins.
Keto Cake Batter Cookies: Butter extract gave these cookies a distinct cake flavor, while the vanilla and almond extracts played off each other to remind us of the cake batter ice creams and shakes we enjoyed from Cold Stone Creamery.
No Bake Almond Butter Cookies: We love how simple and easy this recipe is!
Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies: This is, hands down, the BEST keto chocolate chip cookie you will ever have.
Keto Lemon Cake Mix Cookies: These Keto Lemon Cake Mix Cookies are just under 1 net carb each and bursting with citrus flavor! These soft and chewy Lemon Cake Mix Cookies are keto, low carb, and PERFECT for Spring! Turn a simple keto yellow cake mix into a citrusy cookie the whole family will love. At under 1 net carb per cookie, this is an easy keto dessert perfect for beginners.

Common Questions

Do you have to chill keto cookie dough? Yes, this step is very important for keto or gluten free cookies. Keto flours don’t have the same absorption rates, so it’s important to give them time in the fridge to set. Skipping this step can lead to flat, uneven cookies.
What is better for adding lemon flavor, extract, juice, or zest? Lemon extract, juice, and zest all provide amazing lemon flavors, but they are very different and provide different “types” of lemon flavor. Extract provides a “base” lemon flavor, exactly what you expect from a lemon cookie. Lemon juice provides a sharper, real lemon flavor that would set apart a basic cookie from a great cookie. Lemon zest provides a lasting real lemon flavor and a great chewy texture.
Help, my keto cookies fell apart! Many keto cookies struggle to stay together because they lack the gluten that holds together gooey cookies. To avoid this issue, make sure you allow the dough to chill before baking AND you allow the cookies to cool on the pan. When the cookies are still hot, there’s nothing (no gluten) to keep everything together. If you give them time to cool, they’ll solidify into an easy-to-eat cookie less likely to crumble apart.

A Note on Moderation

It’s ok to have a sweet tooth, you just have to make keto desserts with low-carb ingredients. All desserts, keto or not, should be enjoyed in moderation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a few too many from time to time.

Nutritional Information

The carbs listed for each cookie is 13 grams. The nutritional information for this recipe is calculated as a courtesy and is an approximate only.

We provide nutritional data for our recipes as a courtesy to our readers. We use Total Keto Diet app software to calculate the nutrition and we remove fiber and sugar alcohols, like erythritol, from the total carbohydrate count to get to the net carb count, as they do not affect your blood glucose levels. You should independently calculate nutritional information on your own and not rely on our data.

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

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