Peanut Butter Oreo Cake Mix Cookies

These easy to make peanut butter cookies start with a cake mix and are loaded with chunks of chopped Oreos...

So, we are on like what? Day #1,525,123 of the stay at home/quarantine life now? And yes, like everyone else I am starting to feel a little restless and antsy & long for some of the normalcy from my life pre-virus...

For one, I miss my gym workouts something fierce, you all. Specifically, cardio machines like my beloved elliptical and stair climber. 

Yeah, I know I could go out and run, but A. I kind of hate running and B. Mother Nature hasn't really been cooperating weather-wise. I mean, one day it is sunny and in the 60's and the very next day it is flipping snow here. Or it is raining. Or just plain cold.

I also miss getting my hair cut. And since I went much shorter with my hair in the fall, I had been stopping in to see my stylist about once every 3 weeks before all of this went down. I made the decision a few weeks ago to just go with it and started growing it out. 

My hair is presently in that super awkward stage of having ducky feathers and sticking out in weird places, so I am super thankful for my stretchy, wide headbands right now. And baseball caps. 

And the fact that I can't go out socially (because no one wants to witness this, lol). But hey- what better time to decide to grow it out than now? 

White Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Cookies

Chock full of creamy white chocolate chips, tart dried cherries, and crunchy macadamia nuts, these thick & chewy White Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Cookies would make the perfect addition to Santa's cookie plate...

So who else feels like we were catapulted straight from Thanksgiving dinner right into the Christmas season almost overnight? Granted, Thanksgiving did arrive a little later than it normally does this year, so maybe that is why I am feeling as if I have been scrambling this last full week before Christmas. 

We finally went out and picked out our Christmas tree and got it up and decorated last Friday. 

We didn't bother putting lights up outside this year because it seemed to rain almost every day that my son & I actually would have had the time to tackle the task. And by the time the weather cleared up, the lights would only be up for a couple of weeks so why bother with all that effort?

And while it may seem that I am grumbling a little (maybe there is even a little hint of bah-humbug in there?), it has been kind of nice to just be able to focus on the essentials for the holiday season for once. 

The tree may have been put up a little later than normal, but it IS up. The gift list has been checked off and the shopping is officially done. 

And I was still able to host my annual Christmas cookie baking party with my family. Things may not have went exactly according to my usual plan, but memories are being made and cherished family traditions are still being continued.

So what does the recipe for these White Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Cookies that I am sharing with you all today have to do with any of the above? ;)

10 Out of the Box Cake Mix Cookie Recipes

Transform your favorite boxed cake mix into a batch of soft & chewy cookies with these 10 Out of the Box Cake Mix Cookie Recipes...

It is no secret that I have a love affair with using boxed cake mixes in my baking. I like to doctor them up to use in my semi-homemade cake recipes, like my Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake & my perfect for spring Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Buttercream.  

I am also a fan of using my favorite cake mixes to bake up a batch of sweet rolls  or my moist & fluffy Banana Spice Streusel Muffins on a weekend morning. There is absolutely no shame in my store-bought cake mix game, you all. ;)

But perhaps one of my favorite things to use boxed cake mix in is cookie recipes. You can transform just about any flavor of cake mix into a batch of perfectly baked, soft & chewy cookies.

And there is no need to waste your time with measuring flour, and baking soda, and sugar. The cake mix has done all the hard work for you!

Since I can't get enough of cake mix cookies, I decided to visit some of my favorite food blogs to find some of the most creative, out-of-the-box (I know.... punny, right? ;) ) cookie recipes made from a cake mix. 

Whether you are a chocolate addict, a strawberry lover, or are into more traditional cookie flavors, you are sure to find the perfect cake batter cookie for you in this collection of easy recipes I am sharing with you all today... 

Small Batch Spice Thumbprint Cookies

These thick & soft Small Batch Spice Thumbprint Cookies are perfect for when you have a craving for a fall inspired treat, but don't want to bake up an entire batch of cookies...

Confession: I absolutely love me some cake mix cookies. Fact: If I make an entire box of cake mix cookies, I will end up eating almost all of them by myself, you all. No joke. 

My solution to this little dilemma is to only to use half of the box of cake mix & make myself a small batch of cake mix cookies. I can always tuck away the other half of the mix to bake up another small batch later on or to use in another recipe altogether.

A couple of weeks ago as I was getting myself into full-on fall mode, I had a craving for some thick & soft spiced cookies. I happened to have half of a box of spice cake mix in the cabinet, so it was a no-brainer to whip myself up a batch of fall inspired cake mix cookies using that. I had happened to use the other half of that mix in these soft & fluffy Banana Spice Streusel Muffins I baked up earlier in the month.

Rainbow Sprinkle-fetti Cookies

Soft & thick cake mix cookies are loaded up with rainbow sprinkles & then topped with a perfect buttercream frosting in these Rainbow Sprinkle-fetti Cookies...

As some of you all may recall, my daughter turned four last month. (Yes, hold me. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up!) 

Her birthday happened to fall on one of the days of the week that she attends preschool, so I asked her if she would like to bring in a special treat to share with her friends at school that day. Of course, she was absolutely ecstatic about it. 

And to be perfectly honest, I was pretty excited about baking up a fun sweet treat for her classmates as well. ;) 

You see, my son is an August baby. And his actual birthday is always towards the end of summer break, so I never really got to bake anything for him to take to school and share with his class.

When I asked Little Miss what she wanted me to make for her class for her birthday, she had just two requirements- she wanted cookies and she wanted pink frosting on them. Okay. That was something I could definitely handle. :) 

Cake mix cookies happen to be one of my favorite cookies to bake. They are soft & thick, taste like cake, and happen to be crazy easy to make. 

So, I took a basic cake mix cookie dough and loaded it up with LOTS of rainbow sprinkles (because you can never have too many rainbow sprinkles!). Then I topped each of these cookies with a perfect pink buttercream and even more rainbow sprinkles. 

Let's just say that these Rainbow Sprinkle-fetti Cookies were a HUGE hit with her preschool friends and teachers...

Halloween Stash Devil's Food Cookies

These chocolaty 4 ingredient Halloween Stash Devil's Food Cookies are the perfectly delicious way to use up that leftover trick or treat candy...

Well, folks... another Halloween is done and over with and in the books! :) We enjoyed a successful Halloween weekend filled with pumpkin carving, dressing up, trick or treating, and costume party attending. 

I have to admit from our fun family traditions to the costumes and the food, Halloween definitely ranks in my top 3 of all of the holidays. 

This year Little Miss went as a princess from a very popular Disney movie (ahem, I am pretty sure we saw at least 10 other little girls dressed the same as her in the course of our 45 minutes of trick or treating). 

And I allowed my three year old daughter to choose my costume this year, and let's just say it was pretty darn magical. ;) (Trust me- you all will definitely want to click on that link and see what I dressed up as!)  

But every Halloween it seems that we are left with more candy than we know what to do with. If you happened to have found yourself in the same boat this Halloween weekend, then I have some good news for you all- these easy to make Halloween Stash Devil's Food Cookies are the perfect way to use up that leftover trick or treat loot...

M&M's Red Velvet Skillet Cookie

This M&M's Red Velvet Skillet Cookie is studded with M&M's Red Velvet candies and then topped with a decadent dark chocolate cream cheese frosting made using Dark Chocolate DOVE Promises...

Growing up, my mother always had special treats waiting for my sister and I when we woke up on Valentine's Day morning.  We would usually find a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a sweet stuffed animal sitting at the breakfast table- one for each of us. 

As we got older the chocolates remained, but the stuffed animals were swapped out for sparkly nail polishes and pink lip glosses. 

To this day, my mother still makes sure that we each receive something from her and my dad on Valentine's Day (although she has now upgraded that small box of chocolates with some DOVE® Promises, aka grown-up chocolates ;) ).

This has been a tradition that I have lovingly carried on with my two children as well. Each and every Valentine's Day since the day they were born, they have received something special from us. And each and every Valentine's Day, I have also included one of my own traditions for my family- baking us all a special sweet treat that we can all share and enjoy together. 

Usually I bake some heart shaped cookies or a large chocolate chip cookie cake, but when I saw the M&M's® Red Velvet candies at my local Walmart I was inspired to bake up something a little different this year.

Red velvet and chocolate are just synonymous with Valentine's Day- Am I right, folks? :) So this year, I decided to bake up a red velvet skillet cookie studded with M&M's Red Velvet candies and then topped with a decadent dark chocolate cream cheese frosting made using Dark Chocolate DOVE® Promises...

Sparkling Champagne Cookie-wiches

A rich champagne buttercream is sandwiched between two thick & soft sparkling sugared cookies in these Sparkling Champagne Cookie-wiches...

Ever since I made my White Chocolate Peeps Cookiewiches for Easter earlier this year, I have kind of had a thing for coming up with decadent cookiewiches just for special occasions and holidays. 

My Easter cookiewiches were followed up a few months later by the Blue Velvet & Raspberry Buttercream Cookiewiches I made for the 4th of July. 

And since it has been over 5 months since I have posted a new cookie-wich recipe, I thought why not come up with one that would be perfect for celebrating New Year's Eve with? ;)

I had a vision in my head for exactly how I wanted these cookie-wiches to look, but I ran into one tiny snag- I couldn't find the exact sparkling gold and silver sugars I had pictured in my mind! I searched my local craft store and all the area grocery stores. I even searched Amazon to no avail. 

Then I remembered my good friends over at Chocoley and thought why not click on over there and take a look? And sure enough they had exactly what I was looking for in their Gold & Silver Sheen Metallic Sugar Crystals Set! Sparkling perfection, folks.

These Sparkling Champagne Cookie-wiches are rich, decadent, and fun, just like how every New Year's Eve celebration should be... :)

Bacon & Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Super soft & thick pudding cookies are jam-packed with crispy bacon, crunchy pretzels, and chocolate chips in these Bacon & Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies...

Ready for more bacon for dessert action?

If the Candied Bacon S'mores Pizza recipe I posted yesterday didn't convince you of the merits of having a little bacon for dessert, then these Bacon & Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies certainly will!  ;)

The secret to these cookies being so soft and thick? Cake mix and pudding mix, folks. 

Some call it cheating.  I call it genius.

And then when you throw in some gooey chocolate chips, salty bacon, and crunchy pretzel pieces? 

Irresistible!

These cookies pair perfectly with a cold glass of milk.... or maybe a good beer. ;)