Strawberry and White Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

I'm kind of a dork when it comes to holidays. I will admit this. I like to decorate and have fun and get excited about the little things. Because what is life but a series of little things that make one big, great life? Right? Ok, that's my moment of being deep for today.

So Valentine's Day is coming up. Very soon! It's Friday, just in case you forgot and still need to get a card or something for your loved one. Travis and I exchange cards, but we usually don't make a big fuss out of the actual holiday with gifts and such. But I do like to decorate the house a little, and now we get to make fun Valentines for Emily's daycare friends. Thanks to Pinterest, I found this cute little idea which was surprisingly easy to make:

I mean, aren't these the cutest? Those are glow stick bracelets, and what kid doesn't love glow sticks? Emily was thrilled to play with the leftovers.

My book club also happens to be meeting this week of Valentine's Day, so I got all corny and decided to make a V-Day related food item. Which is actually kind of a huge deal because usually I bring something off this list:

a) a bottle of wine
b) cheese & sausage plate with crackers
c) some other store-bought shenanigans

So actually making something IS a big deal. I decided to go with these cute cookies. The fact that they are pink also helped sway my decision.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

From Mom On Time Out

Typically, I like all things chocolate. Strawberry is good too, but not what I would choose out of the two. Luckily, this recipe combines the best of both worlds with strawberry cake mix, chocolate m&m's, and white chocolate chips. Let's all say "yum" in unison here, k? "Yuuuuuuum!"

Here's the recipe for those of you who don't want to click:

Ingredients
1 box strawberry cake mix
1 stick {8 Tbls} butter, melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 oz Neufchatel cheese {light cream cheese}, room temperature
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 c M&Ms

Instructions

1. Combine, butter, egg, vanilla, and cream cheese in a bowl. Mix together thoroughly.
2. Add cake mix, half of the box at a time, mixing until well combined.
3. Stir in chips and candies by hand.
4. Refrigerate for at least one hour and then roll dough into 1 inch balls.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Place dough balls onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes - you don't want the cookies to brown at all! Set a timer.
7. Let cookies cool on a baking sheet for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
9. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

The only thing I would have done differently is less of the chips and m&m's. I ended up having a lot left over that wouldn't stick into the cake mix. Also, I put 3 pans in the oven at once, so my cooking time was a tad longer. But you really do have to watch them! One pan did get a little brown. They're still a bit soft when you pull them out, but will harden up as they cool. Mine aren't quite as pretty, but they're still tasty! 

Enjoy!