Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix Cookies

Out of flour but really want some cookies?! No sweat – you can use pancake mix! These Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix Cookies are a cross between puffy pancakes and soft muffin tops! With a few easy ingredients, they’re simple to make with any ‘just add water’ pancake mix!
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I have a bit of a love affair with Kodiak Cakes Pancake & Waffle Mixes. I promise this is not sponsored in any way – it’s just a brand that I love! I make pancakes at home all the time and I always opt for Kodiak Cakes (I get it at Costco!).

The most popular pancake recipe on my site is these Banana Protein Pancakes. And it should be no surprise they’re made with Kodiak Cakes. I buy the mix in bulk at Costco and use it for more than just pancakes! This time, it’s for these chocolate chip pancake mix cookies.

What’s in these chocolate chip pancake mix cookies?

Usually for cookies, you NEED a flour of some kind, as well as a leavener which usually consists of baking soda. The cool part about these cookies is you don’t need either of those ingredients, because they’ll be present in your pancake mix.

To make these pancake mix cookies, you need the following:

• ‘just-add-water’ pancake mix – The beauty of just-add-water pancake mix is simply that: you only have to add water, but you can still get fluffy, delicious pancakes. That’s because these ready to use mixes have the flour and the leaveners all mixed in. For cookies, you need a few more things to achieve a cookie (instead of a pancake), but you don’t need to use any other flour or leaveners at all. Since most just-add-water mixes have this in common, you can use almost any one you find at the store.
• banana – adding just one mushy banana to the batter/dough helps add moisture and a hint of extra sweetness to the cookies. I love banana pancakes, so why not add banana to my pancake cookies?
• peanut butter – For flavor, because I love peanut butter. Any nut butter will work here! 
• real maple syrup – To help sweeten up these pancake mix cookies, I use real maple syrup to sweeten. This would usually go on top of pancakes, so why not go inside the dough for these pancake mix cookies?
• milk of choice – Get a little extra moisture in there to help get the dough to the right consistency. I use unsweetened almond milk, but any kind of milk will work.
• cinnamon, coconut oil & vanilla extract – Some classic cookie ingredients to help with flavor and consistency. I love the taste of cinnamon but you could leave it out if its not for you.
• chocolate chips!! because duh

Why does pancake mix work in place of flour?

The cool thing about ‘just add water’ pancake mix is that it the mix will have its own flour and its own leavening agent. You can double check this by reviewing the ingredients list. It should have “leavener” or “leavening agents” listed, and baking soda should be one of them.

What pancake mixes can I use for pancake mix cookies?

I believe any ‘just-add-water’ pancake mix will work for this recipe. The key is to make sure the mix has a leavener, usually with baking soda. Here are all the ‘just-add-water’ pancake mixes I tested with this recipe, and the results:

• Kodiak Cakes Buttermilk Pancake Mix – I love Kodiak Cakes brand a lot, so this was my favorite of the three. It was slightly more dense than the Krusteaz version, but it also packed a lot more protein and better for you ingredients. 
• Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix – From a purely taste/texture perspective, I liked these a lot. They were super puffy and soft, and reminded me of muffin tops. From an ingredients perspective, I don’t think Krusteaz is the healthiest option – I would prefer the Kodiak Cakes version.
• Trader Joe’s Buttermilk Protein Pancake Mix – This was my least favorite option (though still delicious), but it was also technically a ‘protein’ pancake mix, which always ends up a little more dense. While not the best taste wise out of these three, these ones pack lots of extra protein and were still completely devoured in our home. These ones were the most like normal cookies.

If you try any others, let me know the results in the comments section below! 

How long do these cookies last?

On the counter in an airtight container, these cookies will last up to 5 days.

In the freezer in an airtight container, these cookies will last 3-6 months.

What other desserts can I make with pancake mix?

Most of my experience making desserts from pancake mix stems from my love of Kodiak Cakes, so that’s the kind I normally use for all my creations. Here are a few other things that can be made with pancake mix in place of flour:

• Reese’s Eggs copycat
• Muffins of all kinds
• Banana bread

Hate to be cliché here but the limit is your imagination!

More dessert recipes from Project Meal Plan:

• Freezer Friendly Sweet Potato Brownie Bites
• 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookie Balls
• Espresso Crunch Cashew Butter Cups

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Show me your Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix Cookies!! I’m curious if other pancakes mixes will work with this recipe – there was no way I could test them all! Tag me in your post so I can see it, or use #projectmealplan to share with me!

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