Hazel Toffee Cake Box Cookies with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting

Recipe by Janelle Harrigill, Columbus, Ohio
First place, Cookies (Cake Box Cookies), 2018

Baking temperature: 350º F
Baking time: 12 minutes
Yield: 16 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 box white extra moist cake mix
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 1 orange juice or juice from ½ orange
• ½ cup heath toffee chocolate bits

Frosting:

• ½ cup (1 stick) of salted butter (softened)
• ½ domino brown sugar (light or dark)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Milk as needed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2. Prepare ungreased cookie sheets or use parchment paper.
3. Mix together cake mix, egg and oil in large bowl.
4. Blend in orange zest, orange juice and heath toffee chocolate bits.
5. Drop about 1 tbsp. rounded balls of dough onto prepared cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Then move the cookies to wire rack to finish cooling and frost.

Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting

1. In mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar.
2. Add vanilla and mix until it is combined.
3. Add powdered sugar and mix slowly at first until the powdered sugar is combined into the butter and sugar mixture, then mix on medium until creamy.
4. Add milk 1 tsp. at a time until you have frosting at desired consistency.
5. Top each cookie with frosting and a sprinkle of heath toffee chocolate bits.