While Hurricane Irene was barreling its way up the coast last week, after all the preparations had been made, I baked. First I made some Cornmeal and Fruit Muffins, and then, while rifling through my pantry for inspiration, I came across some chocolate cake mix. I flipped through my copy of The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrn and decided to make some Chocolate Italian Cookies.
Byrn says in the recipe description that there is nothing remotely Italian about these cookies, but that's what they're called nonetheless. Combine the cake mix, a little extra flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, chopped walnuts, and golden raisins (I threw in some instant espresso and dried cherries too), and you get little pillowy chocolate cookies with a hint of spice and fruit. Yes, they're made of cake mix, so they would not pass any baking purity tests, but they were fun for my two-year-old to "help" make and eat. They weren't too intensely chocolatey (I might have substituted cocoa powder for the extra flour), but the spice and fruit combination was surprisingly sophisticated. These are probably more Christmas-appropriate, but they work in late August, too. (If you want the recipe, you know the drill...buy the book, or borrow from the library! I couldn't find it on the internet, unfortunately.)
The storm passed and I began reviewing my upcoming Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Chocolate Spice Quickies. And it occurred to me that I had already made them - with cake mix, yes, but essentially a very similar cookie, flavor-wise. And while I love cookies, I was not ready to make more chocolate-spice-nut cookies. Not yet. Someday. Oops. Sorry, Jessica of My Baking Heart! Please visit Jessica's fantastic blog for the real recipe.
Next week: Anne of Anne Strawberry chose Classic Brownies
Last week: Cornmeal and Fruit Muffins
Sometimes the quickest things are the best. These cookies look great and I love the addition of dried cherries- yum!
ReplyDeleteI'm all for easy... and you had fun with your little one, so that's all that matters! :)
ReplyDeleteI like cake mix cookies! These sound and look very tasty - and probably quicker than Dorie's version.
ReplyDeleteThey look delicious! We'd never have known about the cake mix if you hadn't said anything. ;)
ReplyDeleteSome days you just have to do easy. These look pretty tasty.
ReplyDeleteI just discovered cake mix cookies a few months ago. Now I'm hooked! There are so many variations - kudos to you for doing what works best with what you have! Glad you're safe
ReplyDeleteI love those Cake Mix Doctor cupcakes you used to make when you were in CT....mmmm.....actually, I could go for a cupcake right now :).
ReplyDelete