At home, I’m an avid baker. It’s gotten to the point where my family has asked me to please stop baking unless we have somewhere to bring my sweet goodies. Here at school, it’s a different story. Since moving into my own apartment, I’ve struggled to find recipes that don’t require 20 different ingredients that I have to go out and buy myself.
As a college student cooking for one, how am I ever going to use a dozen eggs before they go bad? Or when will I ever go through a bulk bag of flour, jar of cocoa powder, or container of baking soda? For a while, I just struggled through, missing the baked goods that I so loved making, eating, and giving to friends. But, then one day, browsing Facebook, I found the answer: Cherryvale Farms.
The Cherryvale Farms Story
Lindsay Rosenburg, the founder and CEO of Cherryvale Farms, began her journey on an actual farm. She grew up surrounded by produce, constantly cooking and baking with the freshest ingredients available. When she left the farm for college, then moved to Los Angeles, she found herself missing that easy access to high-quality, farm fresh ingredients for baking and cooking.
In a spur of the moment decision, Lindsay moved back to the farm and started brainstorming how to make baking with fresh produce possible for everyone. In 2011, Lindsay and her father, Michael, launched Cherryvale Farms’ “Everything But The…” baking mixes. Each mix has everything you need to make delicious-tasting baked goods except for a fresh element.
Depending on the mix, all you have to do is add fruit, produce, or nuts plus oil and/or water. It’s the perfect solution for dorm rooms and apartments, as well as vegan bakers.
I got the chance to taste-test a few of Cherryvale Farms’ most popular mixes. Here’s their lineup of products, with my humble suggestions for how to make them really pop.
Banana Bread Mix
Not only are there not very many banana bread mixes on the market, but a large portion of banana bread recipes are packed with sugar that make them a not-so-healthy breakfast option. This mix only has unrefined cane sugar to sweeten, along with the natural sugars of fresh banana.
#SpoonTip: Although the box instructions call for 3 bananas, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 1/4 cup water, you can also try substituting plain Greek yogurt for the oil. It’ll up the protein content and result in a moister, denser bread.
Blueberry Muffin Mix
Blueberry muffins always taste better when they’re fresh out of the oven. That way the warm, baked blueberries pop in your mouth as you bite down. With this baking mix, all you need for the best breakfast around is fresh (or frozen) blueberries, water, and butter. To keep these muffins vegan, simply use a butter substitute.
Pumpkin Spice Bread Mix
My all-time favorite thing about fall is a certain grocery store’s—ahem TJ’s—pumpkin bread mix. All that changed when I tried Cherryyvale’s version for the first time. It’s full of so much extra pumpkin flavor and spices that I never knew I was missing.
#SpoonTip: Try adding a handful of semisweet chocolate chips and some pepitas to the top of this loaf before you bake it for extra crunch.
Cornbread Mix
The sky is the limit with this cornbread mix. You can stick to the recipe, which only requires fresh or frozen corn, butter, and water. Or you can get creative with extra add-ins like cheddar or peppers.
#SpoonTip: If you’re hosting brunch, try baking individual portions of this mix in a waffle iron. That way everyone can customize their own mix-ins.
Chocolate Brownie Mix
I know what you’re thinking. There are about a million boxed brownie mixes on the market, how much better can this one possibly be? It’s all in the ingredients. Cherryvale Farms uses Guittard premium cocoa powder, organic unrefined cane sugar, and unbleached wheat flour in their vegan-friendly mix. Plus, they encourage all the mix-ins you can imagine.
Peanut Butter Cookie Mix
The only ingredients you have to add to this mix for instant cookie dough are peanut butter and water. No raw eggs means sneaking a little dough as you bake is perfectly acceptable, not that you weren’t going to anyway.
Plus, because you add your own nut butter, these cookies can be completely peanut free for those with allergies. Depending on your allergies, you can try almond butter or SunButter.
Oatmeal Cookie Mix
All you need to do is add applesauce, vegetable oil, and water for the best oatmeal cookies ever. The ones without the raisins. This mix is the perfect vessel for experimentation. You can try different flavors of applesauce and mix-ins for a slightly different, but always delicious, cookie.
But There’s More
Cherryvale Farms currently offers seven GMO-Project Verified boxed mixes, but that doesn’t mean that baking with Cherryvale Farms is limited to those breads, muffins, brownies, and cookies. Check out their website for tons of creative recipe ideas using their boxed mixes.
Cherryvale Farms may have started small, with just Lindsay and Michael on their family farm. Now they’re doing big things in the baking world by presenting a produce-forward, easy-to-use baking mix that tastes even better than your grandma’s version.
And my excitement about Cherryvale Farms doesn’t stop there. Stay tuned for the launch of a new product line that every college student, and their moms and dads, aunts and uncles, are going to love.
Disclaimer: Cherryvale Farms sent me product to try free of charge, but all opinions are my own.