Review & Giveaway: Bisquick Gluten Free Mix

My husband and I had already tried pancakes with the new gluten free mix. While they were admittedly delicious, I've never been big on pancakes or any other sugary food for breakfast. I usually end up sticking with protein and complex carbs, or else I end up crashing around 10 AM and I'm cranky all the way until lunch, it's really not a good scene for anyone. Still, it was a huge treat for my gluten free hubby, who doesn't seem to have that issue. ;-)

After pancakes, the next thing I tried (per Lisa's suggestion) was the baked chicken. I decided to try the ultimate chicken tenders with BBQ dipping sauce, and they came out wonderfully - they were a huge hit and are likely to be a winter comfort food staple. I also tried mozzarella sticks using the same breading/Parmesan cheese recipe with mixed results.

With such encouraging results so far, when Bisquick and MyBlogSpark offered me a prize pack in return for writing a review of their product I jumped at the chance!

The one thing I hadn't tried with the new GF Bisquick mix was baking a yummy dessert. I thought about an apple crisp, but after Karina's lackluster review I decided to try a cinnamon streusel coffee cake. I found the inital recipe on Betty Crocker's website, and decided to modify some things:

• First of all, these things never have enough streusel topping. Automatically double the streusel recipe.
  
• I've had good experiences with adding a package of vanilla instant Jell-O pudding mix to the gluten free mixes. It helps to keep the cake moist for a few days.
  

Here's the final recipe that I came up with:

Ingredients

Streusel Topping:

• 2/3 cup GF Bisquick mix
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of butter *NOTE I used only about half of this.
  

Cake:

• 1 3/4 cup GF Bisquick mix
• 1 package instant french vanilla Jell-O pudding mix
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 2/3 cup H2O (I added a couple of extra teaspoons by eyeballing the mix)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 3 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 9-inch square (or round) pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl mix the dry streusel ingredients and add butter while mixing until it is crumbly.
   
2. In a medium bowl (I used our stand mixer), stir all coffee cake ingredients until blended. Add approximately half of the streusel ingredients to the cake mixture. Spread in pan; sprinkle with the rest of the streusel topping.
   
3. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown. Store tightly covered.
   

It came out REALLY good. Sweet, moist, chewy, and when it cooled off the next morning my hubby had a huge piece for breakfast (me, not so much, the whole sugary breakfast thing, but the piece I had last night was awesome). Definitely a keeper.

Now, for the good stuff. The folks at MyBlogSpark are providing one of my lucky readers a Bisquick pack of their own. It includes a (nice, cast iron) mini pancake pan, pancake pen, spatula, and of course a box of gluten free Bisquick baking mix.

To enter, please comment *on this blog post* and answer the following question:
What do you plan to make with the new Bisquick gluten free baking mix???

One entry per person, all entries must be submitted by 12:00 AM Monday, October 4th. (Happy Birthday, Samantha!). Thanks and good luck!!!