Soft, thick, and packed with sprinkles, these simple cake batter blondies use a box cake mix for a classically sweet cake batter taste. You need just 1 mixing bowl for the batter, and there’s no electric mixer required. White chocolate chips add a little texture, but feel free to leave them out.
From-scratch dessert recipes are a specialty, but from time to time, I like to use boxed cake mix because it adds a party-perfect cake batter flavor to various treats. In fact, boxed cake mix gives us that unparalleled nostalgic flavor in my reader-favorite cake batter chocolate chip cookies and cake batter Oreo cookies.
And we’ll do the same thing here!
Why Cake Batter Blondies Are a Must-Bake
- Soft, thick, and chewy texture, like these popular chocolate chip cookies
- Filled with colorful sprinkles and sweet white chocolate chips
- Made with only 6 ingredients, including yellow or vanilla box cake mix
- Simple 1-bowl recipe
- No electric mixer required
- Quick 5 minutes to prep, 25–30 minutes to bake
- Since they’re baked in a pan, there’s no dough chilling required—just like these M&M cookie bars
Plus, they’re super easy to slice and transport, making them a convenient (and crowd-pleasing) choice for birthday parties, office potlucks, neighborhood get-togethers, or any celebration that calls for sprinkles.
Store-Bought Box Cake Mix Is Key
Grab a box of cake mix from the baking aisle to use in these blondies. A homemade mix of dry ingredients from, say, yellow cake or confetti cake, wouldn’t work quite the same way here. I usually reach for yellow cake mix or vanilla cake mix.
Some readers have reported using lemon cake mix and chocolate cake mix (for an ooey-gooey treat that hovers somewhere in the middle of chocolate cake and homemade brownies) in this recipe with success. I imagine any box cake mix will work fine! (Although steer clear of more delicate cake mixes, like angel food cake.)
Other Ingredients in Cake Batter Blondies
What differentiates these blondies from cake (because we’re using cake mix) is the careful selection and ratio of other ingredients in the batter. You need the following:
- Vegetable or Canola Oil: Oil keeps the blondies moist and chewy.
- Egg: For rich flavor, and to bind together the other ingredients.
- Milk: To help thin out the batter (although it will still be quite thick, as blondie batter should be).
- Sprinkles: Because no cake batter-inspired treat is complete without sprinkles! See “Success Tips” box below for a note on the best sprinkles to use in cake batter blondies.
- White Chocolate Chips: These add a wonderful texture. I use the cake mix/white chocolate duo in my cake batter chocolate chip cookies, too. Feel free to swap with another type of baking morsel if desired, like regular chocolate chips or peanut butter chips.
If you’re not into blondies and are looking for more of a traditional cookie bar, try my frosted sugar cookie bars. They’re just as fun—and include frosting!
Cake Batter Blondies Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 11×7-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily lift the bars out of the pan. Or skip the parchment and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Combine the cake mix, oil, egg, and milk in a large bowl with a silicone spatula. The batter is extremely thick, so do your best to mix. Fold in the sprinkles and white chocolate chips.
- Spread evenly into prepared baking pan, sprinkle a few more sprinkles on top (if desired).
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. The center of the pan will still look soft; that’s OK. Avoid over-baking.
- Remove from the oven and cool the pan for 30 minutes at room temperature on a wire rack.
- Lift the parchment paper out of the pan and cut into squares.
- Blondies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
You may also like...
