‘Soft cookies’: Just 3 ingredients. My husband devours the whole batch before they cool.

These 3-ingredient strawberry crinkle cookies are the kind of soft, sweet treat that disappears faster than I can wash the mixing bowl. Around here, they remind me of the church basement potlucks where every farm wife had a little shortcut up her sleeve. This recipe leans on a simple strawberry cake mix, just like the ladies started doing in the 70s when boxed mixes felt downright fancy. The dough comes together in a single bowl, bakes up into rosy, crinkled cookies, and my husband can never seem to wait until they’re cool—he hovers by the counter and “tests” them one by one until the blue bowl is empty.

Pile the warm cookies into a blue stoneware bowl and set them right in the middle of the table with a pot of coffee or a cold jug of milk. They’re lovely after a simple weeknight supper, tucked next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or served on a dessert tray with chocolate chip and sugar cookies for contrast. For company, I like to dust a little extra powdered sugar over the top right before serving and put the bowl on a beige or light-colored countertop or tray so the pink color really stands out.

Servings: 18–24 cookies

1 box (15.25 oz) strawberry cake mix

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them so the cookies release easily.

In a medium mixing bowl, pour in the strawberry cake mix. Add the eggs and the oil.

Stir everything together with a sturdy spoon until a thick, sticky dough forms and no dry cake mix remains. It will be thicker than cake batter and softer than bread dough.

Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes; this helps it firm up just enough to scoop more easily.

Using a small cookie scoop or a rounded tablespoon, portion the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie so they have room to spread and crinkle.

If the dough is very sticky, lightly oil your hands and gently roll each portion into a smoother ball right on the baking sheet. This helps them bake into more even, round cookies.