Sunday, February 6, 2011

This is how I bake now:



Mixes! 

Why didn't I think of it before? 

Look: 




They came out great, and couldn't have been easier. I mean, duh. That's what it's all about, right? Sure, and though I'm not a big baker, I was trained by my mother to be a mix snob. And for good reason! From scratch is totally best, and it's super satisfying, but . . . it's not the most toddler-friendly activity. Yesterday evening, getting close to Clementine's bedtime, I was craving something sweet -- to the desperate extent that I dug out a bar of Baker's unsweetened -- no silly, not to eat! To maybe bake some chocolate cookies, but man, I did not have time for that. The chocolate chopping and melting, the mixing and measuring, etc etc. And then my eye fell on that pretty red polka-dotted box that had been a gift recently from Hoobubby's wonderful mother.

And shazam! Whoopie pies! I've never made whoopie pies before, and you could certainly make the argument that I still haven't, but I'm a fan. Cake meets cookie, how could you not love a cake-cookie?? A cakie?

I confess I've also not been a "red velvet" person. Not that it's bad, I just don't know what it *is*. Is it chocolate? What's in it? Having made these from a mix, I am no closer to answering that question. But whatever is involved, they're really tasty!

Speaking of whoopie pies, this book was also a gift from Hoobubby's lovely mom:




The recipes are mix n' match cookie + filling, with some tantalizing combos, like:

  • pistachio cardamom whoopie with honey buttercream filling
  • lemon whoopie with lemon mascarpone
  • graham cracker whoopie with chocolate ganache and marshmallow cream.

YUM. 

Um. But do they come in mixes?


7 comments:

KT said...

Those look DELICIOUS! I'm a big fan of red velvet because a camp cook made red velvet cake for the camp about once a week. No one knew what was in them, but everyone agreed that they were delicious. Because of that, I love red velvet cakes to death.

Anonymous said...

Beet sugar, makes them red and sweet, I think.

(the captcha is "skeming." oh yes, i am skeming to make cakies.)

Lisa Schroeder said...

I really want to do a third book in the Cupcake series featuring whoopie pies. I think they are the next big thing. And OMG, I must find a whoopie pie mix, because those you made look so good!!

andalucy said...

In my hometown in Maine they have a whoopie pie festival every year. And there is actually a controversial whoopie pie bill going through the Maine state legislature right now!

Mixes are totally the way to go when you're low on time. Good mixes, that is. That one looks really good. And that book looks DIVINE.

Jennifer Morian Frye said...

There is a time and place for good mixes. We once made a chocolate cake (from a mix) frosted with *gasp* 'canned' frosting....then we chopped and toasted some walnuts and covered the sides (round layer cake) and took to a pitch-in-type-thing. People raved about that dumb cake....all because my hubby went to culinary school.....but it was a MIX. People. So suggestible. : )

CUTE video!

Laini Taylor said...

K: sweet memory :-)

Anon: BEET sugar. Huh.

Lisa: that sounds awesome. I'm totally there :-)

Andalucy: "a controversial whoopie pie bill" snort snort :-)

Jennifer: haha! I can picture it. It's true that when you dress up a decent mix it's hard to tell!

Evie said...

I have a recipe for Red Velvet Cake that calls for 2 large bottles of red food coloring. Everyone loves it around Christmas.

whoopie pies=happy dance

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