I Tried Dolly Parton’s New Limited-Edition Boxed Mix from Duncan Hines, and It’s My Favorite One Yet

Sure autumn officially starts on Sept. 22, but I operate on a different calendar — one dictated by the queen of country herself: Dolly Parton. With her latest Pumpkin Spice Cookies from Duncan Hines hitting shelves a few weeks ago, I think it’s safe to say that we’re already in fall territory. 

And what could be more fall than pumpkin spice? It’s not a one specific blend (it can vary from nutmeg-heavy to cinnamon-centric), and yet, it still manages to capture the essence of fall. Many of us find ourselves so irresistibly drawn to the versatile mixture of pumpkin spice — a flavor that has become synonymous with the season.

We know it’s great in lattes, but how does it fare in a boxed cookie mix? I love Dolly, so I was especially excited to dive into these newly launched seasonal treats and find out. 

Duncan Hines has expanded its baking line with Dolly Parton with its latest launch of a chewy, pumpkin-spiced cookie mix. It’s not entirely clear which way this particular pumpkin spice blend in this mix leans, but it gets some if its classic pumpkin through that and pumpkin puree solids. This newest addition is just one of many baking creations from their partnership, which began in 2022. Together, the two have created a range of baking mixes and frostings — cakes, biscuits, pancakes, muffins, and brownies — all inspired by Dolly’s family recipes. 

The baking mix comes in vibrant pumpkin-orange 15-ounce boxes, or the equivalent of roughly 14 to two dozen cookies, depending on their size. Dolly Parton’s Pumpkin Spice Cookie Mix hit shelves in August, and are now available at select retailers for a limited time, including Walmart and Instacart.

I’ll preface this by saying I’m in the group of people that love pumpkin spice. I eat as many pumpkin-spiced delights as I can between the months of September to November, and have never, ever gotten sick of them. I also have a serious love for chewy cookies, so going into Duncan Hines Dolly Parton’s Pumpkin Spice Cookie Mix, I felt like it would be a match made in heaven. 

This is my first time baking with Dolly Parton’s baking mixes, and as an avid baker, I was delightfully surprised with the instructions. The mix calls for 1/2 cup of melted butter and one egg. I appreciated that it calls for butter, which is my personal favorite for baking instead of vegetable or canola oil because it makes for a richer dessert. According to the box, it yields either 24 cookies or 14 large ones depending on how much dough you use. 

Naturally, I opted for the larger size. I scooped six 1-inch balls of dough on a reusable silicone baking sheet (that I recently picked up while perusing the Lidl Middle) and baked them for 12 minutes at 350°F. They came out crinkled and slightly puffed, but flattened as they cooled. I couldn’t wait to try them and went straight in (before they were completely cooled). 

After one bite I was stunned! These cookies are wonderfully soft and chewy, with an almost cake-like texture (that I adore!). The flavor was fantastic — full of nutmeg and cinnamon, almost as if they were the epitome of fall wrapped up into one delicious cookie. 

I popped the rest of the dough into the freezer so I can easily bake a few cookies at a time whenever I need a taste of pumpkin before I grab another box from the store.

Buy: Duncan Hines Dolly Parton’s Pumpkin Spice Cookie Mix, $2.78 for 15.25 ounces at Walmart

Have you tried Duncan Hines Dolly Parton’s Pumpkin Spice Cookie Mix? Tell us about it in the comments below.