FABMAMA Review: Kicks Snickerdoodle Cookie Dry Mix

Kicks cookies what a fantastic little name for a company that makes these delicious cookies. I picked them up at my favorite place to shop Spud .. you should know that by now!

I picked up some cookie mix it was the snickerdoodle chocolate chip. We all know that I am many things a baker not so much,but hey give a curlie girlie some credit... I try.

When I saw the packaging and spotted the clover cow I knew I was in for a treat.




I followed the directions set my oven to the right degrees, creamed the butter and eggs mixed in the dry ingredients and portioned out my cookies.



The recipe on the bag states that the ingredients will make about 15 , 3 inch cookies. I made a couple extra big for E but it was pretty right on.

I love the smell or fresh baked cookies, it reminds me of childhood. Ok, back to the cookies. They baked well, came up a little flatter then I expected but I am blaming that on my cookie sheet and not the mix.


flatter than expected but good homemade cookie coloring.

I think these cookies in particular were very tasty. I liked the flavor of the snickerdoodle topping mixed in with chocolate chips. I think it was kinda genius pairing these two cookie flavors together. They baked well, aroma was yummy, they had the right texture. The cookies had good dunk ability( ALL COOKIES SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE DUNKED IN MILK OR HOT COCOA, If you can not dunk it is it really a good cookie?)


COOOKIEEE (I am paying homage to cookie monster, forgive me preschoolers on the brain)

The cookies stored well in my handy dandy baked goods box and we ate them for a few days. Need to place a new order for some more ... Next time I am thinking the dark chocolate cookie mix.

Get some Kicks find them here

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Project Fab-U-Baking: Espresso Nut Cake

bottom layer of cake


ingredients for the cake



more ingredients

Found this recipe in Hungry Girls Cook Book. Just the cake mix and mix in pumpkin, all the other things I added. Made the espresso layer by adding powdered sugar and espresso powder and hot water. Added chopped trail mix on top of espresso glaze. I then put on the second layer of cake. I sprinkled powdered sugar on top. I can not seem to find the pic of the cake put together with powdered sugar. I will seek it out and add when I find it.

Cupcakes & Muffins

Project Fab-U Baking 101 Weeks 2 & 3 back to back

I skipped last weeks baking task as I had no motivation to bake anything . We had a house full of sweets with the girl scouts out and about in the neighborhood. This week I made up for it by making muffins and cupcakes all in one day ... busy me ya know? Found very helpful recipes at The Joy of Baking.com I was really proud of myself that these cupcakes and muffins came out so well. I think that my baking is getting better. I substituted with whole wheat flour and splenda for both recipes . I did not take pic of the frosted cupcakes because quite frankly I was tired of snapping pic and baking Monday night and I still need to work on my frosting skills.


Click here for the cupcake reciepe & here for the muffins



pumpkin muffin batter


Muffins in the pans


funky pic... flickr would not flip it ... but done muffins


chocolate cupcakes in pans waiting for the oven



ingredient shopping @ safeway


I am thinking that I am ready to explore the wonderful world of cookies... looking for a shortbread cookie recipe that I can play with for the next project.

Fab-u-baking 101: Chocolate banana bread

One of my favorite things to do when I have a free moment( that is a rarity... as we know) is read one of my favorite magazines. Sunset magazine. I love the articles, the website, the recipes and the ideas on where and when to travel, garden and how to live a little greener. I was thumbing through the other night and found an interesting recipe Chocolate Banana Bread. The recipe seemed simple enough I had most of the ingredients in the pantry so I thought I would give it a whirl as my first Fab-u-baking 101 project. Simple instructions and a little patience that I lack from time to time churned out a bread that is tasty. I would say it's along the lines of a scone ... yes defiantly this bread is scone-y . I would highly recommend it as a breakfast bread . The jury is still out on it as E and the littles have not tried it out. You can find this recipe here (my pic looks pretty close to theirs so big snaps to me!) Fab-u-baking 101 week one down 51 left to go.

Baking Boo Hoo

I had a crazy craving for corn bread yesterday, it was cold and wet outside and with a pot of red beans and rice on the handy dandy crock pot it seemed like a perfect pairing. I had a boxed corn bread mix in the pantry. I mixed the Trader Joe's mix together with all of the called for ingredients. I was very delighted to smell the warm yummy-ness oozing from my kitchen and I was so pumped to have a piece because it has been a long while since I have had me some corn bread.... AND then disaster struck. My cornbread turned into semi charred mounds of not so fabulous. UGH I am the worst baker in recorded history. It seemed a waste to dump the not so bad cornbread so I kept and served those but I was ashamed to serve it...well not really cornbread is cornbread and when it's warm and buttered you can almost pretend that it is not charred. My little crumb bum bbD did not seem to mind either.


This cornbread fiasco has really snapped me back into reality, I am not the domestic goddess I thought I was if balancing, a career, a family, a happy marriage, a social life, and an overloaded TIVO if I can not cook a simple box recipe. I am now vowing to become a better baker.

How will I do it? Not quite sure maybe I will call it a project: fab-u-baking101.

I will bake once a week, bread, cake, pies, cookies, bars etc. until I master my baking skills and become a confident if not accomplished baker. I am not just talking boxed mixes I mean real baking. Up to my elbows in flour, from scratch baking. I have plenty of cookbooks and now its time to get crackin'. Stay tuned for more of my misadventures in baking to see if I get lazy or stick ( and I don't mean the pan, at least i hope it won't ) to it .