Cool Whip Is The Secret To The Best Boxed Cake Mix Cookies

Though cake mix is technically formulated for cake, if you ignore the instructions on the back of the box, it's also possible to turn it into cookies. This is because many of the ingredients in cake batter and cookie dough overlap. Both baked goods call for flour, sugar, and leavening, and all of these are found in boxed cake mix. When you make cookies out of cake mix, the most common approach is to add a certain amount of butter, oil, and eggs. While this process can certainly yield delicious cookies, you can achieve equally tasty results by using Cool Whip.

All you have to do is fold in one 8-ounce container of Cool Whip with any box of cake mix and add an egg. Once well combined, the resulting mixture will resemble the dough for crinkle cookies. After the dough is shaped and optionally covered in powdered sugar, bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and you'll be left with soft, decadent cookies with slightly crisp edges.

Read more: Cake Hacks Every Baker Will Wish They Knew Sooner

How Cool Whip Works With Boxed Cake Mix

Though adding Cool Whip to cake mix and turning it into cookies has become a viral sensation on TikTok, the concept is actually an older recipe that became popular during the 1970s. The way it works comes down to the ingredients in Cool Whip. Contrary to what some people assume, Cool Whip isn't just whipped cream in a tub; it's a combination of mainly hydrogenated vegetable oil with corn syrup, cream, milk, and flavoring. Making cookies with Cool Whip is a lot like making them with shortening because shortening is hydrogenated vegetable oil as well.

Shortening makes cookies soft and tender, but many recipes opt for butter instead because it has a better flavor. Cool Whip does the same thing as shortening, but it tastes rich and sweet, like whipped cream, because of the other ingredients in it. Therefore, when you add Cool Whip to cake mix, you're essentially adding a better-tasting shortening.

Tips For Adding Cool Whip To Boxed Cake Mix

When turning cake mix into cookies, it goes without saying that you can use any flavor of store-bought cake mixes, but when it comes to the Cool Whip, you can use other brands or varieties like fat-free, zero sugar, or extra creamy. Because they all have a hydrogenated vegetable oil base, you can expect the same results in your cookies, whichever you use. However, avoid using canned whipped cream products because it's not the same thing as the kind that comes in the tubs.

Whichever Cool Whip and cake mix you decide to go with, just make sure the Cool Whip is fully thawed before you mix them together. Frozen or semi-frozen Cool Whip can be clumpy and difficult to incorporate evenly, leading to inconsistent texture in your cookies. Mixing Cool Whip and cake mix creates a sticky consistency, so for easier handling, refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before you roll it out. Comments on one TikTok also suggest putting some oil or powdered sugar on your hands so the dough doesn't stick. Aside from dealing with the stickiness of the dough, this Cool Whip hack doesn't require much effort, so if you're looking for an easier alternative to making cookies from scratch, make sure you stock up on Cool Whip.

Read the original article on Daily Meal