Mommy & Me Monday: Christmas Morning Coffee Cake Mix

This week's idea would be a great last-minute gift idea as well as something fun to mix up and eat with your own family on Christmas morning. If you are anything like me, I am always so busy with last minute details the week before Christmas that I usually forget to plan something special for us to eat on Christmas morning. Last year right after Christmas I came across this recipe in a Country Woman magazine. I immediately thought it would be a wonderful teacher gift idea. I like to give functional or practical gifts and figured many people might enjoy having something quick, but special to whip up on Christmas morning. So.......this week my littlest boy and I made up four batches to give as gifts. (NOTE: Four batches of this recipe yielded 8 gifts to give as each batch makes two batches.) He liked helping me measure the ingredients, but he was VERY happy to help smash up the graham crackers for the topping mix. He also loved using our nut chopper to chop up the pecans. I remember chopping up nuts for my mom as a little girl. It made me feel very important to have that special job. OK.......enough rhetoric.............here's the recipe. (HERE is a link to it online.)



Christmas Morning Coffee Cake Mix



Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup quick-cooking oats

1/3 cup buttermilk blend powder (my husband found this at Wal-Mart)

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup shortening



Topping Mix:

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon



Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Cut in shortening until mix is crumbly. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients. Store both mixes in separate airtight containers in a cool dry place for up to 6 months. Yield: 2 batches



To prepare:

In a large bowl combine 2 eggs, 1 cup water, and 4 1/2 cups cake mix (or half of the big batch if you've divided it up). Stir until just blended. Transfer to a greased 9-inch square baking pan. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup topping mix (or half the original batch). Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.







After making my batches, I went ahead and divided each batch into two, spooning the mixes into Ziploc baggies. I labeled the baggies as you can see below.






To package these gifts, I stitched up some little fabric bags (since I love to sew and had some Christmas fabric on hand) and placed a baggie of cake mix and topping mix into each fabric bag along with a card with preparation instructions. Then I tied the top closed with ribbon. You can see some of our finished bags in the photo below. I will be sure to tell the recipients to open before Christmas. I'm also planning to make this up to eat with my family on Christmas morning. I wish you all a very blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! Remember the reason for the season!!