Easter Cake Mix Cookie Bars

These Easter Cake Mix Cookie Bars are soft, chewy, and loaded with pastel M&Ms and chocolate chips. They come together in minutes with just a handful of ingredients — and they’re the kind of easy dessert that looks like you tried way harder than you did.

Why You’ll Love It

Only 6 ingredients — cake mix does all the heavy lifting
Ready in under 30 minutes — mix, spread, bake, done
Soft and chewy every time — no dry, cakey texture here
Festive without any effort — those pastel M&Ms make every slice look like spring
Easily customizable — swap the cake mix flavor or candy and you’ve got a whole new bar

Ingredient Notes

The yellow cake mix is the base here and I really have used every brand at some point. I’ve made it with the store brand, I’ve made it with Betty Crocker, I’ve made it with Duncan Hines. They all work fine. If anything I slightly prefer the store brand just because the boxes are a little cheaper and I don’t notice a difference.
The oil — I use vegetable oil and I’d stick with that recommendation. Coconut oil works but it adds a very faint coconut flavor that’s a little strange with the M&Ms. Olive oil is a hard no. I learned that lesson once and we don’t need to revisit it.
Two eggs, one teaspoon of vanilla, that’s it for the wet ingredients.
The M&Ms — get the Easter ones if you can find them, the pastel-colored ones. They’re everywhere right now, usually near the register at the grocery store in little bags. But honestly any M&Ms work, or any Easter candy you have lying around that you think might be good in a cookie bar. I’ve thrown in Robin Eggs before and it was surprisingly good. Slightly crunchy in a nice way.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips are my preference. Milk chocolate gets a little too sweet for me when it’s combined with the M&Ms. Dark chocolate would be interesting but I haven’t tried it yet — one of these years.

Ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix (15.25 oz — or thereabouts, I’ve never been precise about this)
2 large eggs
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Easter M&M candies
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Start by preheating your oven to 350. While that’s heating up, take your 9×13 baking dish — glass or metal, either works, though I find glass bakes a little more evenly — and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Don’t skip that step. I skipped it once and the bars came out in pieces. They still tasted great but they looked like a disaster.
In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, oil, and vanilla. The dough is going to be pretty thick — thicker than regular cookie dough, almost. Don’t panic. Just keep stirring. A wooden spoon works fine here; you don’t need a hand mixer. Once everything’s combined, fold in your M&Ms and chocolate chips.
This is actually the part I like best because the dough turns these beautiful pastel colors wherever the M&M shells start to bleed slightly into it. It looks like Easter before it even goes in the oven.
Now spread the dough into your prepared dish. It’s going to be sticky and a little stubborn. I usually dampen my hands slightly and press it out that way, which helps. Or a rubber spatula with a little cooking spray on it. You’ll figure it out.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. I usually start checking at 20 and look for the edges to be set and lightly golden. The center might still look just barely underdone — that’s okay. It firms up as it cools and that’s actually what gives you the chewy texture rather than a dry, cakey one.
Here’s where I have to be firm with you: let them cool completely before you cut them. I know. It’s hard. But if you cut into them while they’re warm you’ll get a crumbly mess. Give them at least an hour, or if you have the willpower, wait until they’re fully at room temperature. I usually put them on the counter and go do something else so I’m not staring at them. Then slice into squares and serve.

Variations

I’ve made these with funfetti cake mix for a birthday version that’s always a hit. Strawberry cake mix is really interesting — slightly pink bars, which are kind of beautiful honestly. Chocolate cake mix with the Easter M&Ms is a more intense combination but a great one. Peanut butter chips added alongside the chocolate chips is also worth trying — I was skeptical but it works really well.

Storage

These keep well at room temperature in an airtight container for three or four days, though at my house they’ve never lasted past day two. If you’re making them ahead — like if you want to have them ready before the holiday weekend starts — you can absolutely do that. They’re just as good the next day, maybe even a little better once they’ve had time to settle.
I have frozen them before, wrapped individually. They thaw fine. I’d still rather eat them fresh but it’s an option.