8 Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes, Ranked Worst To Best

From October through the holidays, I spend much of my time in the kitchen baking dozens and dozens of cookies to give as gifts to friends, family, and acquaintances. After that time passes, I don't often get in the mood to pull out everything necessary to make the occasional batch. So, for the rest of the year, I don't mind leaning on good cookie mixes to appease the sweet tooth of a group of friends or visitors, to gift as a pick-me-up, or just to satisfy my own craving. 

A mix should be quick and easy. Although, I do also enjoy if it inspires me to throw in some additions or toppings I have laying around in the pantry. Other than being a tasty treat, I also appreciate a mix that helps me give the illusion that they are homemade. I mean, if you mix them up at home, they are homemade by definition. And isn't that something we all like to play at?

As far as cookie mixes go, Betty Crocker seems to offer the widest variety. So, I set out to make up these eight Betty Crocker mixes to see if they would give me what I was looking for — good flavor with a crisp outside, a moist, soft inside, and not a lot of fuss and muss on my part. I was surprised about which ones earned a permanent place in my pantry and which ones didn't.

The candy inclusion alone made me excited about Betty Crocker's Reese's Pieces cookie mix. I was so pleased that they smelled delicious straight out of the package, and even more so out of the oven. They all were evenly shaped and looked almost perfect — so perfect, it would probably be hard to pass them off as homemade.

Putting looks aside though, I was very disappointed in the tasting. The cookies had a dry texture and were much crunchier than I like. In that way, they almost reminded me of gluten free cookies I've had in the past. They weren't terrible, but they definitely lacked something my palate had prepared for.

The Reese's Pieces were aptly distributed among the cookies, but they didn't add much flavor. The peanut butter cookie itself overpowered any taste of the candies — the only hint they were even there was an occasional snap of their shell and their bright colors.

Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies and one I make in my holiday batches every year. Just like with homemade snickerdoodles, this snickerdoodle mix has you make the dough first and then roll each ball in the accompanying cinnamon sugar mixture. This extra step doesn't make them considerably more difficult to whip up. Although this dough was a little soft to work with, that was certainly not my issue with this mix.

Upon baking, I was surprised to see that these cookies came out much larger than the others, even though each used the same amount of cookie dough, made the same number of cookies, and was prepared the same. Sadly, the spreading in size caused the middles to sink while baking. This meant many of the cookies had cracks, and for some reason they also stuck to my baking stone. Again, all unlike the other cookies. I feel this mix should call for less butter.

While I was certain that they were going to be overly crispy, I was happy to find that they did have a soft middle inside the albeit crunchy exterior. Their taste was also quite pleasing. I don't know if I would go back to this mix over making my own from scratch, but it definitely tasted better than the Reese's Pieces mix.

I really thought that the double chocolate chunk mix was going to be overly sweet, but I was pleasantly surprised. Each cookie tasted deliciously like a brownie –  slightly sweet but rich, with a dense cocoa flavor. The chocolate chunks stayed soft even after cooling, which made them lovely pieces to bite into. There was a crisp to the outside and a soft center, just as I like.  

I do have to say, I was disappointed that these cookies did not come out very uniform in shape and that the chocolate chunks weren't evenly distributed among them. They didn't spread well and quite a few formed odd shapes. But the thing that really pushed them further down the list is that it was easy to see some of the cookies contained no chunks of chocolate at all. After baking, the cookies missing chocolate stood out sadly from their chunky counterparts.

While the cookies that did have all the ingredients were quite delicious, the ones without fell rather flat. And I believe it would be a lot of extra work trying to visually make sure the chocolate was distributed evenly throughout the dough.

From the moment I knew oatmeal chocolate chip cookies existed, they have been a huge favorite of mine. While I believe raisins have a place in this world, I don't feel it's in a cookie. So, to see this as an offering among the mixes had me overjoyed — and Betty Crocker did not fully disappoint.

The cookies came out of the oven looking lovely, with every one of them sporting a visibly ample amount of chocolate chips. Their texture was dense, crisp on the outside and soft through the middle. However, while oats are a great base for chocolate chips, these needed just a hint more flavor. If I were to make this mix again, I'd simply add some cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of vanilla, balancing out the sweetness of the chocolate with a bit of savory in the oatmeal.

It wouldn't take much to get these cookies up to par and the texture, quantity, and overall appearance of the base would make these worth it. Sadly though, compared to some of the higher-ranked mixes, these do need a little help.

Much like the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, these turned out looking lovely. They also provided the perfect texture and density, with a crisp exterior and soft interior. They were subtly flavored, and while I wouldn't necessarily call them bland by any means, I definitely would add something to them next time.

With a pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla, these cookies would be perfect. In addition, this mix would also be a great base if you want to include raisins, nuts, cranberries, or chocolate chips. And considering the amount it makes, and all its other pleasant elements, using this mix would still be easier than making oatmeal cookies from scratch.

While it may seem odd that I ranked these higher than the oatmeal chocolate chip mix, I have good reason. The other cookies needed something to balance the sweetness of the chocolate chips. This mix, however, only lends itself as a wonderful blank slate to making any kind of oatmeal cookie you desire. Just like a great pizza dough, this is a foundation for a wonderful creation. In that respect I find this mix more valuable.

These peanut butter cookies were very different from the peanut butter cookies made with Reese's Pieces. Though they gave no aroma to hint at what they would taste like, they were in no way bland and had a rich peanut butter flavor. And instead of being crunchy, these were soft and moist. Perhaps it was because of the vegetable oil used for these cookies, instead of the butter called for in all of the other mixes.

They did take longer to firm up after baking before being able to move them to a cooling rack. A few even kept a bit of an undercooked middle and seemed they could have done with a minute or two more in the oven. Other than the small problem of fiddling with baking times, these cookies were quite tasty and large in size. I feel like these would be a great sweet treat for peanut butter lovers.

It seems like you can't go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie. And I really can't argue. Neither good nor bad, these cookies turned out exactly like I expected. They weren't necessarily the same shape, and they didn't all have the same amount of chips, but every bite held the same flavor — buttery, chocolatey, and sweet.

Unlike with the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, these held more buttery flavor that seemed to balance the sweetness of the chocolate well. They were on the thin side and looked a bit deflated, but that seems to be the way with chocolate chip cookies. Their texture was still good with just a hint of crispiness, and the insides were slightly chewy.

You could definitely get away with whipping these up and taking full credit for making some good homemade cookies. There's really nothing to complain about; however, there's nothing very exciting about them, either. They just are what they are, which is the only reason they are not the top contender.

When I hear "sugar cookies," I think of Christmas cut-outs lovingly decorated in brightly colored royal icing — something nice to look at but not really favored for its taste. So, I wasn't expecting much from these cookies. Boy, was I shocked.

As with the snickerdoodles, I expected these to fall in the middle and have a crunchy texture. But coming out of the oven, they were puffy and looked pillowy soft. And they were. A crisp, delicate exterior held a dense but soft interior, making these cookies decadent to bite into. Moist and buttery, with just the right amount of sweetness, I was shocked that I hadn't given sugar cookies more thought before. I definitely will in the future if Betty Crocker is making the mix.

While these cookies don't need anything at all to make them better, there are so many opportunities to add personality and taste. They would be lovely iced and decorated. I can imagine them being highly elevated with a slightly tart lemon glaze and minimal effort. Sprinkles or colored crystal sugar would be a great addition. And if they were scooped as small cookies, they could easily be made into sweet sandwiches.

Making sugar cookies can be quite the endeavor, but not with this mix. And their taste is beyond that of many homemade sugar cookies I've had in the past. I will be keeping these in my pantry and personalizing them for whomever they will be given to.

All of these mixes (except the peanut butter) required a bit of water, butter, and an egg. While the baking times weren't exact, I chose to fall in the middle of the range. They were all made on my trusty baking stones and given equal opportunity to wow in taste and texture.

The lowest ones on the list I will not make again as they missed the mark by too wide a margin. The ones in the middle may need a bit of help but are worth it if you are comfortable adjusting your own flavors. The peanut butter could do with some baby sitting in the oven, and the chocolate chip would probably please most anyone. But the sugar cookies are by far the best ones to keep on hand.

The sugar cookie mix offers so many opportunities to get creative. Use leftover ingredients you may have in your pantry, and personalize them for whatever occasion they're being prepared. Even without adding anything at all, they are delicious in every way and would make a great sweet for any gathering.