When I was a child and my mom would
bake sweets, she would always use a box mix from Duncan Hines. This
is why, as a teenager and young adult, I would comb the baking aisle
of the local supermarkets looking for Duncan Hines purple cake mix in
an effort to recreate my favorite birthday cake, the purple
birthday cake, from my 5th birthday. In my late twenties,
I figured out how my mom made the cake with box cake mix,--white cake
mix, red and blue food coloring.
Where there is no shame in my family
for baking cakes, brownies or cookies from box mixes or refrigerated ready to shape and bake dough, several such mixes reside on my
cabinet shelves. After attempting to make a red velvet cake from
scratch using my Godmother's recipe, running out of red food coloring
and using blue food coloring which resulted in a brownish red velvet
cake, I was excited to see Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix. With
the intent of making this as a cake, I bought a box where it
languished on my cabinet shelf for over a year.
Wanting to make something with the mix
which would serve many, not require utensils and could be stored
easily, I went to the Duncan Hines' website and found their recipe
for Red and White Velvet Cookies. Not interested in investing the
time required to shape and refrigerate the dough, dipping or
spreading melted white chocolate on half of each cookie, nor in
investing in white chocolate premium baking bars when I had a bag of
white chocolate chips already in the house, I modified the recipe to
accommodate my wishes and is the one I've posted here.
Red velvet with white dot cookies
(yield: approximately 48 cookies)
1 box Duncan Hines Signature Red Velvet
Cake Mix
6 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup white chocolate chips
- Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
- Lightly grease cookie sheet. Set aside.
- In large microwave safe bowl, melt butter.
- Add cake mix, egg, and vanilla extract and mix by hand until well blended and dough is formed.
- Shape dough into 1 inch balls, placing them 2-inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten balls with bottom of glass.
- Bake, 1 sheet at a time for 10 – 12 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, cool 1 minute then transfer cookie to cooling rack to cool completely.
Place white chocolate chips in dry
small to medium glass bowl. Melt in microwave for 90 seconds at 50%
power (or medium power). Stir with a dry spoon or spatula. Continue
melting in microwave at 50% power (or medium power) in 30 second
increments, stirring each time until chocolate is melted.
Using a back of dry spoon or a butter
knife, spread a quarter-size amount of white chocolate on the center
of each cookie. Let chocolate set, about 1 – 2 hours, before
serving or storing in airtight container with wax or parchment paper
separating layers.
Red Velvet cookies ready for their
white chocolate dots
