These red velvet cake mix cookies start with a box of cake mix and a block of cream cheese, get rolled in sparkly red sugar, and finish with a Candy Cane Kiss pressed in while they’re warm. They’re soft, festive, and one batch makes about 4 dozen, so they’re perfect for holiday parties, cookie swaps, and gifts for friends and neighbors.
The dough is super moist because it includes both butter and cream cheese, and the peppermint extract pairs perfectly with the candy cane kisses. Simple, easy to make, and beautiful enough to bring out for your fancy holiday parties! If you love red velvet as much as I do, you’ll also want to try my red velvet sheet cake.
Why You’ll Love These Red Velvet Kiss Cookies
- Cake mix shortcut: no measuring flour, cocoa, or food coloring.
- Soft and rich: cream cheese and butter make a tender, cakey cookie.
- Makes 4 dozen: enough for cookie plates, office parties, and school events.
- Make-ahead friendly: freeze the dough or the baked cookies weeks ahead.
Ingredients for Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
- Red velvet cake mix: I use a 13.25 oz box. Some brands sell 15.25 oz boxes; [Erin: add what you see when you test a larger box].
- Cream cheese: one 8 oz block, at room temperature so it creams smoothly. Use the block, not tub-style spread.
- Butter: 1 stick, softened.
- Egg: one large egg.
- Peppermint extract: matches the candy cane kisses. Use 1 teaspoon vanilla instead for any other kiss flavor.
- Red sugar sprinkles: red sanding sugar gives the sparkle.
- Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses: these are seasonal, so grab them when you see them. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate kisses all work too.
How to Make Red Velvet Cookies with Cake Mix
- Cream the butter and cream cheese with a stand or hand mixer until smooth. Beat in the egg and extract.
- Add the cake mix about a cup at a time, scraping the bowl. The batter will be thick.
- Chill the dough 1–2 hours. This keeps it from being sticky when you roll it.
- Roll and coat: scoop 1-inch balls and roll them in red sugar.
- Bake, then add the kiss: bake at 350°F for 9–10 minutes and press a kiss into each cookie right away.
Tips for Perfect Red Velvet Kiss Cookies
- Keep the kisses from melting: after the cookies cool 5 minutes on the pan, move them to a cooling rack and slide the rack into the fridge for 10–15 minutes so the kisses set and keep their shape.
- Unwrap the kisses first: have them ready before the cookies come out of the oven.
- Use a cookie scoop: uniform cookies bake evenly. I’ve had my OXO medium cookie scoop for years and it works great.
- Sticky dough? Chill it longer. Cream cheese dough firms up a lot in the fridge.
- Don’t overbake: pull them when the edges are set. They firm up as they cool.
Tools I Use
- OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop: the key to cookies that are all the same size.
- Silicone Baking Mats (set of 3, half sheet): I use these pretty much anytime I’m baking on a sheet pan. Fantastic for cookies, roasted vegetables, sheet pan meals, and even tater tots!
- Nordic Ware Aluminum Half-Sheet Pans: I’m obsessed with these. They work wonderfully for cookies and sheet pan dinners.
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Make-Ahead, Storage & Freezing
These cookies are great for putting together cookie plates, keeping on hand for holiday parties, and shipping to loved ones who live far away.
| How | How long | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Airtight container, room temp | 3–4 days | Single layer or parchment between layers so kisses don’t smear |
| Refrigerator | Up to 1 week | Bring to room temp before serving |
| Freeze baked cookies | Up to 2 months | Freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag |
| Freeze dough balls | Up to 3 months | Freeze unrolled; thaw slightly, roll in sugar, bake 1–2 min longer |
Red Velvet Cookie Variations
These would also be great for Valentine’s Day. Just swap the topping and the sugar color.
| Occasion | Kiss | Sugar | Extract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas (original) | Candy Cane Kisses | Red | Peppermint |
| Valentine’s Day | White chocolate or Hugs | Pink + red | Vanilla |
| Classic | Milk or dark chocolate | Red | Vanilla |
| Crinkle style | None | Powdered sugar | Vanilla |
| Cookie sandwiches | None (bake flatter) | None | Vanilla + cream cheese frosting filling |
Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookie FAQs
Yes. The cake mix replaces the flour, sugar, cocoa, and leavening. Adding cream cheese, butter, and an egg turns it into a soft, rollable cookie dough.
Cream cheese and butter make a soft dough. Chill it at least 1 hour (up to 2) before rolling, and it becomes easy to handle.
Press them in right out of the oven so they stick, then move the cookies to a rack and chill them 10–15 minutes. The kisses firm up and keep their pointed shape.
Yes. Freeze baked cookies up to 2 months, or freeze unrolled dough balls up to 3 months and bake straight from the freezer with an extra minute or two.
Once baked, they keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days. Refrigerate them if you need them to last up to a week.
Yes. Use 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, especially if you’re using milk, dark, or white chocolate kisses.
Red velvet has a little cocoa, but it’s milder than chocolate cake, with a slight tang. That tang is why cream cheese pairs so well with it.
More Christmas Cookies and Candy Recipes
- Christmas M&M Cookies
- Christmas Bark
- Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Peppermint Red Velvet Fudge
- Penguin Cookies
- Rice Krispie Christmas Trees
- Reindeer Pretzels
- Vanilla Fudge Recipe
- Reese’s Pieces Cookies
- Soft & Chewy Ginger Snap Cookies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Chocolate Dipped Ritz Cracker Cookies
- Chocolate Covered Cashews
- Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies
- Salted Caramel Fudge
Tried these? Leave a star rating and a comment below. It helps other bakers find the recipe! ~Erin
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Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies with Candy Cane Kisses
Equipment
- Stand Mixer This KitchenAid Stand Mixer is a must-have tool for any home baker!
Ingredients
- 1 (13.25 oz.) box Red Velvet Cake Mix
- 1 (8 oz. pkg.) cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1½ teaspoon peppermint extract or 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 (3.25 oz.) bottle Red Sugar sprinkles
- 48 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses unwrapped (about 2 packages)
Instructions
- Cream the butter and cream cheese with a stand or hand mixer until smooth. Add the egg and extract and beat until fully combined.
- Add the cake mix about 1 cup at a time, scraping down the bowl. The batter will be thick.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough 1–2 hours so it's less sticky to roll.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Pour about half the red sugar into a small bowl.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, roll each in red sugar, and place about 12 per sheet.
- Bake 9–10 minutes, until the edges are set. While they bake, unwrap the kisses.
- Immediately after coming out of the oven, press a kiss into the center of each cookie. Let cool on the sheet 5 minutes.
- Move cookies to a cooling rack and refrigerate the rack 10–15 minutes so the kisses set. Serve or store airtight.
Notes
- Milk, dark, or white chocolate kisses all work. Use vanilla extract with non-peppermint kisses.
- Valentine’s version: white chocolate kisses or Hugs with pink and red sugar.
- Make ahead: freeze baked cookies up to 2 months or dough balls up to 3 months.
Nutrition
I like your site with the recipe’s.
Thank you.
Wishing you A very Merry Christmas.
What’s up, after reading this awesome paragraph i am also glad to share my know-how here with friends.
You never cease to crack me up; your sense of humor is as delicious as your coikoe recipe and these are fantastic coikoes! Good thing there’s no limit on how many pins allowed on Pinterest!!!
PLEASE TELL PEOPLE TO CHILL DOUGH..MY COOKIES WERE A STICKY MESS AND UNROLLABLE. I HAD TO STICK BATTER IN FREEZER BEFORE I COULD ROLL THE REST. .THEY TASTE GREAT BUT BATTER WAS EVERYWHERE.
I made these, too much peppermint for us, I will be making these for Christmas, just using less peppermint, they are delicious and festive !
What fun cookies for Christmas! Found you at Over the Moon.
I make peanut butter kiss cookies every year and am going to need to swap them out for these! They sound delicious and are so cute and festive!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Erin, these cookies are so cute. Thank you for sharing at Happiness is Homemade Link Party. I’m choosing you as one of our features for this week.
I’m so far behind, but I wanted to make sure I stopped by and thanked you for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Hope to see you again this week!