For many of us, Labor Day weekend means travel. Whether you are headed to a country lake, a seaside resort town, or a friend's pool house, you're not packing a pantry's worth of ingredients and equipment. But just because you won't have your trusty rolling pin or Tahitian vanilla beans handy doesn't mean you have to rely on uninspired store-bought desserts. Grilled pound cake is a luscious, unfussy option that couldn't be easier to prepare—especially when you use a boxed mix. Betty Crocker's Pound Cake Mix ($2.89) calls for nothing more than 3/4 cup of water or milk and two eggs. Simply beat everything together with an electric mixer (or by hand) and bake in a 9x5-inch loaf pan...
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"I realized that they really weren't kidding about the fiber." Growing up, I was one of those lucky kids who got to have any breakfast cereal they wanted: Fruit Loops, Cocoa Krispies, Apple Jacks. Nothing was off-limits. So you'd think that, after years of consuming massive amounts of sugar first thing in the morning, I'd still have a serious AM sweet tooth. But in fact, just the opposite happened—these days I crave plain Cheerios, Weetabix, and, more than anything, Fiber One. Recently, Betty Crocker, which is owned by parent company General Mills, debuted a new line of Fiber One products including toaster pastries, granola bars, shredded wheat, and baking mixes for pancakes and muffins. It’s all part of their ingenious...
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This week I learned that boxed cookie mixes are good for more than just baking cookies. I've had a package of Betty Crocker oatmeal chocolate chip cookie mix ($2.39) in my pantry for ages, but I've never been inspired to make them. They just seemed a little, well, plain. And besides, when I get a craving for warm, chewy oatmeal cookies I have a favorite recipe—filled with raisins and sprinkled with cinnamon—that I've been using for years. A few days ago, however, I noticed a little recipe tucked away on the back of the package for oatmeal-caramel bars. I was intrigued. I'm a sucker for desserts in general, and anything with caramel in particular. All I needed to add...
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Spice cookies are about as diverse as they come: There are gingersnaps, gingerbread men, hermits, and Lebkuchen, to name just a few. Personally, my favorites have always been the kind that are big, soft, and sprinkled with sugar. And while simple molasses-laced cookies are not difficult to make from scratch, I couldn't resist the potential for instant—and delicious—gratification when I spotted the packages of Betty Crocker Limited Edition Gingerbread Cookie Mix ($2.79) at my local supermarket. Sweet, spicy cinnamon flavor in only 20 minutes? Could it be true?...
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