I cook from scratch all the time...I scratch open the box (rimshot).

I use boxed mixes for almost everything when baking, which I do rarely. I just don't bake well.

I really don't like the chemical taste from boxed cake mixes. It requires only slightly more effort to make a cake from scratch, and I can control what goes into it.

I love to bake from scratch, and even when I do make something from a box, I usually supplement or otherwise change things. I just can't follow directions.

Boxed brownies are still a favorite. Everything else is from scratch.

My favorite thing to do is take a box mix and then embelish it or change it up. Most of the time, I can use the box mix as a base for something and spice it up with varying ingredients (with varying results of success). Guess you could say I like doing it the "semi-homemade" way! :)

Until recently, I always used box cake mixes because I have a terrible time getting my cakes to actually rise and be as light and fluffy as the mixes. I still use cake mixes to make cake mix cookies (box of cake mix, 2 eggs and half a cup of oil. Add in some mixers if you want (chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, whatever) and bake as drop cookies). And I *still* haven't found a recipe for brownies that I like more than my favorite boxed brownie mix (Ghiradelli mix works in a pinch, though Trader Joes is just *sublime*).

The only thing I use mix for is pancakes/waffles... and then only because New Hope Mills ROCKS.

From scratch. The texture/flavor of boxed mixes is a little off to me. If it is so inconvenient to measure out flour, sugar, etc. each time, just take a from-scratch recipe, then mix all the dry ingredients into individual Ziploc bags or tupperware containers. Write whatever wet ingredients you will need to add and baking instructions right on the bag. It takes about 10 minutes to assemble several "boxes" of mix. Then whenever I'm in the mood for dessert, I grab a container, dump the contents into a bowl, add egg/milk/vanilla, mix, bake, done.

I've never bought a box mix, the ingredients turn me off.

I love to bake from scratch but I use boxes for two things:
1) birthday cakes where what really matters is the frosting (matters to me and mine, I mean)
2) pancakes. My mother used Bisquick and that is the only way pancakes taste right to me. I know it's horrid stuff, but such are the bonds of childhood

There should be another option on here pro mixes. There's either an "I can't bake at all and NEED a mix to get by" or "yuck to mixes but if I HAVE to use it I will"

There should be an option for competent bakers who know that sometimes, mixes a a good thing.

I use the hell out of cake mixes! And guess what? Most professional, expensive, promising you they're made form scratch bakeries are too. You know why? Consistency. I don't care how skilled you are- every now and then something just doesn't go right. Your baking powder was too old or the flour was bleached and this time it just tastes a little different. With pre-mixed cakes you're guaranteed consistent results time after time. That box of funfetti cake you had when you were 14 is the exact same when you make it when you're 34. There's something comforting in that sometimes. It's not an issue of laziness, just wanting something consistent.

So yea, I use mixes about as much as I do from scratch. Different situations call for different things.

I always use mixes for cakes but never for anything else. It's weird that it's so specific, but like a lot of people here I grew up on boxed cake mixes, plus they're cheap and basically foolproof.

I go back and forth on it...I like to bake from scratch, but I also like a quick mix for when we want cakerightnow. Mostly it comes down to "do I want to think about what I'm making, or just make something sweet and yummy?"

I will also use canned frosting and doctor it up..like lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting mixed with shredded coconut. Those were darn good, and no one suspected I used canned frosting. In fact, one of the party guests said to her mom "why can't we have yummy frosting like this at home?" hee hee.

I like to bake from scratch, but if I'm doing something crazy (eg: cupcakes with something inside, a huge batch of cookies to decorate) I'll go for a box mix just to save time and a little stress.

And brownies, for some reason, always work out better when they're from a box mix.

I go out of my way to NOT use boxed mixes. Even when I know that it won't be appreciated (i.e., baking cupcakes for my 3yr old daughters class at school), I just can't bring myself to actually purchase and prepare a boxed mix.

I am a big fan of cooking from scratch but I do use mixes occasionally. I love the Ghiradelli brownie mix. It's good and quick. I usually have a trick. With mix brownies, i reduce cooking time by 5 minutes to keep them fudgey. I also like to ad extracts or expresso powder in chocolate recipes. I do a white cake mix for birthdays and ad almond extract. That gets topped w/ whipped cream and berries.

Alton Brown says the mixes are okay and I believe him :).
I almost always by the most expensive one, and they are great. I don't use them often, because I am more of a pie girl (and packaged pie crusts totally disgust me) for dessert, but Ghiradelli makes a damn fine brownie and its not a ton of effort, which I appreciate.
Because of my propensity for eating dessert for breakfast, I tend not to make a lot of desserts, so this doesn't happen often, but it does happen occasionally.

PS. Icing is only ever made from scratch. Otherwise it is gross.

Nope. Too many chemicals and the wife is allergic to soy which is in just about everything. Learning to bake well is a joyous undertaking and box mixes don't save more than about two minutes.

I'd use a mix if I could find one that uses almond flour and is sugar-free (I'm diabetic). Otherwise I'm resigned to making everything from scratch. God bless Elana Amsterdam! :)

Ponjeng makes a great point about making your own mixes from scratch for those who want the convenience of a mix and are reluctant boxed-mix users (as opposed to nostalgia users). I make four quarts of whole-grain waffle mix at a whack and keep it in an airtight container with the instructions taped to the lid. Love knowing what's in my mix and being able to tinker with it. Would love to add to my homemade mix repertoire. Has TheKitchn done a make-your-own mix article?

This topic makes me think of Julia Sweeney's account of her mother coming to help take care of her when Julia was undergoing treatment for cancer. Julia's mom asked her, with great concern while attempting to cook dinner, "Honey, where are your mixes?"

@Janis: I was just listening to her audio performance of "Giving Up God" and she had a funny story about how her mom said, "I don't care if you tell people you don't believe in God, but must you be an ATHEIST?!" :)

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I prefer from scratch, but box-mix cookies are pretty tasty and sometimes I don't have the cash to buy a $5 lb of butter, and a box of mix is $1.65.

@jmorri26, you've made really good points for the pro-mix when appropriate argument. I think for me, it's all about being flexible and deciding what is right for the moment.

@Janis & chocokitty, I just love how perfect Julia's delivery of those lines from her mother are. She articulates that mom moment so well, it's like I'm listening to my own mother. Who, incidentally, also asked me the same question when she found out I was an atheist. And she still asks (and hopes).

I bake (for real) or I buy. Boxed misses taste awful and have weird texture and lousy ingredients.

Also true that a lot of commercial bakeries, especially from supermarkets or whatever, also use mixes. But I also don't buy their lousy tasting cake. I use real bakeries for tasty cakes and sublime buttercreams.

I prefer boxed mix for cakes because I like a really moist cake. So many cakes made from scratch are just too dry for my taste. I know that's more of a true cake texture to be drier, but I prefer a moister cake.

I bake from scratch all the time, but I just think box cakes taste better!

My grandma was the queen of box mix hacks, like adding canned cherry pie filling to chocolate cake, or adding creme de menthe to white cake and topping it with chocolate sauce and adding some creme de menthe to the whipped cream on top. Boxes aren't all bad.

My hubby requests yellow cake from a mix for his bday every year. I used to do it from scratch hoping to change his mind, but he didn't enjoy it as well as I realized that was a silly, selfish, and snobby attitude on my part, so now I gladly pull out the box. I always prefer the boxed angel food cake--homemade never comes out as light and fluffy , and it's the one boxed mix I personally have fond memories of. I can't stomach canned frosting though. I'll slap on some quickly whipped cream if I don't want to make frosting.

I do love a good from scratch cake and try to do it over a mix whenever possible, but it IS more work. People say "oh it only takes a few more minutes to do homemade", but I don't find that to be true at all! I would say I have a medium skill level when it comes to baking and it always takes quite a bit longer to make from scratch once you factor in all the ingredient/pan prep and cleaning up. (I made a from scratch cake last weekend and ended up with 3 dirty bowls, a dirty sifter, a pile of dirty measuring utensils, and flour all over my counter, and that was a fairly simple cake recipe.) Compare that to the one bowl, a couple beaters, 2 minutes to mix, and a couple minutes of washing up you get with a mix and it's no contest, especially for someone who's not very proficient at baking. I personally prefer the flavor of homemade, and if given the choice it's usually what I do, but I certainly understand the appeal of the mix.

I keep boxed brownie mixes to use for after school snacks when I'm in a hurry and I do like box angel food cakes.

I like baking more than cooking, but depending on what I'm doing, I don't mind using a boxed mix. In some cases, a recipe calls for it, and who am I to argue! In others, I either don't have the time or patience. For instance, I made a killer ice cream cake for my birthday with home made ice cream, a crumb crust and a layer of cake in the middle. The cake was the only thing I didn't make from scratch. After all, I was already making the ice cream, and since I'd never made an ice cream cake before, I didn't need to be fussing with making a cake on top of all that!

I use box cake mixes, but always make my own frosting. My family conducted a taste test one summer using box mixes (we went through a cake every three days---the men in my family were over the moon), and concluded that Duncan Hines mixes were overwhelmingly superior, followed by Pillsbury, with Betty Crocker way, way at the back.

Nota bene: I always sift mixes, and beat by hand, which keeps you from over-beating.

I prefer to bake from scratch because I really enjoy all the measuring and mixing. (Maybe I should have majored in chemistry instead of journalism.) Plus I live in Colorado at 6,000 feet, so small adjustments to recipes are sometimes necessary. I like to be in control of the quantities of things so I can learn how to do it better next time.

I KNOW my boyfriend would prefer pancakes from a mix, but it takes a lot for him to turn down a fresh pancake and I'm always the one cooking (whole wheat flour FTW). I have, however, won him over with my yellow cake with chocolate icing from scratch.

I have two notable exceptions, with recipes that call for boxed mixes: lemon cake mix cookies and Bailey's cake. Both have received such rave reviews at parties I'm not really interested in coming up with scratch versions.

I wish I could make a scratch cake, but I have given up after many years of trying.

Everything else is from scratch, including the frosting.

If I'm baking cupcakes that will then be garishly decorated for a child's birthday, most likely it will be a box mix. The quality of the cake part is beside the point, and I'd rather focus my energy on the embellishments.

But for a special occasion where the cake will be savored, it's scratch all the way. Just about any scratch cake, when carefully prepared from a decent recipe, will have better flavor than its box counterpart. Also, box cakes can be slightly rubbery. They are very moist and light, however.

To get the same moistness and lightness of texture from a scratch cake, you need the correct recipe. Usually, it will involve dirtying multiple bowls, sifting your flour, adding things in increments, beating for a long time and one point and until things are just barely combined at another point, greasing and flouring the pan and/or lining with parchment paper, and special ingredients like sour cream or buttermilk.

I just made the following lemon-almond bundt cake for Easter supper and my mom called me again today to rave about it. It's a bit of work but totally worth it, even served plain (without the raspberry coulis):

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2005/07/27/lemon-marzipan-cake/

I will, on occasion, splurge for a fancy pancake/waffle mix (I used a Willaims-Sonoma gift card to get some pumpkin pecan mix this past fall), and if someone gets me a baking mix as a gift I will use it, but I like to bake from scratch as much as possible. Up until about five years ago I'd buy cake mixes, but once I got in the habit of trying to bake cakes from scratch, I found that I liked the results much better!

I use baking as stress relief; generally I bake because I have some time to spend on it and want to relax. Using a mix takes some of the relaxation out because a shortcut means less time in the kitchen. I can understand people using a mix to save time, but for me the time spent baking is part of the fun.

Amen, jmorri26... Where is that other option on the survey?

I love cake. period. Homemade, boxed, whatever. It all depends on what else I've cooked that day, how many dishes are in my sink already, my mood, my inspiration, what's in my pantry, and oh, and a million other things that run through my scattered brain. I love a good box mix hack as well.

Pancakes, however, aren't really right for me unless it is my childhood pancake - mom's recipe only. And coming from my mom who didn't (still doesn't) enjoy cooking, it is just as easy as a mix.

I have a whole recipe book of cakes (n' stuff) that can be made from boxed mixes...of course, I haven't tried it yet...

I don't know if pie crusts count but if I am making a pie, I will say 90% of the time the crust if from the store. It grosses me out but, I have failed repeatedly in the pie crust department and really, I just eat the filing anyway. Graham cracker crusts I can do tho'.

Brownies from the box, the cheap Betty Crocker one slightly underbaked, were my favorite late night snack as a teen and in college. Still really love them when I need some comfort chocolate.

Oh on the cake front it's usually homemade but ... Me and mine are not huge cake eaters. If there is a cake in the house it was either an experiment for me or a birthday.

I was a TA in high school when I was a senior for a group of sophomores (I taught Sex Ed and Drug Education). I brought them cupcakes and brownies every week and they swore that I made the best desserts in the world. To this day, I would never tell them that they were from a box mix. Ignorance is bliss.

i like baking from scratch so I can control what goes into my recipes but I have used boxed mixes before. Always the pricier and more natural stuff :-) I love the brand Namaste brownie mix and Pamela's brownie mix was pretty damn good too.

I've never used mixes. I don't think they're necessarily bad (after all, my grandmother uses them, and she's an excellent cook!), but I bake because I enjoy the process as much as I enjoy the results.

Boxed here. It's pretty quick, fun, and you get that satisfaction of baking. I think it works a lot better when you bake with another person. Now do I prefer it? Not really. If I have the time I'd bake from scratch, and also if I had the ingredients on hand. When groceries sell their mixes for like $0.50 a box, hard to pass those up.

Growing up I thought cake was gross, and I still think most box mix cakes are gross. The frosting is always too sugary. I only started to like cake when I fell for stuff like rum cake with no box mix added, oatmeal cake with broiled coconut topping, cardamom coffeecake, etc.

I do like snoqualmie falls pancake mix, and I get mixes to make creme brulee because I find the idea of making it from scratch intimidating.

If I'm throwing a dinner party my energies are focused more on great apps, entrees, sides and cocktails. Usually someone's offered to bring a dessert - but if not I'm making a boxed cake with adjustments - or kicked up boxed brownies. Lately, I've found some excellent quick, easy and DELICIOUS cakes on Kitchn, but I'm more likely to make them for breakfast or coffee with the girls - when nothing else is going to be cooked and I can concentrate on the one thing.

After 36 years of baking (starting around 5 years old), I'm reasonably confident that I can make almost anything from scratch, better than a boxed mix and usually taking only a few minutes longer. One thing I cannot make as well: plain ole layer cake.

When I need to make a layer cake, I use a box mix and doll it up with cooled melted butter in place of oil and with a little extra oomph of flavor: vanilla or lemon zest or liqueur or a sifted spoonful of cocoa. It's always a lot better than my from-scratch layer cake would've been.

Despite all those years of baking --- including stints in two bakeries where I made many a luscious layer cake from scratch in huge batches --- and an ever-growing understanding of the chemical interactions in baked goods, I never did get the hang of making a simple layer cake properly, one at a time in my own kitchen. (Kitchens, really: I've attempted from-scratch cakes in at least a dozen kitchens over the years.) The texture comes out all wrong. I'm sure I'll try again someday, but for now, when a birthday rolls around, I reach for the cake mix every time.

I have one boxed weakness: Funfetti. I know it's just sprinkles in white cake mix, but sometimes I just crave that sweet, artificial taste from my childhood. Haha.

I think it must be a family thing, because when I went to visit my cousin, she four boxes of it hidden behind her cookbooks!

Don't forget the fact that in the box of PROCESSED mixes you are eating not a cake but a chemical dessert!

In my house it's only from scratch. I can taste the things in the box mixes. Yep, many bakers use them which is why I don't by things made by the pros either. The only time a boxed cake mix was in my house was when I was practicing some cake decorating, leveling etc and they were just thrown out after. Yes, I am judgmental of those that use the boxes, and, no thank you, I wouldn't like a piece but appreciate the kind offer. Sorry!

Grew up in a boxed mix household, but now that I'm on my own, I have decided that it's either from scratch or not at all. Somewhere along the line I started to prefer the dense scratch cakes over the fluffy boxed ones.

The one exception to scratch baking is brownies, but only because I always bake them to give away!