Important: A Recipe and a Seasonal Update

I've been tinkering with this recipe for a while. This is the third time I've made it and I think I'm finally happy with it. If you've been visiting for a while, you know I love small-batch baking, or tiny baking, as I like to call it, and that I like to experiment with a low-carb baking mix called Carbquik. (If you need to catch up, just click on the labels at the bottom of this post.) This is a Bisquick recipe that I adapted to be much smaller and much lower in carbs. I don't remember now what it's actually called, but I'm calling it...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

1 1/4 c. Carbquik (available on Amazon)

3/4 c. Splenda

1 egg

1/4 c. oil

1/4 c. milk

1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste (I get this from King Arthur flour; you can use vanilla extract)

1/2 c. chocolate chips (I use regular; you can use sugar-free)

Stir everything together, spread in a greased and floured 5 x 7 baking dish, and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

This little Pyrex dish is the perfect size for just the two of us. We get six servings out of it, or one piece for each of us for three days. So whether what I've baked is low-carb or not, it's gone in one weekend. No leftover temptation!

A few notes about Carbquik, if you decide to try it. 

*You can use it in any recipe that calls for Bisquick. I've made all kinds of stuff with it, mostly successes, but a few duds, but that's to be expected.

*It browns faster than Bisquick, so just be aware (especially with something like oven-fried chicken).

*It's very dry. You'll almost always have to add extra liquid, but that's easy. Don't just splash in liquid, though. I stir up a recipe as written, then if it's too dry, add measured small amounts of liquid until it looks/feels right. That way, if the finished product is to my liking, I know exactly how much extra liquid it needs.

*It does have it's own flavor, and you can tell when you're eating it. If you keep to a low-carb diet, you'll know that you have to make sacrifices when it comes to baked goodies and you're probably willing to put up with that, but you can mask it pretty well by being generous with seasonings/flavorings. In my baking, I've found if I max out the vanilla I'm happier with the results. And really, it's hard to get too much vanilla. Don't be afraid to double it.

*It's expensive. Again, if you eat low-carb and miss baked goods, it's worth it. Two things: I halve almost every baking recipe I use, since it's just the two of us. So that makes the box last a lot longer than it would otherwise. Also, the price on Amazon fluctuates somewhat. If you're thinking of trying it, keep an eye on it for a while and catch it when it drops.

Seasonal Update:

Tiger Lily has a seasonal migration route of sleeping places that she faithfully follows every year. 
Winter: baskets, donut
Spring/summer: the bed, the floor, the couch
Fall: her beds, donut

I must report that this past Wednesday, she took to one of her beds for the first time since last winter. She does this, like clockwork, every year in late summer. It's always my first visual reminder that fall is coming, even if it will be warm for weeks yet. I love it. I love that animals know things that we are too busy or too removed from the natural world to know anymore. It always gives me a little surge of happiness to see this first sign that fall is coming, and I thought I'd share it with y'all.