Cake Mix Cookies

I have a confession to make.

I hate decorating cookies. And cakes. And most anything else.

Maybe hate is too strong a word, but every year, at Christmas, I make these 'big plans' for my holiday baking and every year there are sugar cookies and bites with sprinkles and frosting and candies and whatnot, and I tell myself - every darn year - that this time it'll be different. I will roll out the dough, I will use cookie cutters, and I will carefully place those mini gumdrops (or whatever) but, ya know what? Every year I make drop cookies and bar cookies and smooshed cookies and other yummies that require zero decoration.

Apparently, I'm not froo froo or fussy. And I'm mostly cool with that.

Until Vanessa posted her take on Cake Cookies with Sprinkles.

Look at that! Decorated cookies without the fuss or the mess! I'd tried cake mix cookies before - some crazy thing using devil's food - and didn't like them, but these looked fabulous. Finding cake mix on sale this week, I just had to give them a try. They're super simple, and super awesome.

All you need:

1 white cake mix
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil
Candy sprinkles

Heat oven to 350˚ and combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. (I suppose you could use a stand mixer for this, but why? It only takes a minute or so by hand). Dump some candy sprinkles in a small bowl (and, if you're not like me, please remember to put the lid back on BEFORE you set the bottle on the counter so you don't accidentally knock it over and have a flood of sprinkles dance everywhere like I did). Scoop up about a teaspoon or so of dough and roll into a ball (trust me, it helps to flour your hands) and dip one side of the ball into the sprinkles. Place these super cute little morsels sprinkle-side-up about an inch or so apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (I use parchment paper) and bake for 15 min.

Aren't they CUTE?!?!?

I thought 15 minutes sounded like a loooooong time for little cookies, but it was perfect! Don't let them get brown, because they lose their super soft succulent awesomeness.

This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies (I got 49) and despite giving about a dozen and a half to my neighbors, the guys totally gobbled up the rest during our game night last night. That's right, zero left! All for the cost of a cake mix and some staples.

Super Easy, Super YUM!!

Got pears? Make cake!

My latest issue of Food and Family had a nummy looking recipe for Pear Upside Down Cake. And pears were on sale, so I thought it might be fun to try.

Super easy. Super YUMMY. Oh my. Moist and bouncy and oh my. I might just come to like pears. ;)

Clafouti!!

We bought some pie cherries at the farmers' market last weekend, and, me being me, decided to try something new. I found this recipe on FoodWishes (one of my fave foodie sites) and it's OMG YUMMY! And easy! And cheap! So what's not to love?

The super cool thing is that you can substitute most any fruit, whatever's in season or on sale, and have a nice, somewhat-fancy yet simple dessert. :) Tonight I'm making it with blueberries! Ought to be awesome. :)

Fruit {cherry) Clafouti (instructions written from Food Wishes video)

1/2 c flour

2/3 c sugar (divided)

1-1/4 c milk

3 eggs

1 tb vanilla

pinch salt

12 oz fresh cherries (or other fresh fruit)

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Whisk flour, 1/3 c sugar, salt to distribute. Add milk. Whisk till smooth. Add eggs. Whisk. Add vanilla. Whisk.

Butter 2 qt casserole. Pour in about 1/2 of the custard. Bake 12 min. While baking, pit cherries if desired (or prep other fruit).

Arrange cherries on custard. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 c sugar (I added bit more since I had sour cherries) Spoon/ladle on remaining custard. Bake 45 min. Serve warm.

**added later - Fresh blueberries also rock in this custardy desert!**