Magic of Cake Mix

There is a proverb in Kannada which goes like 'Hosadaralli Agasa Etthi Etthi Ogeda'  meaning 'Washer man washes clothes with all his energy when he is new to his trade'. In a broader view, it means that when something is new, we tend to do it with full enthusiasm till it loses its freshness/novelty.

Two years back, when my older one finished first year of pre-school, at the end of the year, I made a big cake big enough to feed about 50 people (entire staff) and I even made it as a theme of her class. This being the last year for her in that school, I wanted to make something which says 'Good Bye' to that school (she'll start kindergarten this fall in another school). I had plans of making something big, but had neither energy nor time to spend on this project.

I had mentioned in one of my earlier post that I keep 'Cake-Mix' on hand for such times. In one hour - I baked the blondies and brownies together at the same time and when they were baking, made the dough and got the cookie trays ready to go in. I made three different kinds of bars/cookies and sent it to the school with my daughter. Don't you think something is better than nothing? These are adapted from various recipes from the 'Cake Mix Doctor' book which I gave away some time back.

Cake Mix Blondies:
Yield: 24 big blondies or 35 medium sized ones.
Ingredients:

• 1 Package yellow cake mix (which already has pudding in it. Recipe says to use plain, but we cannot get plain ones now) I used Betty crocker brand
• 2 Large Eggs
• 8 TBSP butter melted - 1 stick
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla (my addition)

Method: (What I did)
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Preheat the oven to 350 F. When the butter is cooled to room temperature, add 2 eggs and whisk with a whisk. Add vanilla. Dump the cake mix into the bowl and mix with a spatula. Dough will be very thick. Add the chocolate chips and mix. Dump into an non greased 13 X 9 aluminum pan and spread out the dough evenly. You might want to smooth the top. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or till done. Transfer to wire rack to cool. When cool, cut into pieces.

Cake Mix Brownies:
Yield: 24 big brownies or 35 medium sized ones. 

Ingredients:

• 1 package devil's food cake mix with pudding - I used pillsburry
• 4 TBSP butter melted
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract - my addition
• 1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips (recipe had 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips and 3/4 cup walnuts. My kid's school is nut free so I just increased the chocolate chips a little)

Method: (What I did)

Grease an aluminum 13 X 9 pan and dust with flour. Set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Preheat the oven to 350 F. When the butter is cooled to room temperature, add egg and milk and whisk with a whisk. Add vanilla, almond extract. Dump the cake mix into the bowl and mix with a spatula. Dough will be very thick. Add the chocolate chips and mix. Dump into the prepared pan and spread out the dough evenly. You might want to smooth the top. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or till done. Transfer to wire rack to cool. When cool, cut into pieces.

I am sending the blondies and brownies to 'Sugar High Fridays Bar None' hosted by Susan which was started by  Jennifer.

Cake Mix Spice Cookies:
Yield: 48 small cookies or 40 medium ones or 24 huge cookies. (Vary baking time accordingly) 

Ingredients:

• 1 package spice cake mix with pudding
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 tsp powdered cinnamon

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine eggs, oil. Whisk together. Add the cake mix, cinnamon and mix. Dough will be very thick. Add raisins and mix. This can make 4 dozen small cookies. I got only 40 cookies. Use tsp or TBSP to drop the dough on to cookie sheet. These don't spread, so you can crowd the cookie sheet. I made mine into balls and placed on the sheet. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or till the bottom has just started to brown. Don't over bake them. Cool on the wire rack. Transfer to an air tight container when completely cool.
This recipe had applesauce in it. I didn't want to open the big bottle just for using 1/2 cup so I increased the egg by one and kept the other ingredients same. I baked for 12 minutes, but if I had used applesauce, I probably needed 2 more minutes of baking time. Don't forget to rotate the pans at half time.

I am sending all these three goodies to Suma's 'Baking from the Book' an event started by me.

Happy Baking!!