Gingerbread is the quintessential Christmas flavor! If you’re looking for an EASY way to include gingerbread, try these Gingerbread Latte Cake Mix Cookies – delicious and super-easy to make! Keep reading to get started!

If You Can’t Drink Your Gingerbread Latte…

Am I the only one who almost went into heart failure when they heard Starbucks canceled their Gingerbread Latte? What?? {OK, that’s a little dramatic. Not heart failure. But still.}

Oh my gosh, ever since Starbucks came around, that drink was my favorite. I mean, it was part of my holiday traditions. My friend from NY sent me a text telling me the news, and I was crushed.

However, I’m not to be deterred because there are lots of ways I can get my gingerbread fix. Gingerbread belongs to Christmas, not to Starbucks.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention (of Gingerbread Latte Cookies)

So, my preschool twin boys have their first Christmas concert this week, and the school was looking for volunteers to bake cookies for the festivities afterward.

Now, I don’t really have the skills to make PlayDough or fix toys when they need volunteers, but cookies, I can make.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Betty Crocker, but cookies I can manage. And the easier the recipe, the better.

So, I decided to bring gingerbread back while I’m making the cookies – and even better, there’s a way to make them easy. Because I’m all about the shortcuts.

Today I want to share a super-easy gingerbread latte cookie recipe made from cake mix. Yes, cake mix. Some might judge because they aren’t from scratch, but to be honest, I’m just happy I’m gonna get them made! (Along with these gingerbread goodies, I also made these North Pole Cake Mix Christmas cookies… so good…)

Cake Mix Recipes -Easiest Cookies Ever

Cake mix recipes are pretty simple, and in their most basic form, they’re 3 ingredients: cake mix, oil or butter and eggs. That’s it. From there, you can dream your wildest cookie dreams (and here are 30 different Christmas Cake Mix Cookie Recipes you can try!).

The recipe today is going to start with a basic gingerbread cake mix. After that, the sky is the limit. We are going to add in mini marshmallows, white chocolate chips and some crushed graham crackers.

If we can’t drink our gingerbread lattes, we are going to eat them, right? Add on some whipped cream or ice cream, sprinkle a little cinnamon, and you have yourself a gingerbread latte delight.

Pro Tip: If you’re missing gingerbread lattes like I am, you gotta try this Christmas Morning Chai. It has many of the same warm flavors, and it’s taken away a little of my bitterness!

Tips for the Perfect Gingerbread Latte Cookie

These cookies are sooooo easy, but there a few things to keep in mind so they come out perfectly. First, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then see instructions below!

Assembling the Cookie

1| Pour the cake mix in with 1/4 cup water 2 eggs, and 3 tbs of melted butter.

2| Pour in 1/2 cup of mini marshmallows, 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips.

3| Take 1 cup of Golden Grahams, put in a ziplock bag and crush with your hands – or you can have a little fun and bang with a hammer. Pour into the cookie mix. (For other graham options, see below!)

3| Once you make the dough, put it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. It will be easier to handle and less sticky.

4| Scoop about a tablespoon and dough and place it on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

When you roll them into balls, if you decide to use marshmallows, try to keep the marshmallows in the center, fully surrounded by dough. Once they heat up, they expand and may leak out of the cookie. It’s fine, you can clean it up once they come out, but if you want them to come out of the oven picture perfect, keep those marshmallows in the middle.

You can see the picture below where the marshmallows are starting to ooze out.

Or, if you don’t want to deal with that, you can leave out the marshmallows altogether. The other mix-ins are just fine and add plenty.

5| Bake for about 8-9 minutes, just so they initially set – about 8-9 minutes – you don’t want to overbake. They will do the rest of the setting as they cool down on the baking sheet. Don’t transfer them to the cooling rack until they are pretty well set. Give them about 5 minutes.

6| Garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon and serve. Or just eat them straight from the rack. Your choice.

Cookie Bar Option

You can make these as cookie bars as well. I made a batch as bars because in my mind, I imagined them with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top (a latte needs whipped cream, right?).

You can use a regular 9 x 13″ pan and cook them for 15-20 minutes or so. Start checking at 15 minutes. You want the edges to be golden brown. It’s OK if they’re slightly undone in the middle.

I made them in a smaller dish (8×6″) because I wanted them thicker. I cooked them about 30 minutes, checking by sticking a knife in. They were a little gooey when I took them out, but by the next day, they were settled in to perfection.

Graham Add-Ins

For the first batch of cookie bars, I used Golden Grahams. They were delicious, but you definitely could taste the syrup from the cereal in there. For my next batch (cookies), I crushed about 3 sheets of honey graham crackers. That toned down the sweetness and was just right. You also could try Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal as well. That will be my next batch!

Over the Top Ideas

If you want to take things up a few levels, you can squirt some canned whipped cream on the cookies and sprinkle with cinnamon. If you are making bars, you can add some frosting on top or serve with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, for a full on gingerbread dessert. We can compete with Starbucks here, right?

For the short, succinct version, see below!

Easy Gingerbread Latte Cake Mix Christmas Cookie

Cook Time: 9 minutes 8 seconds

Total Time: 9 minutes 8 seconds

Ingredients

1 box Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cake and Cookie Mix (14.5 oz)
3 tbs melted butter
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
Mix Ins:
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 mini marshmallows
1 cup Golden Grahams cereal, broken into small pieces
(can use graham crackers also, about 3-4 sheets)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Crush cereal or graham crackers in ziplock bag or by hand. Set aside.
Stir cake mix, 1/4 cup water, and 3 tbs melted butter together.
Add in mix-ins: white chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, cereal or graham crackers.
Set in refrigerator for 15 - 20 minutes
With tablespoon size scoops, roll dough into balls and place on parchment paper. Try to keep marshmallows toward the center of dough ball.
Bake 8 minutes, just until initally set. Do not overbake.
Allow to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes.
Transfer to cooling rack.
Add whipped cream and serve! Or just enjoy as is!

Notes

Makes about 2.5 - 3 dozen cookies.

Can be made as cookie bars as well (9x13" pan - cook about 20 minutes; for thicker bars, use 8x6" or 8x8" pan and cook for about 25-30 minutes.)

Gingerbread Latte Cake Mix Cookie: Best Thing Since Starbucks

These cookies will be a hit, even with non-Starbucks drinkers! Easy, delicious, and just enough to get our Starbucks fix. Sorry, no caffeine – you’ll have to look elsewhere for that! But the sugar rush might just be enough!

PS – If you are looking for some healthier options to serve along with these, you can check out these 30 healthy Christmas cookie recipes – all paleo or clean, all refined sugar free. Or, you can make some healthy Christmas desserts – all paleo or clean, refined sugar free as well!

Thoughts? I’d love to hear them! Leave a comment below!