Tag Archives: King Arthur Flour Essential Goodness mix

Mix It Up Friday -Pancakes and Waffles

03 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by in Mix It Up Friday

≈ Comments Off on Mix It Up Friday -Pancakes and Waffles

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

from Tracey G

Essential Goodness Protein Pancake Mix

With the new school year approaching, I’m on the look-out for easy breakfasts for Harry, that are fairly good-for-him and that will keep him going until lunchtime or snack time. I’m not exactly the most with-it person at 6 am (or earlier), so anything I can have ready the night before and just reheat the next morning – I’m all for it! And pancakes (or waffles!) are excellent for that sort of thing. Make a bunch, freeze them then pop them in the toaster or toaster oven to reheat. Boom. Breakfast is served!

As soon as I saw the Essential Goodness Protein Pancake Mix on the King Arthur Flour website, I knew I had to give it try, it was offering everything I was looking for! And this mix boasts 14g of protein per 3-pancake serving. That’s pretty darn good in my book!

One little thing though, I don’t have the best relationship with pancakes. Not the making of the batter, but actually cooking them! I have one of those griddle things that span two burners on your stove, and while it’s convenient to cook at least 6 at a time, the heating tends to be uneven and it’s a constant battle for me to get them fairly even looking in the browning department. Usually, when we have pancakes for breakfast/brunch or dinner, I make the batter and Jeremy cooks the pancakes! So, I was keeping my fingers crossed that I could actually get them cooked and look halfway decent for appearances-sake! I really need to replace my electric skillet that died years ago, I miss greatly…

But anyway, onward to the matter (or batter!) at hand. This mix was EASY to mix to prepare – just add eggs, oil and milk. Or if you prefer a vegan alternative they give the directions for that too – it’s for a small batch (6), and it just involves 1 cup of mix, water and oil.  You can also make this mix up for a waffle-version, and for that you just increase the oil! They also provide some alternative ways to use the mix on the Essential Goodness Protein Pancake Mix Product Page!

When it comes to cooking the pancakes, they recommend 1/4 cupfuls per pancake – it’s stated you should get 20-24 (or 5 waffles). I got exactly 24, so that was right on the mark.

After they were done – I had them on cooling racks so the bottoms wouldn’t get soggy since I knew I would be stacking these between wax paper later to freeze them, Harry popped in and snitched an “ugly one” as he called it, and ate it out of hand like a cookie! They were right then given a two-thumbs-up review and he asked when he might be able to have more. Of course he got the standard “after they’ve had their portraits taken” answer! But after his taste-testing, I felt compelled to give one a taste too – and I agree, they are very yummy! Not too sweet, just right if you ask me.

After they had their photos taken, we all had a nice little brunch of pancakes and I’m happy to report that they reheated nicely in the microwave, a 3-pancake serving, wrapped in a paper towel for about 25 seconds. I too had the recommended serving size (3) and I can say that they are filling! Normally I eat way more than 3 (unfortunately for my hips, lol), but with these – I’m happy and content with that serving size!

I can state with confidence I will buy this mix again – this is something I can mix up in a hurry and get prepared to be pulled out for school morning breakfasts! It’s time and cost-effective (at the time of this writing they are selling for 4.95 a box) if he eats a serving of 3 on school mornings, that’s about a month’s worth of breakfasts right there! Totally worth it for me!

Oh! And as a side note, a little tip I discovered in my make-my-mornings-painless-as-possible quest, are the little plastic souffle cups with lids – I can pre-portion out some syrup (or anything else small really) the night before for the week or just the amount needed the next day, snap on the lid and I don’t have to worry about the disaster-potential of me trying to pour sticky stuff in early morning! I found them at Amazon, they were really inexpensive and I’ve actually found tons of uses for them!!

from Kris B.

Belgian waffle Mix

These are not your mother’s waffles!

Well, they are not my mother’s waffles.

When I was a kid, pancakes and waffles were a favorite dinner for my mom and me during times when my dad was deployed.  Pancakes and waffles were quick, easy, and we both loved them.  This was a quick and easy meal because my mom whipped out the Bisquick, added a few basic ingredients, and they were done.

I still love waffles and pancakes at any mealtime, but I now make mine from scratch.  It really isn’t that much more trouble than using a mix.  When I decided to try King Arthur Flour’s Belgian Waffle Mix, my head went back to the simplicity of those quick meals of my childhood.  I planned that Weber and I have would have the waffles for dinner.

About 4pm, I started slicing the fruit to top the waffles.  (The big change from my childhood waffles is that now we top them with yogurt and fruit rather than butter and syrup.)  I then reached for the box to whip up the waffle mix.  It was not until this point that I read the instructions.  How difficult could waffles from a box be, right?  Well, to my surprise, there was a little more to the making of these waffles than there is to the Bisquick waffles.

The King Arthur Flour Belgian waffles contain yeast.  And you guessed it…that means that the yeast needs to proof…OVERNIGHT!  Yep, the batter is mixed, rests at room temperature for an hour, and then in the refrigerator overnight.  Aside from this minor little detail, the making of the batter is simple.  You add warm water, milk, and eggs.  As I usually do in baked goods, I used almond milk.

There went our dinner plans. 🙂  In case you are wondering, Weber had hot dogs and I had an English muffin with peanut butter that night for dinner.  On the upside, we enjoyed a really nice breakfast the next day!

The waffles themselves are delicious!  The box says that it makes 10 7 inch round waffles.  I have a Breville waffle maker that makes four 4″ waffles at a time.  A box of the Belgian waffle mix made fourteen 4 inch waffles.  They cooked nicely on the Belgian waffle setting at medium darkness.

The waffles themselves are not sweet, so topping them with syrup or sweet fruit does not make them too sweet.  I think they would be really good topped with ice cream, bananas, and a little hot fudge sauce.  You get banana split and waffle cone all at once!  I froze my extra waffles.  After I give them a try as a vehicle for ice cream, I’ll report back to you!

Making Belgian waffles from this mix instead of completely from scratch saves a little mixing time.  The fact that the batter rests overnight gives them a fantastic made-from-scratch taste.  If you learn from my mistake and plan appropriately, this mix is well worth trying!

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert…the King Arthur Belgian Waffle Mix fits the bill!

Mix It Up Friday : Seeing Double – Double Duty Scone Mix & Double Chocolate Cookies!

15 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Food Friday, Mix It Up Friday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

from Kris B.
French Toast Scone Mix Bread

In our Mixed Up Friday post last month, Tracey and I had both made scones from King Arthur Flour mixes.  We mentioned that on the King Arthur website were suggestions for ways to use these mixes to make things other than scones.  Since I had a lonely box of French Toast Scone Mix sitting in my pantry, I figured I would give one of those alternative options to scones a try.

My choices were pancakes, coffee cake, shortcake, muffins, and bread.  All the choices sounded good.  I’ll be honest and tell you that I opted for the bread because it was the least offensive with regard to calories.  Rather then following the directions on the box for scones, instead, to the mix is added:

  • salt
  • vegetable oil
  • milk
  • an egg
  • optional white sugar

The optional is 2-3 tablespoons in case you want a sweeter bread.  I did add two tablespoons of sugar not so much for the added sweetness, but because I hoped it would help to create a “crisper” bread crust.  As I always do, I also used almond milk instead of cow’s milk.  That substitute is 1:1.

The dry ingredients are whisked together in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, or mixing cup with pouring spout, the oil, milk, and egg are whisked together and then added to the dry ingredients.  The batter is then poured into a greased 9X5 loaf pan and popped in a 375 degree oven for 50-60 minutes.  The most difficult part of this recipe is remembering to tent the bread during the final 15-20 minutes of baking!

This mix’s french toast flavor comes from cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as cinnamon chips.  I will say that the smell of this stuff baking is almost as good as eating it!

To me, the final product was lighter, not as dense, as most sweet breads that I have made in the past. It is possible that using almond milk contributed to the lighter texture.  The bread also seemed a bit oily to me.  I am tempted to try this recipe again, but next time substituting unsweetened applesauce for the oil.  Like the milk substitution, applesauce for oil is also 1:1.  Because the flavor of this mix is wonderful, working with it to get what I want is really a no-brainer!

And if you want French Toast Scones, follow the directions on the box and enjoy!  I have never been disappointed by any of King Arthur scone mixes!

from Tracey G.

Essential Goodness Double Chocolate Cookie Mix

What can I say? This has to be one of the easiest things I’ve ever done/made! The EG Double Chocolate Cookie Mix is crazy simple! The only ingredients I contributed was 6 tbsp of butter and 1 large egg. That’s it.

The box states it can make 12-14 large cookies, that’s if you form the dough into 1.5″ balls. I used a smaller scoop, about a teaspoon size. (I actually used this one I treated myself to recently in preparation for Christmas cookie baking: Teaspoon Cookie Scoop) It made about 3 dozen fun little cookies.

As for the final outcome? They’re super yummy – think brownie in a cookie form! That’s what they taste like to me. I was really pleased with them and this mix. This mix also has various other treats you can make with it, and they can be found here on the Essential Goodness Double Chocolate Cookie Mix Product Page.

I can safely say it would be a handy and tasty mix to have hanging about the pantry for sure!!

Mix It Up Friday – Just Treats and No Tricks!

27 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by in Food Friday, Mix It Up Friday

≈ Comments Off on Mix It Up Friday – Just Treats and No Tricks!

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Before I get going on this week’s mix, Apple Cinnamon Doughnut Mix from King Arthur Flour, I have to get something off of my chest.  As delicious as these things are, by definition, they are not doughnuts.  “Real” doughnuts are deep-fried.  These are baked, not deep-fried, which is a good thing because I don’t deep fry anything at home.  I don’t each much fried food, but when I do, I want it to be worth the fat and calories and cooked properly.  I save the occasional order of sweet potato fries or chicken tenders for a meal out.

Since King Arthur Flour’s Apple Doughnut Mix does not really make doughnuts, the nerd in me tried to figure out a better name for them.  The best that I could come up with is  torus muffins.  The word torus comes from geometry.  It is a “surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle.  If the axis does not touch the circle, the surface has a ring shape and is called a torus of revolution.  A bagel is also an example of a baked torus.

Now that we have that clear, there is not too much to this week’s mix. To the mix, eggs, milk, and butter or vegetable oil are added.  The ingredients are mixed, poured into a doughnut pan, and baked for 8-10 minutes.  I found that baking for eight minutes yielded a more moist “doughnut,” which is my preference.

Each boxed mix comes with two individual pouches that each makes a half-dozen doughnuts or twenty-four mini doughnuts.  The one potential stumbling block with this mix is that you do need a doughnut pan.

Once baked you can add your own toppings to your doughnuts torus muffins.  The recipes for various options are included on the box as well as on the King Arthur Flour website.  I made the Easy Vanilla Glaze to which I added some cinnamon.  My glaze did not run and make a pretty topping, but it tasted good! 🙂  Other options include a cider glaze or just topping sugar or cinnamon sugar.

For those of you whose nerdiness tends toward etymology rather than geometry, I have something for you too.  Torus is the Latin word for cushion.  Now this all makes sense!  All of these torus baked goods – bagels, torus muffins, and real doughnuts – provide a torus for my clunis!!!

 

from Tracey G.

First, I’d like to say that this was the perfect week for our Mix Food Friday to land – it’s been hectic! I had Harry’s class Halloween party to make treats for by this Friday, and help out at the party too. So, trying to make sure that everything was accomplished in a timely manner was important all the way around – especially to my sanity! And a mix always (well, most always!) fits the bill for get-it-done-quick.

I chose the Coconut Cupcakes + Frosting Mix from the King Arthur Flour Essential Goodness line. That’s the line where they donate a bit of the proceeds from the sale of the mix, to donate a meal to Feeding America.

Since I was making cupcakes this week for the mix offering and I was in the Halloween spirit  – I transformed them into fun treats for home or for a party! These cupcakes with their yummy white vanilla and coconut milk frosting are wonderful blank canvases for any way you want to go! Change up sprinkles and cupcake wrappers and you could do any holiday or celebration you wanted, quickly and easily. Sky is the limit with these lovelies!

The mixes are super simple to prepare, and involved ingredients I always have on hand anyway – butter, milk and an egg. Butter, milk and the egg for the batter, and butter and a couple teaspoons of milk for the frosting mix. That’s it. The cupcakes are easy to prepare and bake, and the frosting mix is a snap to put together. Let me say here too about the frosting mix – not only is it yummy, but it makes a generous amount as well. I didn’t even use all of it in the frosting of mine, and I wasn’t shy about piping it on!

If you want to try something a little different – these coconut cupcakes are wonderful. I could’ve eaten the cake plain, it was nice and moist, and, I could’ve eaten  the frosting out of the bowl with a spoon and been happy. But combine the two together and it’s fabulously scrumptious happiness!

P.S. If you visit the Coconut Cupcakes + Frosting Mix product page, they have some fun twists on other things you cam make using it!

 

Mix It Up Friday – It’s Lemony Love!

25 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by in Mix It Up Friday

≈ Comments Off on Mix It Up Friday – It’s Lemony Love!

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

from Tracey G

As Kris and I have said numerous times, it’s fun and rewarding to bake from scratch, but there are times when that’s not possible or you just don’t have the energy to  – but yet, you still want a treat or you have company coming, or you need a quick donation to the school/church/club bake-sale etc. That’s where mixes can save the day – and if it’s a good one, you can feel confident using one! And if it’s really good, they may never even know it came from a mix!!!

This mix from King Arthur Flour, the Essential Goodness Lemon Bar Mix is one of those really good mixes. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to detect that they were from a mix! Which is great, because I know not everyone is like me – I have to have fresh lemons around at all times, I go into a panic if I don’t have at least 4 in the fridge, lol, and having this mix around – you don’t need to have fresh, but it sure tastes like you did!!

Which, as just a tidbit here, I’d done some research a long time ago and read an article on how to keep lemons fresh longer, and it said to put them in a zip top bag and then in the fridge – so I tried it, and it worked. Now that’s where they go immediately when I get home from the store with them. I usually write the date on the bag, and let me say I know I’ve kept some for at least a month, and in great shape!

To make the Essential Goodness Lemon Bars, the only ingredients you provide are butter, eggs and water, plus some powdered sugar to dust them with for garnish/decoration etc. The mix does the rest.

The butter gets mixed with the crust ingredients, pressed in the pan and then baked for 20-26 minutes. While it’s baking, you mix the filling ingredients together, which is where your eggs and water provide their service. When you pull the crust out, you pour the filling over the hot crust and pop it back into the oven to bake for about another 20-22 minutes. When they come out, you allow them to cool at room temperature for an hour, then you have to cool them for at least an hour in the refrigerator (or overnight) before cutting them. You can dust them with powdered sugar right before serving them if you like!

When we got to taste-test them, the “these-taste-like-homemade” sentiment was unanimous. They were extremely yummy and it’s a mix I plan on keeping on hand for whenever a treat is needed – either for fun or for necessity! And, for some extra fun, they also provide some other twists for using the mix to make other treats!

Here are some helpful links:

Essential Goodness Lemon Bar Mix Catalog Page

Essential Goodness Lemon Bar Mix Product Page

Essential Goodness Lemon Bar Mix – Easy Lemon Meringue Bars

Essential Goodness Lemon Bar Mix – Zesty Lemon Coconut Bars

 

from Kris B,

As Tracey and I were looking at our calendars and making our weekly schedule, I was elated to see that Mix It Up Friday fell during my first week back school.  Re-entry into the new school year was particularly difficult this year because for the first time in many years, I did not teach summer school.  I was completely free for three months.  I discovered during that time that I could probably adjust to that lifestyle twelve months out of the year without too much effort. 🙂

My time management skills were somewhat lacking this week, so I didn’t get to make these cookies until Thursday afternoon, after having seen 5am four days in a row for the first time since May.  Needless to say, I was a little tired, but also excited to try the King Arthur Mix fro Lemon Coffee House Cookies.  There is something about lemon that seems energizing and invigorating.  Or maybe that’s the way I think about all cookies…

Whipping up these cookies is a short, sweet, and to the point process.  Place a stick of butter and half of the cookie mix in a bowl and mix on high for two minutes.  Add an egg, two tablespoons of milk, and the remaining cookie mix to the bowl, mixing until all of the ingredients are combined.  I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer so I didn’t even expend any energy controlling the mixer during the mixing process.

Once mixed, the dough is scooped out by tablespoonful onto waiting parchment lined baking sheets and then placed in the oven, which was preheated to 375 degrees, and baked for 12-16 minutes and the edges are a golden brown.

Once out of the oven and completely cooled, the cookies are iced using the included icing mix.  The icing mix requires the addition of a 1/2 stick of butter and a tablespoon of milk.  As with the cookie dough, the icing is mixed with an electric mixer.  I simply spread the icing on each of the 20 cookies using a spatula.  If you want to be fancy, you could pipe it on.  I did add a bit of lemon zest atop the icing because I had the lemons with which to do that.  Is it necessary?  Nope.  These cookies have a full and refreshing lemon flavor that comes from both the cookie itself and the icing.

I tried to photograph the cookies Thursday evening.  By that point in the day/week, I had run out of light, energy, and enthusiasm for the project.  Though I used artificial lights for this somewhat feeble attempt, the photos I took did not do the cookies justice.  The mission was scrubbed and I decided I would try again this morning.  The biggest negative of this scenario was that the one cookie that we split right after they were iced was the only one that could be eaten until I re-shot the images of the cookies.

Let me just say that all of the waistlines at my house were better off when the cookies were off-limits!  Once I had a photo I could live with and released the cookies to the masses, half of them disappeared almost immediately.  Yes.  I am just as guilty as my husband and my daughter in helping them disappear!

As Tracey said, we do like to bake from scratch, but when that isn’t convenient, having a tasty made-from-scratch tasting mix on hand can save the day.  The Lemon Coffee House Cookie Mix definitely fits that bill!!

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial