Bright, colorful, and impossible not to smile at, these Rainbow Cake Mix Cookies are the kind of treat that turns any day into a party! Made with just a box of white cake mix, eggs, oil, and food coloring, these soft and chewy cookies are incredibly easy to make – and just as much fun to create as they are to eat.
Pulling together little dollops of each color is like playing with Play-Doh, so kids will love helping make every cookie their own. A quick roll in sugar before baking adds a sweet sparkle and a lightly crisp finish, while the centers stay perfectly soft and chewy. They’re perfect for birthdays, holidays, bake sales, or anytime you want to brighten someone’s day.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- 🌈 No two cookies are exactly alike! Pull together colorful dollops of dough to create a unique rainbow cookie every time.
- 🤲 Making the rainbow balls is half the fun. It’s a hands-on baking activity that’s like edible Play-Doh for kids and adults alike.
- 🎨 Customize the colors for birthdays, holidays, school parties, baby showers, or your favorite team.
- 🍪 No fancy decorating required. The colorful dough does all the work, so every cookie looks party-ready with almost no effort.
- 📦 Make them ahead! These cookies freeze beautifully, so you’ll always have a festive treat ready to go.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough: A box of white cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs are all you need to make these colorful cookies. White cake mix creates the brightest, truest rainbow colors. Vanilla cake mix is a good second choice, but yellow or butter cake mixes will mute the colors and change the overall look of the cookies.
Food Coloring: Food coloring transforms the simple dough into bright rainbow cookies! We used five vibrant colors, but you can mix and match shades for birthdays, holidays, school parties, baby showers, or any special occasion.
Granulated Sugar: Rolling each cookie in granulated sugar before baking adds a delicate crunch, a little sparkle, and helps create the beautiful crackled finish as the cookies bake.
How to Make Rainbow Cake Mix Cookies
STEP ONE: Mix and Color the Dough. Beat the cake mix, eggs, and oil together until a thick dough forms. Divide the dough evenly between five bowls, then mix a different food coloring into each one until the color is smooth and evenly distributed. Wash your spatula or wipe it clean between colors to keep each bowl bright and prevent the colors from muddying.
STEP TWO: Chill the Dough. Don’t worry if the dough feels soft and sticky. That’s exactly what you want. Resist the urge to add more flour. Cover the bowls and refrigerate the dough for 45 minutes. Once chilled, it’ll be much easier to scoop and shape.
STEP THREE: Build the Rainbow Cookies. Use two spoons to make a small pile with a dollop of each colored dough. Scoop through the middle of the pile with a cookie scoop so you pick up a little of every color, then gently roll the dough into a ball. Roll each cookie in granulated sugar before placing it on the prepared baking sheet. Don’t worry if the colors aren’t perfectly even. Each cookie will bake up with its own one-of-a-kind rainbow swirl.
STEP FOUR: Bake. Bake until the edges are just set, and the tops have started to crack. The centers should still look slightly underbaked when you remove them from the oven. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack so they can finish setting up.
Tips for Success
- Stick to the chill time. Refrigerate the dough for 45 minutes to 1 hour before shaping the cookies. If the dough isn’t chilled enough, it’ll be too soft to create distinct rainbow swirls. Chill it much longer, and the cookies can bake up firmer and crunchier instead of soft and chewy.
- Don’t overwork the dough. When gathering the colorful dollops together, gently roll the dough just until it forms a ball. Overmixing will blend the colors together instead of creating distinct rainbow swirls.
- Don’t overfill the cookie scoop. Keeping each cookie about the same size helps them bake evenly and finish at the same time.
- Bake just until the edges are set. The centers should still look slightly soft when you take the cookies out of the oven. They’ll continue to set as they cool, giving you perfectly chewy cookies.
Storage
Store: Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They’ll stay soft and chewy, making them perfect for baking ahead for parties, lunchboxes, or after-school treats.
Freeze: These cookies freeze beautifully! Let them cool completely, then arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes. Once they’re firm, transfer them to a freezer-safe container or zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 3 hours before serving.
FAQ
Can I use liquid food coloring instead of gel?
Yes! Gel food coloring gives you the brightest, most vibrant rainbow colors because it doesn’t add much extra moisture to the dough. Liquid food coloring works too, but you’ll likely need more to achieve bold colors, and the dough may be a little softer to work with.
How do I keep the rainbow colors from blending together?
The trick is to keep the colors separate until it’s time to scoop. Instead of mixing the dough together, make a small pile of colorful dollops and scoop through the middle so you pick up a little of each color. Then gently roll the dough just until it comes together. Overworking the dough will blend the colors instead of creating bright rainbow swirls.
Can I add chocolate chips or other mix-ins?
Absolutely! Mini chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, festive sprinkles, or even chopped candy pieces all work well in this recipe. Fold them in gently after coloring the dough so you don’t muddy the colors. Keep mix-ins to about 1 cup total so the dough is still easy to scoop and shape.
Can I customize these cookies for different holidays?
Definitely! Swap the rainbow colors for any color combination you like. Try red and green for Christmas, orange, neon green, and black for Halloween, or red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July. You can even use your favorite team’s colors for game day. It’s an easy way to make these cookies perfect for any celebration.
Other Rainbow Recipes!
- Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies
- Rainbow Party Punch
- Cosmic Brownies
- Rainbow Macaroni Salad
- Funfetti Cake Mix Blondies
- Rainbow Sherbet Punch
- Cream Cheese Mints
Rainbow Cake Mix Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces white cake mix (1 box)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- food coloring (see note)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Add 15.25 ounces white cake mix, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 2 large eggs to a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until combined.
- Divide the dough evenly into the number of different colors you want, putting each portion into its own bowl. (In this recipe, we did 5.)
- Mix each portion of dough with the desired food coloring using a hand mixer for even coloring and the easiest mixing method. (Be sure to wash the beaters before moving on to the next bowl.)
- Chill the dough for 45 minutes. (see note)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Use two teaspoons to portion out the dough into dollops, using the spoons to work the dough back and forth between them until the dough drops onto the parchment. (The dough will be very sticky.) Drop one dollop of each color of dough per cookie.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the colored dollops together. Gently roll them into balls, you want to avoid getting food coloring all over your hands. Then roll the dough balls in the sugar to coat. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes. Do not overbake these cookies, they will look puffy and slightly underdone, but they will finish cooking after coming out of the oven.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- It is extremely important that you chill these cookies for at least 45 minutes and not longer than 1 hour. The dough will be too soft to shape and roll without chilling. Prior to the 1-hour mark, these cookies really puff up and have more of a soft and chewy texture. After 1 hour they can become hard and crunchy.
- I used Wilton Color Right food coloring, but you could also use regular food coloring or gel coloring. These will have varying strengths and certain colors may transfer off the other dough more than others. You can do anywhere from 2 to 6 colors with this method and the colors can be customized to match your celebration.
- If you don’t want to use a cookie scoop, or don’t have one, you can pop on some food-safe gloves to help protect your hands from the food coloring.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
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