Monster Eye Cookies are so fun
October means Halloween, so what better time to make Monster Eye Cookies?
This recipe is one I can certify: THIS IS A KID PLEASER! Plus, it's super-simple. Here's the secret: Use cake mix for the dough. That makes short work of preparation leaving more time for the important stuff, like - (say it with me) - "Googly Eyes!!!" YAY! (Cue cheerleaders and college marching band).
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How to make Monster Eye Cookies
To begin, beat together butter, cream cheese, vanilla and an egg until fluffy. To this, add one box of yellow cake mix. That's it. The basic dough is now complete.
Have fun with color
Now, you're probably thinking: "Hmm...I don't think yellow cookies are fun." And, you are SO RIGHT! Using gel food colors is where the fun starts.
For this batch, I split the dough into two portions, because I wanted to get two different colors.
Then, I turbo-charged the colors by using "neon" food coloring. And, as everybody knows, neon colors DEFINITELY make cookies TASTE BETTER (not really, but . . .). To each portion of dough, add food color and mix until the color looks right.
The dough is rolled into balls, about 1-2 inches each in size. Then, roll the balls in powdered sugar for a sugar coating.
This is one of the most "funnest" things for young sous chefs. Then, place on a cookie sheet.
Have even MORE fun with Googly eyes
After baking for 10-12 minutes, remove the cookies from the oven and then - right away - add the Googly Eyes.
I'm gonna have to correct myself. THIS is the funnest part. Kids love it!! And everything is edible, including the candy eyes.
NOTE: It's important for the Googly eyes to be added right away after the cookies come out of the oven, when they're still warm and soft. Just be sure to put a kitchen towel on the edge of the cookie sheet to protect that young skin from the hot pan.
As you can see, my assistant was super-into this step.
Bonus: There is no way to do this wrong - use one eye, lots of eyes, right-side-up, right-side-down, all look fantastic!
Pro Tip: Buy two different sized eyes. Even more fun!
At the end, we also got a little creative and made a couple of "half and half" balls with a little dough from each color. These also turned out great, opening up a whole 'nother world of COOKIE CRAZINESS!
Monster Eye Cookies are guaranteed fun for everyone. Enjoy!
More Fun Recipe Ideas
Remember these Monster Eye Cookies for future holidays! Use the leftover Googly eyes for some Silly Apple Bites or Frozen Banana Pops!
Halloween Rice Krispie Treats are always popular. Make some smoothie popsicles for a healthy frozen treat.
And if you love using a cake mix for a baking shortcut (i.e. ALL of us) try some Sweet Potato Dump Cake for a deliciously simple fall-flavored dessert.
📖 Recipe
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Monster Eye Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- ½ c butter softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 egg
- Food coloring
- Powdered sugar
- Candy Googly Eyeballs
Instructions
- Beat butter, vanilla, egg and cream cheese until fluffy.
- Add the cake mix and stir until smooth.
- Add food coloring until the dough is the color you want. (I split the dough into two separate bowls and used neon green and pink to make two different colors)
- Chill dough for 30 minutes before rolling.
- Roll the dough into balls, dip each ball in powdered sugar to coat and then place on a baking sheet. Keep balls separated a few inches to allow room to spread.
- Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes.
- Push candy eyeballs into the cookies immediately upon removing from the oven.
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Taylor
Sending this to my sister who has a three year old.
Sula
perfect!
Big Trouble
Very cute! And delicious, no doubt, with the cake mix as the cookie! YUM!!!
Sula
Actually yes, the cake mix and the cream cheese make this a very moist and delicious cookie.