Eric Jorgensen wrote:

Personally, I'm going to try the above mentioned recipe, because there
are like five cheap cake mixes in my cupboard from about 18 months ago when
my sister was living with me and she was taking a cake decorating class,
and I've been wondering what the heck I'm going to do with them. One of
them is a spice cake mix. The other five may end up at the food bank in a
couple weeks. I'm not sure if they take boxed dry goods, they only seem to
ask for cans.

I make some pretty good biscotti, using a cake mix as a base. Sure, I
could make up the mix from scratch, but it *is* convenient!

Personally, I'm allergic to wheat, so either bake from scratch with
spelt, or look for wheat-free, gluten-free mixes. I buy a Lemon Cake mix
from Silven Border Farms, and use the following recipe, gleaned from the
net. Works well with walnuts or pecans, and added lemon peel.

Biscotti

* 3/4 cup oil or melted and cooled butter
* 2 tbsp Gluten Free extracts
* 2 cup toasted nuts, optional
* 1 cup dried fruits, optional
* 1 package GF cake mix
* 5 eggs

Choose one of these flavorings:

* 2 tbsp anise extract with yellow cake batter
* 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1 tbsp instant espresso powder, 2 tbsp

almond extract with chocolate cake mix
* 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger with
yellow cake mix

STEP BY STEP:

1. Reheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a jelly roll pan or
cookie sheet with lip on all sides
2. Combine all ingredients. Pour into jelly roll pan and cake for 20
to 30 min until tests done
3. Remove from oven, but keep oven on. Slice cookies into thirds and
across in 1/2 inch slices
4. Remove half and spread out on another jelly roll pan [un-greased]
and put back in oven for 3 to 10 min, until golden
5. Cool and store in air-right container.

I find it doesn't need the jelly roll pan, as the batter is pretty
stiff to start with. I pat it into a long, flat log, maybe 5-6" wide.
I slice all the way across the resulting "cookie".

Dave

Eric Jorgensen wrote:

Personally, I'm going to try the above mentioned recipe, because there
are like five cheap cake mixes in my cupboard from about 18 months ago when
my sister was living with me and she was taking a cake decorating class,
and I've been wondering what the heck I'm going to do with them. One of
them is a spice cake mix. The other five may end up at the food bank in a
couple weeks. I'm not sure if they take boxed dry goods, they only seem to
ask for cans.

I make some pretty good biscotti, using a cake mix as a base. Sure, I
could make up the mix from scratch, but it *is* convenient!

Personally, I'm allergic to wheat, so either bake from scratch with
spelt, or look for wheat-free, gluten-free mixes. I buy a Lemon Cake mix
from Silven Border Farms, and use the following recipe, gleaned from the
net. Works well with walnuts or pecans, and added lemon peel.

Biscotti

* 3/4 cup oil or melted and cooled butter
* 2 tbsp Gluten Free extracts
* 2 cup toasted nuts, optional
* 1 cup dried fruits, optional
* 1 package GF cake mix
* 5 eggs

Choose one of these flavorings:

* 2 tbsp anise extract with yellow cake batter
* 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1 tbsp instant espresso powder, 2 tbsp

almond extract with chocolate cake mix
* 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger with
yellow cake mix

STEP BY STEP:

1. Reheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a jelly roll pan or
cookie sheet with lip on all sides
2. Combine all ingredients. Pour into jelly roll pan and cake for 20
to 30 min until tests done
3. Remove from oven, but keep oven on. Slice cookies into thirds and
across in 1/2 inch slices
4. Remove half and spread out on another jelly roll pan [un-greased]
and put back in oven for 3 to 10 min, until golden
5. Cool and store in air-right container.

I find it doesn't need the jelly roll pan, as the batter is pretty
stiff to start with. I pat it into a long, flat log, maybe 5-6" wide.
I slice all the way across the resulting "cookie".

Dave

In article ,
"Vox Humana" wrote:

I remain unconvinced. You need flour for a lot of non-baking endeavors. It
is used to dredge meat and vegetable before frying and to thicken sauces.
Sugar goes into drink and over cereal. Salt - who doesn't use salt at the
table? Sugar and salt don't go bad. Flour will keep for an extended time
in the refrigerator or freezer. Salt costs about 40 cents for a container.
Sugar sells for about 30 cents a pound around here - less on sale. Baking
power is also very inexpensive and while it does go bad after a year, that
is in incentive to use it. The cost of mixes will far exceed the price of
the raw ingredients you would have to buy, even taking into consideration
that you will toss the tin of baking power each year and start over. That
bag of flour for $1.70, the sugar for $1.50, the salt for $.049., and the
baking powder for $1.89 all adds up to less than $6.

Oddly enough, I always have baking ingredients around, but not for the
reasons above.

I don't fry often, and tend to use matzoh meal when I do (I made fish
cakes last week); I also don't like flour-thickened sauces.* I don't add
sugar to drinks or to cereal, and I never add salt at the table.

Then again, I *always* have this stuff on hand for baking purposes or
candymaking. I feel no pride in workmanship if I make something from a
mix. Over the last week and a half, I've made coffee brittle,
chocolate-peanut brittle, butternut squash-walnut bread, and skillet
apple cake. I don't recall the last time I purchased cake mix--certainly
not within the last decade.


* the way I learned things growing up, *the* turkey gravy consisted of
roasting a turkey with carrots, onions, and a little celery, along with
some stock or broth. When the turkey was ready to be sliced, the
vegetables were removed with some broth, and the vegetables put through
a food mill (or blender). Cook down in a saucepan with the broth until
thickened (1/2 hour or so on low heat, stirring occasionally) . For me,
nothing else tastes right for gravy.

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/

In article ,
"Vox Humana" wrote:

I remain unconvinced. You need flour for a lot of non-baking endeavors. It
is used to dredge meat and vegetable before frying and to thicken sauces.
Sugar goes into drink and over cereal. Salt - who doesn't use salt at the
table? Sugar and salt don't go bad. Flour will keep for an extended time
in the refrigerator or freezer. Salt costs about 40 cents for a container.
Sugar sells for about 30 cents a pound around here - less on sale. Baking
power is also very inexpensive and while it does go bad after a year, that
is in incentive to use it. The cost of mixes will far exceed the price of
the raw ingredients you would have to buy, even taking into consideration
that you will toss the tin of baking power each year and start over. That
bag of flour for $1.70, the sugar for $1.50, the salt for $.049., and the
baking powder for $1.89 all adds up to less than $6.

Oddly enough, I always have baking ingredients around, but not for the
reasons above.

I don't fry often, and tend to use matzoh meal when I do (I made fish
cakes last week); I also don't like flour-thickened sauces.* I don't add
sugar to drinks or to cereal, and I never add salt at the table.

Then again, I *always* have this stuff on hand for baking purposes or
candymaking. I feel no pride in workmanship if I make something from a
mix. Over the last week and a half, I've made coffee brittle,
chocolate-peanut brittle, butternut squash-walnut bread, and skillet
apple cake. I don't recall the last time I purchased cake mix--certainly
not within the last decade.


* the way I learned things growing up, *the* turkey gravy consisted of
roasting a turkey with carrots, onions, and a little celery, along with
some stock or broth. When the turkey was ready to be sliced, the
vegetables were removed with some broth, and the vegetables put through
a food mill (or blender). Cook down in a saucepan with the broth until
thickened (1/2 hour or so on low heat, stirring occasionally) . For me,
nothing else tastes right for gravy.

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/

In article ,
Dave Bell wrote:

Personally, I'm allergic to wheat, so either bake from scratch with
spelt, or look for wheat-free, gluten-free mixes.

My sister has celiac, and she's also a gastroenterologist. The studies
she's read indicate that spelt is not allowed.

See also,

http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p...&sid=91hH9H10F
7jv3fD-11104105856.c6
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/
http://wheat.pw.usda.gov/ggpages/topics/celiac.html

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/

In article ,
Dave Bell wrote:

Personally, I'm allergic to wheat, so either bake from scratch with
spelt, or look for wheat-free, gluten-free mixes.

My sister has celiac, and she's also a gastroenterologist. The studies
she's read indicate that spelt is not allowed.

See also,

http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p...&sid=91hH9H10F
7jv3fD-11104105856.c6
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/
http://wheat.pw.usda.gov/ggpages/topics/celiac.html

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/

Scott wrote:
In article ,
Dave Bell wrote:


Personally, I'm allergic to wheat, so either bake from scratch with
spelt, or look for wheat-free, gluten-free mixes.


My sister has celiac, and she's also a gastroenterologist. The studies
she's read indicate that spelt is not allowed.

See also,

http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p...&sid=91hH9H10F
7jv3fD-11104105856.c6
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/
http://wheat.pw.usda.gov/ggpages/topics/celiac.html

Yep, seen most of that. But I have not been diagnosed with celiac sprue.
Actually, I am more allergic (if that's precisely the situation) to
corn, which is often more hidden in ingredients... Put it this way: I
get symptoms from wheat, but not from white spelt. The whoe grain *does*
affect me, but still to a lesser extent than wheat.

Dave

Scott wrote:
In article ,
Dave Bell wrote:


Personally, I'm allergic to wheat, so either bake from scratch with
spelt, or look for wheat-free, gluten-free mixes.


My sister has celiac, and she's also a gastroenterologist. The studies
she's read indicate that spelt is not allowed.

See also,

http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p...&sid=91hH9H10F
7jv3fD-11104105856.c6
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/
http://wheat.pw.usda.gov/ggpages/topics/celiac.html

Yep, seen most of that. But I have not been diagnosed with celiac sprue.
Actually, I am more allergic (if that's precisely the situation) to
corn, which is often more hidden in ingredients... Put it this way: I
get symptoms from wheat, but not from white spelt. The whoe grain *does*
affect me, but still to a lesser extent than wheat.

Dave

In article , Vox Humana
writes

This recipe is fantastic. What do you think about it?

I guess I just don't understand why people buy mixes. How hard or time
consuming is it to measure some flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder?
That's about all you get with a cake mix, aside from preservatives,
emulsifiers, artificial flavoring, and other additives.


I guess I really don't understand why people buy flour.
You really should plant wheat, harvest and mill.

And SUGAR.... who buys processed sugar ?

Don't even get me started on commercial salt....


rj

In article , Vox Humana
writes

This recipe is fantastic. What do you think about it?

I guess I just don't understand why people buy mixes. How hard or time
consuming is it to measure some flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder?
That's about all you get with a cake mix, aside from preservatives,
emulsifiers, artificial flavoring, and other additives.


I guess I really don't understand why people buy flour.
You really should plant wheat, harvest and mill.

And SUGAR.... who buys processed sugar ?

Don't even get me started on commercial salt....


rj

On 10 Nov 2004 13:21:31 -0800
(Julie) wrote:

Here is an amazing pumpkin cookie recipe. It's fast, easy, and cheap.

Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix
1 15 oz. canned pumpkin
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together. Drop by rounded tablespoonful and bake
for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.

This recipe is fantastic. What do you think about it?


I just tried this.

The texture is quite poor. They have a leathery surface and a dense,
cakey interior.

The flavor is quite rich, and cloyingly sweet.

Can you explain the amazing and/or fantastic part? For the money spent
on mix and pumpkin pack I could have bought similar cookies from the
grocery store.

On 10 Nov 2004 13:21:31 -0800
(Julie) wrote:

Here is an amazing pumpkin cookie recipe. It's fast, easy, and cheap.

Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix
1 15 oz. canned pumpkin
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together. Drop by rounded tablespoonful and bake
for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.

This recipe is fantastic. What do you think about it?


I just tried this.

The texture is quite poor. They have a leathery surface and a dense,
cakey interior.

The flavor is quite rich, and cloyingly sweet.

Can you explain the amazing and/or fantastic part? For the money spent
on mix and pumpkin pack I could have bought similar cookies from the
grocery store.

Eric Jorgensen wrote in news:20041114114155.397599a1
@wafer:

On 10 Nov 2004 13:21:31 -0800
(Julie) wrote:

Here is an amazing pumpkin cookie recipe. It's fast, easy, and cheap.

Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix
1 15 oz. canned pumpkin
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together. Drop by rounded tablespoonful and bake
for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.

This recipe is fantastic. What do you think about it?


I just tried this.

The texture is quite poor. They have a leathery surface and a dense,
cakey interior.

The flavor is quite rich, and cloyingly sweet.

Can you explain the amazing and/or fantastic part? For the money spent
on mix and pumpkin pack I could have bought similar cookies from the
grocery store.

Amazing that you would fall for it. Fantastic that you would think it
might be better than something you'd make totally from scratch. g



--
Wayne in Phoenix

*If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.
*A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

Eric Jorgensen wrote in news:20041114114155.397599a1
@wafer:

On 10 Nov 2004 13:21:31 -0800
(Julie) wrote:

Here is an amazing pumpkin cookie recipe. It's fast, easy, and cheap.

Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix
1 15 oz. canned pumpkin
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together. Drop by rounded tablespoonful and bake
for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.

This recipe is fantastic. What do you think about it?


I just tried this.

The texture is quite poor. They have a leathery surface and a dense,
cakey interior.

The flavor is quite rich, and cloyingly sweet.

Can you explain the amazing and/or fantastic part? For the money spent
on mix and pumpkin pack I could have bought similar cookies from the
grocery store.

Amazing that you would fall for it. Fantastic that you would think it
might be better than something you'd make totally from scratch. g



--
Wayne in Phoenix

*If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.
*A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 11:41:55 -0700, Eric Jorgensen
wrote:

cloyingly sweet.

.....now there is a Martha word.