Friday, January 6, 2023

Baking Master Mix

Like many of you, I try to imagine what my everyday life is going to be like after things fall apart.  I think I will spend even more time in the garden and preserving the harvest.  I know I’ll spend more time in the kitchen making everything from scratch.  We’ll be eating more bread is a safe guess.  We might not be able to run the dishwasher, and I know I’ll want to be doing as few dishes as possible while at the same time being able to work quickly. 

Having some convenient mixes on hand will make our new normal easier.  And while I must admit that I do not really like most mixes, especially multi-purpose ones, they do have their place.  If I am working in the garden or on some other project and a husband or child is willing to get dinner on the table for us, and if a mix makes that easier for them, then hallelujah.  And I will gratefully and happily eat whatever they place before me. 

The following recipes come from the North Dakota State University Cooperative Extension Service.  And as a bonus, unlike many mixes, these recipes were developed to use half whole wheat, making them even healthier. 

 
Baking Master Mix
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup powdered milk
1/3 cup baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ¼ cups coconut oil, softened or melted
 
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Cut in coconut oil until evenly distributed.  Label and use within 3 months.
 
Yield:  10 cups.  Use in the following recipes.
 
Banana Bread
2 eggs
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking soda
1¼ cups mashed banana (about 3)
¼ cup water
2½ cups Baking Master Mix
 
Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs and sugar until well blended. Add in vanilla, baking soda, bananas, and water.  Stir in Baking Master Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into one greased 9x5” loaf pan. Bake 45-55 minutes or until brown.
 
Pumpkin Bread
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon baking soda
2½ cups Baking Master Mix
 
Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs and sugar until well blended. Add in water, pumpkin, spices, and baking soda. Stir in Baking Master Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into one greased 9x5” loaf pan. Bake 45-55 minutes.
 
Zucchini Bread
2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 ½ cups shredded zucchini
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 ½ cups Baking Master Mix
¼ cup raisins, optional
¼ cup chopped nuts, optional
 
Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs and sugar until well blended. Add in zucchini, water, vanilla, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir in Baking Master Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in raisins and nuts, if desired.  Pour into one greased 9x5” loaf pan. Bake 45-55 minutes or until brown.
 
Brownies
2 eggs
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1/3 cups Baking Master Mix
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
 
Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs, water, and coconut oil together until fluffy. Stir in vanilla, sugar, and cocoa. Add in Baking Master Mix and blend well. Fold in nuts if desired. Spread into a greased 9x9” pan. Sprinkle top with chocolate chips. Bake 30 minutes. Makes 16 bars.
 
Reviews:  This recipe makes cake-like brownies, not fudgy brownies.  We prefer fudgy brownies, but if we told ourselves that we were eating chocolate cake, these "brownies" were totally acceptable.  These will totally work for kids and neighbors.  We gave ours to the guys who delivered a load of firewood this afternoon.
 
Peanut Butter Refrigerator Cookies
2 cups Baking Master Mix
2/3 cup sugar
1¼ cups peanut butter
2 eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
 
In a medium bowl, combine Baking Master Mix and sugar.  Add in remaining ingredients and stir until just combined.  Form into three logs about 1 ½” in diameter and wrap in waxed paper.  Refrigerate until firm or freeze.  When ready to make cookies, preheat oven to 375°F.  Slice dough ¼” thick, about 12 slices per log, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes. 
 
Reviews:  My grandmother's peanut butter cookie recipe is the gold standard for us, and so these fall short.  But they're better than most other homemade peanut butter cookies I've eaten, and worlds better than anything from the grocery store bakery.
 
Muffins
3 cups Baking Master Mix
¼ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon extract
 
Preheat oven to 400°F.  In a medium bowl, combine Baking Master Mix and sugar.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg, water, and extract; then add to dry ingredients, stirring just until ingredients are moistened.  Add in variations, if desired.  Grease a muffin tin or use cupcake liners.  Fill cups 2/3 full.  Top with streusel if desired.  Bake 20-25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.
 
Variations
Apple: Add ¾ cup diced apples or ½ cup applesauce and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to muffin batter.
Banana Chocolate Chip: Add 1 mashed banana and ½ cup chocolate chips to batter.
Blueberry: Add ½ cup blueberries to batter.
 
Streusel Topping
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup butter
1 tablespoon water
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
 
Mix ingredients together until crumbly. Store in refrigerator for up to two weeks. Use 1 teaspoon per muffin.
 
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