Hellloooo friends!!! Today we are making last minute edible holiday gifts that people actually want (per the YouTube trend these days 😉 ) (side note: I think it’s hilarious that it’s a trend now — as if all this time, we were all just making garbage that nobody really wants hahaha). But these aren’t just any old taken straight from Pinterest desserts — I’ve amped up the regular cake mix cookies with kawaii decorations and done lots of testing with the donuts to find the perfect mix/ratio/combination of ingredients! 😀 No one will know you really made them from a box! Unless they watch KSW too in which case, you’re out of luck. But tell them I say hi then!! Anywho, I am getting carried away writing this blog post. Hope you enjoy the video, and if you recreate any of these desserts, let your girl know with the #kawaiisweetworld so I can see/like/comment/shower you with love and compliments!!

Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 oz.) box of cake mix, any flavor
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 eggs (preferably room temp, but it matters less for this recipe)
• 1/4 cup sprinkles/mix-ins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, canola oil, and eggs until combined. You might see a few  clumps of dry cake mix — just do your best to work these out by pressing them against the side of the bowl with your spatula. But if some lumps remain, it won’t make a big difference.
3. Add in mix-ins and fold to combine.
4. Dollop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until the bottom edges of the cookie are golden brown. The cookie will still seem soft in the center once you take them out of the oven, but let them crisp on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes and they’ll firm up more. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Royal Icing

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 1/2 tsp meringue powder
• 2-3 T water
• Gel food color

Directions

1. Whisk together powdered sugar and meringue powder until combined. Add in water and mix with an electric mixer for 6-7 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Color with food color as desired.

Cake Mix Donuts

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25) box cake mix, any flavor
• 2 eggs (preferably room temp, but if matters less for this recipe)
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat electric donut maker, or preheat oven to 350 F if using a donut pan or mini muffin tin.
2. Mix together cake mix, eggs, melted butter, and milk until combined. For easier filling, transfer mixture to a piping bag.
3. Pipe batter into electric donut maker and let bake for 3-4 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into donut comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Alternatively, pipe donut batter into a donut pan and bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into donut comes out clean.
5. Alternative to the alternative, scoop batter into a greased or cupcake wrapper-lined mini muffin tin and bake for 12-13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Place semisweet chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl and set aside.
2. Heat heavy whipping cream in the microwave or on a stovetop pot until it starts to simmer. Pour over chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Stir chocolate ganache until smooth.