Baking Made Simple (No, Really, We Mean It)

Y’all know I hardly ever bake, right? Cooking is great. Cooking allows for creativity and additions. Baking, though? Baking is more like, “Follow these 19 weird instructions exactly, then put everything in the oven and spend the next half hour wondering what you left out or screwed up — tune in at 11 for an update!”
So, yeah, with very few exceptions, I leave baking to the people who A) are good at it and B) seem to actually enjoy it (and, when possible to people who will share their goodies with me, or at least with my husband — he’s the one with the bigger sweet tooth and it seems a shame that he married someone who can barely make cookies). It typically feels like the right choice.
But sometimes, believe it or not, I, too, get the itch to bake something sweet and special. I just want it to be edible when I’m done, so I’m always on the lookout for interesting, foolproof options — and the Beer Cake Mix that molly & drew The Beer Bread Company sent to me certainly qualifies.

All that’s needed is a beer and an egg — and hey, I can handle that. I whipped up a batch of cupcakes using the Amoré Amaretto Beer Cake Mix after dinner on a random Tuesday night, and I was delighted with how simple the process was. The batter blended well, baked evenly, and not too long afterward I was able to put my positively horrific plastic bag icing skills to the test, et voila! Cupcakes!
I refrigerated the leftovers (and there were quite a few — this mix makes quite the batch!) and shared them with friends and neighbors over the next few days, and received rave reviews from all. Rave enough that, hey, maybe I’ll try again later this season. They do have a Holiday Nog Beer Cake Mix that sounds pretty interesting … and I have a Sweet Harvest Whole Wheat mix in the pantry just waiting for me to get the baking bug again, too.
Are you a cook or a baker? —Kristen