I love baking from scratch.  There is something so fun and rewarding about transforming ordinary ingredients into a delicious dessert.  But lets face it; sometimes we have a sweet tooth with no time or energy to play Rachael Ray.  In our household, the cravings come most often from my husband.  Sudden bursts of “I need dessert!” usually have me scrambling to appease the cookie monster.  This usually requires at least a half hour break from whatever I am currently doing, but the other day, I opened the cupboard to a friendly site, cookie mixes.

Admittedly, I have only trialed a cookie mix once or twice in the past, but the cute labels screaming “Speedy-Bake” were just too enticing to pass up.  The mixes came from Gluten-Free Essentials.  Yes, they were even “free-from” cookies.  Yet, as luck would have it, they were deliciously soft without a single note of gluten-free oddity.  I played ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ with my husband on their gluten-free nature, and he was none the wiser.  In fact, I baked up the entire batch (12 cookies) of chocolate chip cookies, and all but three were gone by day’s end.  The other three were eaten for breakfast of course. 

Just a few days past before the dessert demands returned, and I quickly went back for the second mix, Double Chocolate.  We had a repeat performance, consuming nine between the two of us, and my husband enjoying a cookie breakfast the next morning.  Alas, the cookie mixes are now gone, and I have become spoiled by the ease of pour, stir, and bake.  I am certain that I will once again enjoy that “from scratch” feeling, but I won’t be so quick to snub my nose at dessert mixes in the future.

Interestingly enough, the Speedy Bake line was created for kids.  They require just an egg (or egg replacer) and ½ stick of margarine (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks) to bake.  And, get this, each package has instructions for how to bake the goodies in one of those toy “easy bake” ovens.  Very cute.  Still, in our childless household, they went over very well.  Not to mention, the slightly smaller bag meant the perfect amount of cookies for two (had we actually saved a few more for the next day) … no freezing required!

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