cake mix

I'll admit I'm a huge fan of doughnuts. I'll also admit the idea of making the delicious fried dough is a little intimidating. Enter, Stonewall Kitchen Chocolate Doughnut Mix and Wilton Doughnut Pan. The boxed mix was a piece of cake (pun intended) to make, and baking them in the doughnut pan meant less mess and less fat than the frying method. (Although frying is still the best tasting method, in my opinion.)

The sole ingredients for the batter and frosting were milk, butter, and an egg. The only tricky part was spooning the extremely thick and goopy batter into the doughnut pan, but I got the hang of it by the second batch.

After about 12 minutes in the oven, I simply turned the pan over onto a baking rack, dipped the rings in frosting, and enjoyed the very moist, super rich, and almost brownie-like chocolate doughnuts. While they are no substitute for the real deal, they were easy and tasty enough to make again — I can't wait to try the cinnamon sugar doughnut mix! Have you tried any good doughnut mixes?

Girla is always on the lookout for new and interesting dairy-and-gluten free products. Here, she shares her opinion of Lillabee's classic yellow cake mix.

I picked up this dairy-free, gluten-free cake mix in Boulder a while back. In fact, Lillabee is a Boulder-based company. In addition to having no dairy or gluten, this cake mix is soy-free and all natural, meaning non-GMO. When I picked up a bag, I didn’t realize that the recipe requires 2 eggs, but thankfully, Ener-G Egg Replacer came to the rescue! Lillabee’s aim is to provide delicious baked goods you make at home that are allergy-friendly. Other products include: Fudgy Brownies, Anytime Muffins, and Perfect Pancakes/Waffles.

Keep reading to see her thoughts of the finished product.

So you've just decided to host a Halloween party and you've got no time to plan. No matter. On Saturday afternoon, before you put on your costume, you can throw together some festive yet uncomplicated snacks and make these cupcakes. Shhh, don't tell anyone: the recipe uses a boxed yellow cake mix, meaning these mini cakes will be ready to bake in minutes. The addition of pumpkin pie spice and canned pumpkin puree, in combination with the smooth cream cheese frosting, will fool your guests into thinking you slaved for hours on these cupcakes. Garnish with a single piece of candy corn and get ready to celebrate! To check out the easy recipe, read more