Cake Mix Cookies

Where have these been all my life???  I am by no means a baker.  The exact science that goes into most baking is just not my strong point.  I would much rather add what I want and taste as I go.  My local grocery store, The Florence Food Center has this wonderful section of damaged or foods past the sell by date.  Often what ends up on this cart is ripped bags of pasta and cake mixes.  I can not resist picking up cakes mixed even though my sweet tooth does not show itself often...99 cents is my kryponite. 

The Holiday mood has a grip on me and I pulled out a box of Duncan Hines Caramel Cake Mix.  My dillema was that I only had a few eggs and no frosting (I'm a Bacheolorette Don't Judge Me) I was asking my personal assistant aka Google for suggestions and Cake Mix Cookies came up.  Whoever came up with this is a GENIUS!! Only 3 ingredients and less than 10 min cook time.

1 box cake mix of your choice
1/3 Cup oil
2 eggs

heat oven to 350 and plop on cookie sheet and bake aprox 9 mins.

The best part about these is that you can add flavors and bits of stuff... some examples are (just flavor combos in my mind and not oven tested yet)

Lemon cake w/ Blueberries
White Cake with Mint extract and chocolate chips (or M&Ms)
Butter pecan cake w/ pecan crumbles and a drizzle of maple
Orange Cake with coconut shavings
Chocolate Cake with anything...and so on

I chose to start some with crumbles of a dark chocolate bar and some with....wait for it...BACON!! I only made a few to test out cooking time and flavor profile before I ruin them.  Did I mention I don't have a cookie sheet.  That may be a problem too but a casserole dish SHOULD work right?  Also since there is not as much liquid as a regular cake mix it with a fork.  It is way too thick for everything else.

Round One: Left the cookies in 10 mins.  Still doughy so I put them back in the over. BUT I taste tested one with bacon in it and it was DELISH! It could be my lack of baking sheet.  I may use my pampered chef baking stone for round two. Popped them back in for about 10 more mins they look better.

Round Two: Baking on the stone.  I've given up on baking times.  I'm just leaving them in till they look right.  9-15 mins *shrugs*

Final Round..I'm just alternating the baking dish and stone till they are done, they both are working out okay. 

The finished product was around 2 dozen moist tasty cookies.  I left a few in a bit longer for a bit of a crunch.  I am very pleased with the outcome.  They are a easy alternative to traditional cookies.  Even though I don't have any snot monsters ( I kid I kid) I could see these being a fun weekend project..a few different cake mixes and a selection of mixers let the kids mix and match the cookies and bake away.





Dumplings!!!!

Happy Christmas Eve!  This is a unscheduled post but I had to share.  This may not be a traditional holiday meal but it was oh so good!  I had so many left over dumpling wraps from dinner the other night that I decided to play around with them a bit with amazingly nom nom results. 

I cooked a pound of bacon so I can try to start collecting grease for my cookies (its in a jar and going in the freezer) I also had some English Wensleydale Cheese with cranberries (festive yes?) that I purchased for pennies in Little Russia By the Sea.  For anyone in NYC that is the place for smoked fish and CHEAP imported cheeses.  I got a nice wedge for 1.70$ and can get half a pound of goat cheese for 2$) Anywho...I shredded some of my chicken from Thursdays post, added some cheese and topped with bacon.  It was DEEEELISH! I felt like I had a mini Christmas Dinner in each bite.  I only made a few because I didn't know how they would taste.  I'm going to make more in a bit.

Remember Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when they eat the "3 course gum"?  That is what dumplings remind me of.  I can pack a little zip lock bag with a full meal wrapped in dumplings.  This is a accidental love affair for me and I hope I don't go overboard with dumpling posts.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday Weekend!

 Rockefeller Center 2011

The Journey Begins...

I have been thinking about a "food diary" for awhile.  I think about food like some women think about diamonds.  It is the most interesting thing I can imagine.  It keeps us alive and gives us pleasure.  Nothing else in the world does for us what food does.  I recently moved to Brooklyn, NY and my love for food has been reinspired.  Daily I see ingredients that stump me...from the italian markets in Bensonhurst, the Jewish stores in Williamsburg, the Chinese markets on Bay Parkway to the Russian delights in Brighton Beach.  I have decided to take myself on a food adventure since I have recently gone back to school my budget won't allow for travel adventures...I am going to take on new ingredients and food adventures. I hope to enrich myself and share my adventures with anyone who takes a interest in my missives.