I love to have fresh-baked goods on hand, but with our crazy schedule, who has time to bake? I love it when I can find a quick, easy recipe that allows me to make delicious treats for my family, while keeping it simple for me. Cake Mix Cookies are just about the simplest cookie in my repertoire, but they are always a big hit. They are so delicious, in fact, that nobody would ever know they are made with only four ingredients (cake mix, butter, eggs, and extract). I call that a win/win.

You can make Cake Mix Cookies with just about any flavor of cake mix you like. We were craving a lemony dessert, so we went with a lemon cake mix and a little lemon extract. A week or so ago, I received in the mail a shipment of the newly reformulated I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®. It is made from real, simple ingredients you can recognize like a delicious blend of plant-based oils, purified water and a pinch of salt. Since the packaging states, “The new I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® offers a fresh butter taste to add flavor to any meal, and can be used for spreading, topping, sautéing, cooking or baking,” I used it in my Cake Mix Cookies in place of the butter. They turned out perfectly delicious! They were just the right amount of chewy and sweet. I was very pleased with the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®, and I will definitely use it again.

To make Cake Mix Cookies, you’ll need:

1 boxed cake mix (Whatever flavor you want. We used lemon.)
2 eggs
8 oz I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®, softened to room temperature
1 teaspoon extract (Whatever flavor goes with your cake mix. We used lemon. Vanilla and almond are also good choices.)

With a mixer or by hand, cream together the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® and the eggs. Add the extract. While mixing, slowly add the cake mix until it is well blended.

At this point, I stick mine back in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let the batter firm up a little. You can skip this step, but yours will cook about a minute or so faster.

Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake on 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes. As all oven temperatures vary, keep an eye on them so that they don’t overcook.

Remove to a cooling rack to cool.

Cake Mix Cookies aren’t as sweet as say, a chocolate chip cookie or a snicker doodle. However, they are perfectly light and airy.

I encourage you guys to try the new I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and see how great it is for baking. If you love it much as I did, be sure to leave a product review here so that others can find out about it, too.

[yumprint-recipe id=’45’]I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Though I’ve lived in Birmingham and/or Meridian, Mississippi, most of my adult life, I actually grew up in southeast Alabama. Most of my childhood was spent in Dothan, which was a fantastic place to be a kid. Our neighborhood was full of boys and girls who were allowed to ride our bikes anywhere we wanted to go, as long as we were home by the time the street lights came on. Most summer days, we’d make the one mile trek to Water World, the water park near our home that boasted the city’s only wave pool and water slide. We’d leave home dressed in nothing but a swimsuit with a towel draped over our shoulders (No sunscreen! Yikes!). By the time we got back home, we’d be wet, spent, and starving. That little town in southeast Alabama and the people who live there hold lots of happy memories for me.

Dothan is known as the Peanut Capital of the World, owing to the abundance of the crop produced by the multitude of farmers in the area. While Now Orleans and Mobile have their Mardi Gras, Dothan has the National Peanut Festival, complete with a fair, parades, and the crowning of the Peanut Festival Queen. Every restaurant in town serves dishes made with peanuts, but by far the most popular on every restaurant’s menu is peanut butter pie.

Peanut butter pie is as much a part of life in Dothan as BBQ is in Memphis. It’s one of my favorite childhood memories! Every restaurant and Dothanite cook has their own recipe, and each one is delicious. This pie really isn’t hard to make, but it tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen. Do your family a favor and make them a peanut butter pie!

You’ll need:

• 1 graham cracker crust
• 1 pint whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup + 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 8-oz block cream cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, chopped fine
• Chocolate syrup for drizzling

Whip the whipping cream and confectioner’s sugar together. Set aside. (If your crew will let you get away with using Cool Whip, by all means, make it easy on yourself. Mine revolt on me when I don’t use the real thing. :))

Whip together the peanut butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Fold in half of the whipping cream and mix until blended. I use my KitchenAid stand mixer for this pie because it saves my arm, but you can use whatever works best for you.

Pour into pie crust. (Incidentally, my friend Stacey introduced me to enamelware pie plates, and they are my new favorite way to serve pie.)

Top with whipping cream.

Sprinkle nuts on top when ready to serve. If you put them on too far in advance, they lose some of their crunch.

When cut into slices, drizzle with chocolate syrup.

I hope you enjoy peanut butter pie as much as our crew does.

[yumprint-recipe id=’44’]

It only takes one trip to the local specialty grocery store to see that flavored cooking oils can be quite expensive. Not long ago, a recipe I was making called for garlic-infused olive oil. It was about $12 at my corner market, which I consider to be highway robbery. I’m a work-at-home mom who has to be careful about where to save and where to splurge, and this was definitely NOT a splurge item for me. So I made my own. It was super easy, and you can make your own flavored cooking oil with any of your favorite herbs and spices. You can even mix flavors and create wonderfully flavored combinations. You can use flavored cooking oil to sauté fish, veggies, or chicken. Substitute it in any recipe that calls for olive oil. You can also use it with your favorite vinegar for salad dressing, and it is to-die-for as a dipping sauce for bread!

Choosing Your Oil

To make your own flavored cooking oil, the first step is to choose your oil. Most any cooking oil will work, so there is no need to purchase the most expensive oil on the shelf. Besides, you are adding flavor to the oil, so it will be delicious. To get a flavor that is closest to the herb or spice you are using, use a more flavorless oil like peanut, corn, vegetable, or canola oil. My personal preference, though, is to use olive oil. While the olive oil has its own distinct flavor which will infuse with the herbs and spices, I actually prefer this blending of flavors because I want the flavor of the olive oil to shine through.

Choosing Your Herbs and Spices

Hands down, my favorite herbs to use to make your own flavored cooking oil are ones that come from my herb garden. Basil and rosemary are my go-to herbs, but I also love to use green onion. Fresh roasted garlic and whole peppercorns are terrific spices to add, and you can adjust the level of punch to your liking. Don’t be afraid to mix herbs and spices together in oils. For an Italian flavored oil, you can combine basil, oregano, and garlic. Another favorite combo is lemon and garlic. When using fresh herbs, I typically add about 15 leaves of basin, about 5 garlic cloves, around 15 peppercorns, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and/or about 5 long sprigs of rosemary.

Choosing Your Container

Most discount stores like Walmart and Target carry olive oil dispensers. They are found in the kitchen section, and they are pretty inexpensive, usually around $5. You can order the Tablecraft Olive Oil Dispenser from Amazon, and I believe it is the one I used when I made this basil oil:

A couple of things to note:

• Flavored cooking oils will last around ten days in the cabinet or around a month in the fridge. If you refrigerate, give the oil about 20 minutes to come to room temperature before using.
• Using dried herbs can make the oil last longer, but be aware that chopped herbs can clog up the spout.
• Flavored cooking oils make a fun gift for your friends and family. Who doesn’t love a handmade gift, especially one that is as useful and thoughtful as this!