I’m finishing my holiday baking today! It’s taken me a little while to get into Christmas baking mood, but despite the balmy temperatures, I turned on some of my favorite Christmas music, threw on an apron and got to work like a good little elf! If you’re looking for just one more yummy Christmas cookie to serve on your dessert table this year, make it these delicious Cake Mix Chocolate Italian Cookies! They’re moist, full of flavor and easy to make too!
My dear friend gave me this recipe at my bridal shower 14 years ago. Everyone was sent a recipe card along with their invitation and wrote down their favorite recipe for me. It was so nice to have a bunch of recipes ready for me to cook and bake when my husband and I got married. I have made these cookies for Christmas ever since and people always, always ask for this recipe. These cookies come out great every time and freeze beautifully too.
Chocolate dough is blended with warm spices, finely chopped walnuts, raisins and chocolate chips then frosted with a thick vanilla glaze for a holiday cookie that everyone looks forward to. I even gift a few dozen to my mother every Christmas because she likes them so much.
I like to use my food processor to quickly chop the nuts and raisins. I leave the chocolate chips their original size because it’s nice to have a good sized piece of chocolate in every bite!
Simply roll the dough into 2 inch balls and bake them in the oven. After they cool completely, make a simple glaze with confectioners sugar, vanilla and half and half and begin dipping the tops into the glaze.
I like to place the cooling rack right over the parchment lined baking sheet for easy cleanup. Top these cookies with red and green sprinkles for a more festive look if you like too! Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup water
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. cloves
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1 cup raisins, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- For the Glaze:
- 2 confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- half and half
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine all ingredients in your Kitchen Aid mixer and roll the dough into 2 inch balls.
- Place them on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make your glaze by slowly adding half and half to the sugar and vanilla in a small saucepan and whisking it over medium heat until you get the consistency you are looking for.
- Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze and place back on a cooling rack to harden.
- Garnish with holiday sprinkles if you wish.
- Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
- These cookie freeze great!
- Enjoy!
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Just wondering if it matters if the chocolate cake mix has pudding in it? Sometimes it is hard to find it without.
Thanks
Hi Rose! No, I don’t think it matters! I hope you like these:) Merry Christmas!
Do you use golden raisins or the dark raisins?
Hi Doris! I use dark raisins. I hope you like the recipe:)
How much confectioner’s sugar do you use for the glaze?
Hi Becca! I use 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and add a Tbsp. of half and half at a time to get the consistency I want.
Hi Shannon,
I just got this recipe today in my inbox, but I
Have to tell you I went online to your site Christmas Eve and made them. Boy were they
A hit! Everyone thought they were delicious!?. Thanks for an easy, great recipe. Hope you
Had a wonderful Christmas. Your house looks
beautiful.
Hi Annie! Oh, thank you so much! I’m so happy everyone liked these:) I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!