Just call me Betty.

Since I was such a bargain shopper with my birthday money, I had a little bit left over. And since I'm going to need many excuses to use my new mixer, I got this:

Everything in this HUGE book is made with whole grain flours, from cakes to cookies to pies to breads to muffins and more! I am so excited, though I don't think this is going to have a positive effect on my total body mass.

As my first experimentation pre-mixer (it has yet to come in the mail) I decided to try out whole wheat chocolate chip cookies. Yum. I gathered all my ingredients and started putting things together. Then I read further down in the directions and noted this one: Let stand overnight.

Umm, really? You expect me to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and let it stand over night!?! Ha ha ha ha!! So I went on the hunt for an alternate recipe that I wouldn't have to wait to eat. I'm all about the instant gratification. Luckily I had seen a recipe on one of the blogs I read that I had wanted to try. So that's what I did. The cookies were delicious.

By the time I got a picture there was only one left. They were supposed to be super chewy cookies, but by the next day they were a bit crunchy. They were good, but I would've liked them to stay chewy.

Having had partial success in the cookie department, I decided to try something else: Wheat Thins. These were surprisingly easy and quick.

And they are really good. I think they are better than the real things. Yum.

And since I was on a roll and had a huge watermelon that needed taking care of, I set out to whip up a batch of watermelon preserves. Now, the recipe called for lemons and I only had oranges, so I switched things up a bit. Then after letting it boil, there were still far too many large chunks. So after a whirl through the blender it was more my style.

This stuff is waaaay to sweet for me. It tastes like an orange sucker. If I ever make it again I will be seriously cutting back on the sugar. I haven't tried it on anything yet, but I'm hoping some homemade whole wheat bread will balance it out nicely. But don't worry, I won't bore you more with the tales of whole wheat bread baking.

So there you go. My foray into the world of homemade baked goods. Quite a success, if I do say so myself.