Cooking With Coupons: Cake Mix

Cooking With Coupons: 

The Sweet Savings of Cake Mix

Sunday night, with only an hour before our scheduled dinner at grandma’s house, I received a phone call some might dread, “Can you please whip up a dessert with something from your pantry – not chocolate – to bring tonight?”  In accordance with my New Year’s ban on eating chocolate, the quick options like walnut brownies or chocolate decadent crockpot cake, were severely limited.  Fortunately, I always have a staple in my pantry that an on-the-go chef should never be without … Cake Mix!  Boxed cake mix varieties are almost limitless and can often be purchased in bulk at huge price breaks.   Add a coupon into the mix and we’re talking pocket change for ooey-gooey-goodness at your fingertips!  With an ample supply of cake mix on hand, the world is your dessert bar!  Here are a few of my favorite cake mix recipes:

 

Peanut Butter Chip Bars – Adapted from: 101 Things to do with a Cake Mix, Stephanie Ashcraft (My Sunday night rescue recipe! This book, as well as volume 2, is a cookbook must have!)

 

1                yellow cake mix

1/3             cup vegetable oil

2                eggs

1/2             cup smooth peanut butter

1 ½             cup peanut butter morsels

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together cake mix, eggs and oil.  Mix in peanut butter.  Stir in peanut butter morsels.  Pat the mixture into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges.  Let cool 30 minutes before serving. Store covered.

Honey Bun Cake – www.bettycrocker.com (I won 1^st place in the family dessert bake-off with this recipe! Thanks Lisa!)

 

1            Betty Crocker yellow 
              cake mix

2/3         cup vegetable oil

4            eggs

1            container (8 oz) 
              sour cream (1 cup) 

1            cup packed brown sugar

1/3         cup chopped pecans
2            teaspoons ground  cinnamon

1            cup powdered sugar

1            tablespoon milk

1            teaspoon vanilla

                       

1.            Heat oven to 350 . Lightly flour and grease 13x9-inch pan, or spray with baking spray with flour.

2.            Beat cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Spread HALF of the batter in pan.

3.            In small bowl, stir together brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon; sprinkle over batter in pan. Carefully spread remaining batter evenly over pecan mixture. (Doesn’t have to look pretty!)

4.            Bake 44 to 48 minutes or until deep golden brown. In another bowl, stir powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until thin enough to spread. Prick surface of warm cake several times with fork. Spread powdered sugar mixture over cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Store covered at room temperature.

Best Cookies in the World! (My sister Lisa’s recipe!)

 

1            french vanilla cake mix

1/2         cup butter softened to room temp. - not melted

2            eggs

1/4         cup brown sugar

1            teaspoon vanilla

1           12 oz. bag of chocolate chips

 

Mix cake mix, butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla.  Stir in chocolate chips.  If batter is too sticky (because your butter was too soft) add 1/4 c. flour if needed for consistency.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown.

“If any leftovers make it past the initial baking, save in an airtight container as they do tend to dry out quicker than other cookies”, says Lisa.

Boxed cake mixes cost pennies but certainly add up to great savings.  Pull a mix off your shelf and try some sweet savings tonight!