These Chocolate Sandwich Cookies pair two soft chocolate cookies with a smooth cream cheese filling piped right in the middle. They start with a chocolate cake mix, so the base comes together fast without sacrificing that rich, fudgy texture.

A little all-purpose flour gets whisked in with the mix to give the dough more structure, and melted butter keeps every bite soft even after they’ve cooled completely. Once they’re sandwiched together, you get a cookie that tastes like it came from a bakery case.

This is a chocolate cookie recipe worth keeping in your regular rotation.

There are so many wonderful things to say about this cookie. My Darb loved them the first time I made them, and he’s a straight shooter, so these cookies definitely earned their spot on the blog.

If you haven’t gotten on the cake mix cookie train yet, this is a good place to start!

Why This Recipe Works

Using a chocolate cake mix as the base means most of the work is already done for you, and it gives these cookies that deep chocolate flavor without measuring out cocoa powder and other dry ingredients from scratch.

Adding flour to the mix gives the dough enough structure to hold its shape once baked, so you get a cookie sturdy enough to sandwich without falling apart.

The chocolate and cream cheese combination is one I come back to again and again. It works in my Oreo Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies and my Cherry Cheesecake Chocolate Bundt Cake, so I knew it would work here too.

If you love this recipe for chocolate sandwich cookies, be sure to check out my other Chocolate Cake Mix Cookie Recipes.

Ingredients Needed

• Chocolate Cake Mix – The base of these chocolate sandwich cookies recipe and the most important ingredient in the bowl. It gives you deep chocolate flavor with almost no effort.
• All-Purpose Flour – Whisked in with the cake mix to give the dough enough structure to hold up once baked and sandwiched.
• Vanilla Bean Paste – Adds little flecks of vanilla and a slightly deeper flavor than extract, though regular vanilla extract will work as well if that’s what you have.
• Cream Cheese – Make sure it’s fully softened before mixing, or the frosting will end up lumpy instead of smooth.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

The Cake Mix I Used

For these cookies, I used a chocolate cake mix in the standard 13.25-ounce box size. I used Betty Crocker cake mix for this recipe, but Duncan Hines and Pillsbury brands would be perfect as well.

If you love baking with a cake mix shortcut as much as I do, take a look at my other Chocolate Cake Mix Recipes for more ideas.

Can I Use a Different Cake Mix?

Yes, you can use any cake mix flavor here and still get a great sandwich cookie. Spice cake, lemon cake, and strawberry cake mix would all work well with the cream cheese filling.

If you want to stick with chocolate but change things up, a devil’s food cake mix will give you a deeper, more intense chocolate flavor than a classic chocolate mix.

How to Make Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

1. Start by whisking the cake mix and flour together in a medium bowl, breaking up any lumps.
2. Pour in the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla bean paste, then mix with a handheld mixer {or by hand} until the dough comes together.

3. Scoop the dough into even mounds with a medium cookie scoop and set them onto a silicone mat {or parchment-lined} baking sheet.
4. Bake for 8–10 minutes in the oven, pulling them out once the edges are set but the centers are still soft. Let them cool all the way on the pan

5. For the filling, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla together until smooth, then work in the powdered sugar until the frosting is thick enough to hold its shape when piped.
6. Flip half of the cooled cookies over so the flat side faces up, pipe or spread frosting onto each one, then close each sandwich with one of the remaining cookies.

Variations

For extra bakery-style cookies, roll the frosted edges in one of the following before serving:

• Mini chocolate chips
• Rainbow sprinkles
• Crushed chocolate sandwich cookies
• Chocolate sprinkles
• Mini M&Ms

Pro Tips

• They’ll look slightly underbaked when you pull them out, and that’s normal. The cookies continue to set as they cool on the pan, so taking them out with soft centers keeps them from turning dense or overly crisp.
• Match cookie sizes before frosting. Sort the cooled cookies into pairs of similar size so your sandwiches come out even instead of lopsided.
• No piping bag? Use a Ziploc bag. Fill it with frosting and snip off one corner for an easy stand-in that pipes just as well.
• Bring your cream cheese fully to room temperature. Cold spots in the cream cheese will leave lumps in the frosting no matter how long you mix it.

Storage Instructions

Store Chocolate Sandwich Cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze them for up to 3 months.

Recipe FAQs

Do you love chocolate cake mix cookies? Try these…

Desserts

Texas Sheet Cake Cookies

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Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

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Favorite Chocolate Cookies with M&M’s

Cookies

Easy Chocolate Cookies and Cream Cookies

Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review below and tag @practicallyhomemade on Pinterest!