Cake Mix Cookie Bars are soft, chewy and loaded with chocolate chips and M&M’s. These bars taste incredible and are super easy to make!
At least once a week I like to bake something new or create a new recipe for my family to enjoy. As much as I love baking a homemade sweet, it can sometimes be a lot of work. My Cake Mix Cookie Bars is a great recipe to pull out this time of year. It’s an easy way to create a delicious dessert without a lot of hassle. All you need is 6 simple ingredients, and only 30 minutes of your day, to complete this yummy treat. If your kids are savvy in the kitchen, you may even entrust them to bake these on their own!
CAKE MIX COOKIE BARS
These sweet cookie bars start off with a boxed yellow cake mix. Everything you need for a great base to a recipe is right in there. Instant vanilla pudding mix is added to provide more flavor and a softness to the end product. It makes these bars irresistible! Water, vegetable oil, and eggs hold everything together so when they bake they come out fluffy and perfect. The addition of chocolate chips and M&M’s are what make this treat worthwhile. When I make these bars around the holidays I love to use holiday themed M&M’s. The beautiful color combination of red and green makes every piece pop with festive cheer.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 box (15.25 ounces) yellow cake mix
- 1 box (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup holiday M&M’s
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil and eggs. Mix together well. Stir in chocolate chips and M&M’s. Batter will be thick.
Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the center is set.
Carefully remove from the hot oven and let bars cool before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
SERVINGS
This easy to make treat creates 12 equal size bars. If you want to make these bars for a holiday event, you may want to double up the recipe so that you can get 24 servings out of the finished product. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s so easy to double up, and you can still get everything done in just 30 minutes!
STORING OPTIONS
Cake Mix Cookie Bars can be covered and stored on the countertop for up to 3 days, or covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
SWEET OPTIONS
One of the incredible things about this dessert is that it’s not only so easy to make, but it’s also so easy to customize! The easiest way to put your unique spin on things is to switch up the M&M’s. Now as I’ve mentioned I love to make this around the holidays and use holiday themed M&M’s with the classic red and green combination. Now, you don’t have to make these just during the fall months, you can make it anytime you want! Traditional M&M’s are a great way to add an array of color anytime you choose to make this baked good. You can also switch up the milk chocolate chip for dark chocolate or white chocolate if you’d like! If you want to add a little crunch to each bit then you and substitute peanut M&M’s.
CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA BARS
I like to use yellow cake mix and instant vanilla pudding, because they balance out the chocolate chips and M&M’s just right. If you are a big chocolate lover, you can also try using a chocolate cake mix and a chocolate pudding mixture. This just really shows how great this recipe is because you can customize it to fit any craving! It helps make sure that baking never gets old! It’s fun to make two batches, one that’s vanilla and one that’s chocolate and take them all to a holiday party!
ENJOY THIS RECIPE? HERE ARE A FEW MORE CAKE AND COOKIE BARS!
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars – A layered dessert is piled high with a golden buttery crust, pumpkin filling, and a cheesecake mixture.
Sugar Cookie Bars – This simple and satisfying cookie has been turned into a sheet of bars! Each piece is topped with thick vanilla frosting.
Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – These amazing bars are layered with chocolate chip cookie and a cheesecake filling.
S’mores Cookie Bars – The campfire favorite is turned into a sheet pan of bars layered with graham cracker crust, melted marshmallow, and rich chocolate.
Cake Mix Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 box (15.25 ounces) yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
- 1 box (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup holiday M&M’s
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil and eggs. Mix together well. Stir in chocolate chips and M&M’s. Batter will be thick.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake 24 to 26 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Carefully remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
These look DELICIOUS! I am going to add it to my December baking list! Thank you!
My nieces will love this when they come visit. They love to bake with me.
I love how easy these are to make! I too like to crank up the Christmas music and bake away!
I have used this recipe over and over again for so many things! Cookie exchanges, potlucks, cookie gifts, etc. it’s easy, quick and yummy! Thanks so much for experimenting in your kitchen so that I can be faster in mine 😉 !!
Going to try out this recipe for our family Christmas Eve. I’m gonna use peanut butter m&ms in one batch & mint m&ms in the other 🙂
Made these for our family holiday party. I added white chocolate chips too. There were only 2 left and I ate those for breakfast the next day.
Very good. Simple but yummy/
Can you use cook and serve pudding mix???
I suggest the instant. I have never used the cook and serve in this recipe.
I love how quick and easy these are to make. And the taste is so good!
Can you make this recipe with orange cake mix and chocolate chips ? Would anything change in the recipe ?
You really could make these with any cake mix or chocolate chips! I tried it with Red velvet cake mix and white chocolate chips and they were so good! 🙂
I made these and they are amazing! I don’t just make them for holidays,.
So easy and so good! My kids beg for these for all school dessert exchanges or sports potluck dinners they always sign me up for dessert. The possibilities are endless. Favorites are red velvet cake mix, cheesecake pudding and white chips.. Also soooo good with lemon or strawberry cake mix. Fudge chocolate cake with chocolate pudding and dark chips is also great!
You did it again posted another great recipe. I made these yesterday and followed the recipe how easy these were to put together. I could not wait for them to bake, cool and try one and boy they were awesome. I will be making these again real soon. Thanks for sharing.