Yes, You Can Make Chocolate Chip Cookies Using Pancake Mix!

A boxed pancakes mix can be a handy grocery find. Did you know you can make not just pancakes but waffles with it, too? You can even hack the mix to make mini doughnuts, too! 

You can also use it as a replacement for flour when making cookies! 

Betty Crocker has a recipe that uses its pancake mix to make chocolate chip cookies. We tried this recipe out and tweaked it so it would work better using the local pancake mixes available. In other words, we made a few adjustments. Here are our tips and tricks to make these cookies and why we made a few changes to the original recipe:

•  • We used an entire 250-gram packet pancake mix. That's about 2 1/4 cups pancake mix.
•  • The original recipe called for 1 cup brown sugar and discovered this was overly too sweet for our taste, even when loosely packed. We scaled it down to 3/4 cup to as little as 1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar and it still worked! 
•  • We used a medium egg because size matters when buying and using eggs.   
•  • We added salt to offset the overall sweetness of the cookie dough.  
•  • We used 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. These are best kept chilled until ready to add to the dough. 
•  • Let the cookie dough "rest" at least 5 minutes before scooping into dough into balls to allow the ingredients to full meld together and firm up. 

Let the cookie dough "rest" before forming into balls.

Photo by Roselle Miranda

•  • We needed to separate these at least 4 inches apart! These spread out considerably, even when the cookie dough was chilled before baking. 
•  • Do not underbake or overbake these cookies. Underbaking left the cookies still wet in the center and very soft, it could not hold its shape very well, even after cooling. These were best baked at around 12 to 15 minutes until the cookies "collapsed" onto itself. That's the sign the cookies are done and can be removed from the oven as soon as the tops are golden brown.  
•  • You must allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet, at least 2 to 3 minutes, just until the cookies are warm, not hot. These are still very soft despite appearances. Cooling also forces the cookies to firm up and release itself from the pan, naturally. If desired, place parchment paper on the baking sheet before adding the cookie dough balls for easier release.  

The original recipe says to cream the butter and sugar together "until light and fluffy" which could take around 3 to 5 minutes with an electric mixer to do this right. This is a MUST for this chocolate chip cookie! 

Let the dough firm up and then make sure to leave enough space between each cookie dough ball to allow for the cookies to spread.  

Photo by Roselle Miranda

However, we discovered that the summer is the worst time to do this since our normal room temperature during this time is way past the melting temperature of butter. (If you have ever left butter out to soften and discovered upon coming back that it has become a melted pool, you know what we mean.)

What this means is no matter how much you may want to cream your butter and sugar together, our tropical weather will melt the butter. You can do a few things to prevent this. The trick here is to keep that butter from melting by using not-too-softened butter, making beating it by hand harder, and maybe, using a cold egg. You can also place your mixture back in the refrigerator until the butter has firmed up before proceeding.

These pancake mix cookies need to practice physical distancing.

Photo by Roselle Miranda

Even if you skip this first step and just mix the soft butter and sugar and proceed as the recipe instructs, you will still get a cookie that's delicious. 

These created cookies that were both crispy and chewy at the same time. Chopped walnuts or salted peanuts are highly recommended to offset the sweetness of the cookie. So will a good sprinkling of salt on top of each cookie before its baked is a great idea, too. 

These are best served with a tall glass of fresh milk or a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. 

Here is the recipe: 

Pancake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe 

• Takes 1 hour
• Makes 18 cookies

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar, loosely packed  
• 1 medium egg 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 250-gram pack (2 1/4 cups) pancake mix 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, chilled  
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

• 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper if desired. Set aside.   

• 2 In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, around 3 minutes (or just mix using a spatula). Add and beat in the egg and then the vanilla until well mixed. 

• 3 Add pancake mix, salt, chocolate chips, and chopped nuts (if using) to the batter. Fold the ingredients into the mixture until just combined. 

• 4 Using a scoop, form cookie dough balls and place at least 4 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the tops are just firm and the edges are crisp. 

• 5 Remove from the oven, and let cool at least 3 minutes to firm up the cookie before removing and placing on a cooling rack to completely cool. Serve with cold, fresh milk or a hot beverage of your choice.   

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