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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCD chapter.

Now, I love baking. I don’t love doing the dishes. I’m lazy (and also a full-time student!), so I rarely have time to bake anymore—which is such a bummer, because I miss making freshly baked cookies, breads, and cake. Well, what if I told you could make fresh baked goods without all the hassle and still have it taste as if you spent hours? The secret is box mix. What do I mean by this? You essentially use box mix (whether cake, cookie, or bread) and zhush it up with spices, flavorings, fruits, or nuts. And no one will ever know it came from a box! 

Here are my favorite recipes to make!

  1. Pumpkin Dump Cake 

Super easy and ingredients aren’t too difficult to get a hold of. All you need to do is mix all the ingredients in one bowl and bake. No separation of dry and wet, sifting, or any complicated baking techniques. Tastes exactly what fall would taste like. 

  • Secret ingredient: yellow cake mix
  1. Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

If you love cheesecake and pumpkin, this recipe is for you! This recipe doesn’t call for graham cracker crust but if you want to add it, just put graham crackers in a ziploc bag and crush with a mug. Makes for a great quick breakfast! 

  • Secret ingredient: packaged pound cake mix 
  1. Cinnamon Sugar Crescent Rolls

Arguably the simplest recipe on this list but they’re oh so yummy. This recipe only needs 5 ingredients and comes together very quickly. Plus, it uses Pillsbury crescent rolls so you don’t have to make them from scratch! Sometimes I’ll add chocolate chips inside (who doesn’t love chocolate???).

  • Secret ingredient: Pillsbury crescent rolls 
  1. Apple Pie Cupcakes

What better combo than apple pie and cupcakes? Your kitchen will smell heavenly and your roommate will thank you for it. Cupcakes are honestly so time consuming to make but this recipe streamlines the process for you by using yellow cake mix as the base. Also if you don’t like buttercream frosting, swap it out for cream cheese (which in my opinion is the BEST frosting).

  • Secret ingredient: yellow cake mix
MollyHatch
Courtesy of Molly Hatch
  1. Apple Coffee Cake 

Absolutely addicting and will make your friends wonder what sorcery you did to create this cake. Spruce up your coffee cake with additional fruit or nuts for texture and flavor. And for a really airy light cake, sift your cake mix!

  • Secret ingredient: yellow cake mix

6. Pumpkin or Apple Cream Cheese Danishes

This recipe calls for apples but you can substitute with pumpkin pie filling. With every bite, you get buttery flakey pastry and sweet apple filling that’s coupled with the classic cream cheese filling. Great with a cup of coffee for a quick breakfast.

  • Secret ingredient: frozen puff pastry 

Baking can be fun and stress-free! You don’t need to go all out for any of these recipes and guess what? People will think you made it entirely from scratch. Happy fall baking!

Evelyn is currently a first year Cell Biology major at Davis. While she is not stressing over her classes and suffering in lab, she loves to bake, play piano, read (fantasy novels especially!), and binge watch shows (she recommends Community).