I discovered the most disturbing thing last weekend. There are people who (brace yourself…this is earth shattering news) don’t like cake. Seriously? I thought my crazy husband was the only genetically deficient (and I mean that in the nicest way possible) one. But apparently, there are more of you out there. One of them is my sister Elizabeth. Yes, the Lizzy of cowboy salsa and pirate’s punch doesn’t like cake. It is just so depressing. She does like pie though. Pumpkin pie specifically. So for her birthday last weekend I made plans to cook up some pumpkin-y fall deliciousness.

No, you are not crazy. That is absolutely not a photo of a pumpkin pie. Wanna know why? Well, you’re in luck, cause I’m in a sharing type mood. My dreams of orange custardy goodness were dashed when I was told that Elizabeth doesn’t like homemade pumpkin pie. No. She likes the cheap, tiny, (crappy and disgusting) Safeway pumpkin pies. The ones they sell all year long that are about 5 inches wide. That’s right. Not allowed to make a cake and have to BUY a pie instead of creating a homemade masterpiece. Ugh. I had to do something. This would not do. I saw this recipe for pudding cake cookies over at Chef In Training and decided they were too fun and full of birthday cake cheer not to make them.

The pudding in the batter makes these cookies incredibly soft. Like pillows of cakey gloriousness. And the flavor is just like cake batter. Exactly. It is amazing. Rich, sweet and totally addictive. The entire tray of these was absolutely devoured. Even those who supposedly don’t like cake LOVED these.

You want to use the small box of instant pudding. Click over to Chef In Training for a photo of what you’re looking for. I used white cake mix because I didn’t have any yellow and they turned out perfectly. You could probably even use funfetti, but I like adding my own sprinkles. It’s just plain fun! Enjoy!

Birthday Cake Cookies
from Chef In Training

1 1/2 sticks (or 3/4 cup) butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix, dry
3/4 cup yellow cake mix, dry
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2-1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Stir together flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together.
Add in pudding package and cake mix and beat until well blended.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Add flour mixture slowly until well incorporated.
Mix in sprinkles .
Roll into 1″ balls and place on greased (or parchment paper lined) baking sheet.
Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes.