Experiments in Cooking #457: Cake Mix Cookies
NOTE: This has been post dated because I didn't get the chance to upload it at the time of writing.
Baking Day is not till next Friday but I had a yen to do something cakey. Maybe it’s the cooler weather , which is decidedly un-Sydney in December. I figured I’d whip up a little something from my stockpile of recipes and take it into work for my guinea pigs workmates tomorrow.
I thought about trying my hand at Whoopie Pies - that seems to be the trendy thing these days - but decided it was just a bit too much fiddling about with the filling and all. I’ve got the Sub Branch Xmas dinner tomorrow evening and I’ll be heading there straight from work. I don’t really want to be lugging anything into work in that requires a sealed container. Yes, I realise I could leave the container at work and bring it home on Tuesday, but in my mind my reasoning is sound. :0)
My friend minnie13 was asking the other day if I’d heard of a way to make cookies out of cake mix. Pausing for a moment to cringe at how the word ‘cookie’ is invading our country, I said I’d look it up, because I was sure I had seen such a thing mentioned in my recipe searching.
Most recipes I found were pretty similar as far as ingredients go: cake mix, butter/oil/shortening and one or two eggs. What is left out is the liquid such as water or milk and maybe adding things like choc chips or nuts.
I decided to start easy with this recipe:
CAKE MIX COOKIES
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
18 oz. pkg. cake mix (any flavor)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients at low speed until dry ingredients are moistened and dough is thoroughly mixed. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes. Cool two minutes on cookie sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool. If using chocolate cake mix, add 2 Tbsp. water along with egg. You can stir in chocolate chips, coated candy pieces, chopped nuts, or oatmeal. Frost the cookies, using canned frosting, or make sandwich cookies by spreading frosting between two cookies. These Cake Mix Cookies should be stored tightly covered at room temperature so they stay soft.
Though the recipe says a 18oz (510g) packet cake mix, I used a 370g generic brand butter cake mix and added the zest of one lemon for a bit of flavour. I figured I’d add the egg and then measure in the butter till I got to what I figured would be right consistency.
Rather than butter I used Crisco Butter Flavoured shortening. This is not something you find in the average Australian supermarket. I ordered it from USAFoods - a supermarket/online store in Melbourne that imports various American brands and food stuffs. I found the place a few years back when I was looking for either a substitute for cake flour or a local retail source. It’s come in quite handy when looking to add a bit of authenticity to recipes of American origin.
I was a bit concerned that the mixture was a bit dry and crumbly so I added a few tablespoons of lemon juice to moisten things up a bit. My last step was to fold in some finely chopped crystallised ginger.
Apologies for the next two pictures. I took them before the couple above and for some reason, I used my old camera - which as you can see - takes very dodgy pictures. Didn’t realise I’d done it till after I’d put the first tray in the oven. The dodgy camera has since had a date with the garbage bin.
My concerns about the dryness of the mixture did seem valid, given the cracked and small size of the baked biscuits. By all reports, they should have spread and gone more golden.
Before I spooned up another lot I added some more lemon juice and beat it in until the mixture was smoother but not more creamy. I ended up with something like rather similar to my usual basic biscuit mix. This time I flattened the balls of dough with a fork (in a criss cross pattern).
This time the biscuits came out looking much livelier but quite what I expect based on the recipes I’d read.
I think when I try this again - and I will try again - I’ll use the 2 egg / ⅓ cup oil version. That should make for a smoother mixture.
UPDATE:
I took them to work on Monday and they seemed to go down well with the guinea pigs co-workers. Many commented on the lemony flavour and hint of ginger so that idea at least was a win.
Baking Day is not till next Friday but I had a yen to do something cakey. Maybe it’s the cooler weather , which is decidedly un-Sydney in December. I figured I’d whip up a little something from my stockpile of recipes and take it into work for my guinea pigs workmates tomorrow.
I thought about trying my hand at Whoopie Pies - that seems to be the trendy thing these days - but decided it was just a bit too much fiddling about with the filling and all. I’ve got the Sub Branch Xmas dinner tomorrow evening and I’ll be heading there straight from work. I don’t really want to be lugging anything into work in that requires a sealed container. Yes, I realise I could leave the container at work and bring it home on Tuesday, but in my mind my reasoning is sound. :0)
My friend minnie13 was asking the other day if I’d heard of a way to make cookies out of cake mix. Pausing for a moment to cringe at how the word ‘cookie’ is invading our country, I said I’d look it up, because I was sure I had seen such a thing mentioned in my recipe searching.
Most recipes I found were pretty similar as far as ingredients go: cake mix, butter/oil/shortening and one or two eggs. What is left out is the liquid such as water or milk and maybe adding things like choc chips or nuts.
I decided to start easy with this recipe:
CAKE MIX COOKIES
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
18 oz. pkg. cake mix (any flavor)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients at low speed until dry ingredients are moistened and dough is thoroughly mixed. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes. Cool two minutes on cookie sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool. If using chocolate cake mix, add 2 Tbsp. water along with egg. You can stir in chocolate chips, coated candy pieces, chopped nuts, or oatmeal. Frost the cookies, using canned frosting, or make sandwich cookies by spreading frosting between two cookies. These Cake Mix Cookies should be stored tightly covered at room temperature so they stay soft.
Though the recipe says a 18oz (510g) packet cake mix, I used a 370g generic brand butter cake mix and added the zest of one lemon for a bit of flavour. I figured I’d add the egg and then measure in the butter till I got to what I figured would be right consistency.
Rather than butter I used Crisco Butter Flavoured shortening. This is not something you find in the average Australian supermarket. I ordered it from USAFoods - a supermarket/online store in Melbourne that imports various American brands and food stuffs. I found the place a few years back when I was looking for either a substitute for cake flour or a local retail source. It’s come in quite handy when looking to add a bit of authenticity to recipes of American origin.
I was a bit concerned that the mixture was a bit dry and crumbly so I added a few tablespoons of lemon juice to moisten things up a bit. My last step was to fold in some finely chopped crystallised ginger.
Apologies for the next two pictures. I took them before the couple above and for some reason, I used my old camera - which as you can see - takes very dodgy pictures. Didn’t realise I’d done it till after I’d put the first tray in the oven. The dodgy camera has since had a date with the garbage bin.
My concerns about the dryness of the mixture did seem valid, given the cracked and small size of the baked biscuits. By all reports, they should have spread and gone more golden.
Before I spooned up another lot I added some more lemon juice and beat it in until the mixture was smoother but not more creamy. I ended up with something like rather similar to my usual basic biscuit mix. This time I flattened the balls of dough with a fork (in a criss cross pattern).
This time the biscuits came out looking much livelier but quite what I expect based on the recipes I’d read.
I think when I try this again - and I will try again - I’ll use the 2 egg / ⅓ cup oil version. That should make for a smoother mixture.
UPDATE:
I took them to work on Monday and they seemed to go down well with the guinea pigs co-workers. Many commented on the lemony flavour and hint of ginger so that idea at least was a win.