Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
Texas Sheet Cake in cookie form! These Texas Sheet Cake Cookies start with chewy chocolate cake mix cookies that are coated in a rich fudge icing.
Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
With their rich chocolate coating and sweet, soft center, these Texas sheet cake cookies are a real treat! It’s the cookie version of the classic bake sale confection!
I’m not originally from Texas, so when I first moved here in college, I had a LOT to learn about the traditions here. And trust me, Texas is a state that is built on tradition!
One such tradition is the food: barbecue, chicken fried steak, pecan pie…think hearty food made from available ingredients that would fuel hard-working ranchers and farmers.
Oh, and it’s all delicious! No wonder these foods stuck around even as fewer Texans live the traditional ranch lifestyle.
Another one of my favorite Texas foods is Texas sheet cake – it’s made with simple ingredients and is a chocolate lover’s dream!
These Texas sheet cake cookies are a handheld version of the classic cake. They’re a fun spin on the traditional recipe, perfect for making at the holidays or for gifting, and they are packed with chocolate flavor!
I love this recipe because it’s fairly easy (chocolate cake mix cookies) but the from-scratch icing makes them taste so incredibly delicious! It tastes like melted chocolate…and it perfectly compliments the fluffy and chewy cookies!
And then of course, we topped them with a pecan in the middle! (Because that is perhaps the most important part of Texas sheet cake!)
Y’all… trust me when I tell you this is my FAVORITE cookie recipe! They are so rich and delicious and incredibly easy to make! Once you try them, I think they will become one of your favorite desserts too!
Why I Love this Recipe
- Easy to make with a boxed cake mix and a handful of simple ingredients
- No mixer needed! Just whisk and bake!
- The pecan topping makes them as pretty as they are tasty!
Related: Love chocolate? Try our Nutella Microwave Fudge too! It’s just as easy as this recipe, and only 3 ingredients!
What is Texas Sheet Cake?
Texas Sheet Cake is one of those things where everyone has their own family recipe, so there is often a bit of controversy when it comes to the “right” way to make it.
However, there are a few key features to pretty much every Texas Sheet Cake recipe:
- Large flat chocolate cake (a sheet cake, as the name implies)
- Rich chocolate icing (the richer the better!)
- Pecans (we love pecans in Texas!)
Sounds delicious right? There’s a reason that Texas sheet cake is so popular!
Related: Be sure to try our Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake Cookies too!
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Ingredients
- 1 box milk chocolate cake mix (your favorite cake mix)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Chocolate Icing Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 Tablespoon cocoa powder (this is our favorite kind…SO rich and chocolate-y)
- 3 Tablespoon whole milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- Pecan halves (one for each cookie)
Kitchen Supplies Used:
- Cookie sheet
- Wire cooling rack
- Non-stick silicone baking mats
- Medium cookie scooper
- Saucepan
- Wire whisk
- Measuring cups and spoons
Instructions: How to Make Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
This recipe makes 18-24 cookies, depending on how large you make the dough balls. Our last batch yielded 19 cookies, using a generous 1 Tablespoon of batter for each.
To Make the Chocolate Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper or non-stick silicone baking mats. (We love these mats because you can wash them and reuse them and cookies slide right off them!)
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs and oil until you have a smooth batter. A stand mixer is not necessary — stirring with a large wooden spoon or wire whisk will work just fine.
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon to create balls of cookie dough (about 1TB in size) and place on your prepared baking sheet, 2 inches apart from each other.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes (you’ll want them to be a touch soft in the middle), then remove from oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Chocolate Frosting Instructions:
- Combine the butter, cocoa powder and whole milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together until smooth.
- Remove pan from heat and slowly whisk in the powdered sugar until incorporated completely.
- Slide a cookie sheet under the wire rack where your cookies are resting (this will catch excess icing). Pour icing over your cookies slowly to coat them.
- While the icing is still wet, gently press a pecan half in the center of each cookie. Allow icing to set before serving or storing.
Prep Tips
- Icing – When making the frosting, keep it warm until all cookies are coated. This frosting will start to harden as soon as it cools, and once it does, it cannot be re-heated.
- Nuts –Â We used pecan halves for our cookie topping, but you could alternatively use chopped pecans and sprinkle them on top of the icing. And while pecans are a key ingredient in Texas sheet cake, but if you don’t like nuts (or allergies are a concern), you can omit them. This is an excellent chocolate cookie recipe all in its own!
- Cake Mix – There is no specific type of chocolate cake mix you need to use. If you have a box of chocolate cake mix in your pantry, you can use it! Most box cake directions will call for water, in addition to the eggs and oil. Follow our recipe directions instead, which omit the water (we did that on purpose for thick, fluffy cookies!)
- Variations – If you love the cookies, be sure to try our extra thick and fluffy Texas Sheet Cake and our Chocolate Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake too!
Video Demo:
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Texas Sheet Cake Cookies Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
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Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Mixing bowl
- Saucepan
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies Ingredients
- 1 box Chocolate Cake Mix
- 2 Eggs
- 1/3 cup Canola Oil
Icing Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter
- 3 Tablespoon Whole Milk
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- Pecan Halves (1 for each cookie)
Instructions
Chocolate Cake Mix Cookie Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs and oil until combined and smooth.
- Scoop out dough balls (1TB each) and place them onto the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart from each other.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring cookies to a wire cooling rack.
Icing Directions
- Using a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder and whole milk over medium heat.
- Whisk together until combined and smooth.
- Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.
- Place a cookie sheet under the wire rack to catch excess chocolate.
- Scoop out a spoonful of icing and pour over the cookies.
- While icing is still wet, press a pecan half on top of each cookie.
- Allow the icing to harden before enjoying.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Not sure a cake mix has enough cocoa in it…also needs a touch of cinnamon…
I don’t mind a cake mix recipe- fast and easy is fine by me, but I was a little disappointed to see no cinnamon too. That’s what makes a Texas sheet cake not just chocolate cake to me. I’m sure you could add it (and these look delicious as is too), but I’m afraid they wouldn’t turn out like I was hoping when I saw the name.
Ohh! Cinnamon would have been great! I added espresso powder to both the mix and the icing. These came out deeeelicious!!
Yum, I made these yesterday. Also added espresso powder to the icing.
Today I am trying an eggnog version, hope they are good
Oh fun!! I’d love your recipe for the eggnog cookies!
It took all of 40 minutes to make these yummy cookies!
I am always suspect of “recipes” that use a mix. Why not just make a cake for real?
I like using cake mix for cookies from time to time because the result is super fluffy…and it’s easy!
I don’t do gluten anymore, but don’t want to impose GF desserts on friends at pot lucks or parties, so love to start with cake mixes for treats, then add stuff – rather than waste flour I won’t end up using in time.
These cookies can also be made into homemade Oreos by frosting the flat side of one cookie with homemade cream cheese frosting and topping with another cookie.
That sounds AMAZING and SO decadent! Will have to try!
Can these cookies be frozen?
Sure! Just be sure to keep in a freezer-safe bag or container. I’d imagine they’d last a couple weeks frozen.
Your printable Texas Sheet cake cookie recipe is incorrect. You have the sweet cream butter listed as the cookie ingredient and the icing has no butter. Just thought you might want to know.
Thanks for pointing that out – I updated the printable recipe!
delicious and sooooo chocolatety not good for dieters,but one won’t hurt you, it’s the other two or three that get to yoy…hahahaha….
I was wondering if you have ever tried making these cookies from scratch instead of using a box mix? If so, how did it turn out, comparing the two?
Love this. Thank you.
I *love* Texas Sheet Cake and can’t wait to try these cookies! The recipe is so easy (without having to make a cake from scratch – why add extra work?). However, the cookies in your video look nothing like the cookies in the picture, so I’m confused. Also, the recipe says to “whisk” certain ingredients, but the video shows you using an electric mixer. Which is better? Finally, the first recipe lists vegetable oil; the printed recipe says canola oil. Is one better than the other? Thanks!!
Hi. Do you toast the pecans first or just chop them and drop them? I heard toasting pecans brings out their flavor more.
Thank you@
These are divine!!! So perfect and fluffy, really a Texas sheet cake in cookie form. Love these! Cake mix is super easy, I used Devil’s food and didn’t add cinnamon that some sheet cakes call for. Didn’t miss it. Bestie is allergic. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you loved them! Thank you for letting me know 🙂