Last year I took on the challenge of veganizing some of Food Network’s 12 Days Cookies recipes. I decided to do it again this year. While I won’t do all 12 days, I will do some of them. Cake Mix Cookies is the first recipe on my list of recipes to veganize this year. Ethan will tell you, yellow cake is my favorite dessert, so it only seems right that I do this recipe as it uses boxed yellow cake mix. Top them with a simple white chocolate frosting and you have the perfect cross between a cupcake and cookie. Decorate them with colored sugar for the holiday of your choice.

You can make these gluten-free by using a gluten-free cake mix. If the mix you use is not flavored, be sure to add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the cake batter.

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 20 min
Yield: 38 cookies

Ingredients

Cookies:
4 1/2 teaspoons ener-G egg replacer
6 Tablespoons + 1/3 cup water, divided
1 box yellow cake mix (for two 9-inch rounds)
4 Tablespoons vegan butter, melted

Frosting:

6 Tablespoons vegan butter
4 ounces vegan white chocolate, coarsely chopped
One 8-ounce container vegan cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Colored sugar, for decorating

Directions:

For the cookies:

1. Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and coat lightly with cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer and 6 Tablespoons of water. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl combine the cake mix, melted vegan butter, remaining 1/3 cup water, and egg replacer mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and no bits of dry cake mix are left, about 2 minutes.

4. Drop the batter by the Tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.

5. Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely Repeat with the remaining batter.

For the frosting:

1. Melt the vegan butter and vegan white chocolate in a medium microwavable bowl in the microwave in 1-minute increments, stirring in between, until smooth.

2. In a large bowl, combine the vegan cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.

Frost the cookies, decorate with colored sugar and serve.