My friend Shiela gave me the biggest box of Bisquick baking mix I have ever seen — it’s a six pound box.

Her daughter, Rachael bought it when she wanted to make pancakes. Funny thing is they didn’t even open the box and make the pancakes. Shiela said they would probably never use it, but she thought maybe I would.

It has been a long time since I used Bisquick, and one night when Brad was out of town, I looked at that box and wondered what in the world I could make with it.

There was a website listed on the box, so I got on the computer and started searching for dessert recipes. This was a slow process because living in the country, we don’t have very fast Internet service.

The first recipe that caught my eye was one for a mug cobbler. I thought it sounded pretty easy and sometimes just one serving of a dessert is all you need or want.

That evening after looking and looking at the Bisquick recipe site, I copied the mug cobbler recipe down and figured I would make it soon. It was too late that evening to eat sweets.

Brad was home the next evening and after supper that big box of Bisquick was still on the counter. Since I had a few small apples in the refrigerator, I decided to give this recipe a try.

I decided to make two mug cobblers: one for me and one for Brad.

I peeled and chopped two apples, placed them in the mugs and added 1 tablespoon of sugar to each,  stirring a little.

Then I mixed the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl (since I was making two mug cobblers I doubled the recipe). The mixture was pretty stiff, and I spooned the batter equally into both mugs and wondered to myself if this was going to be good or not.

I placed one mug in the microwave and set the timer for 90 seconds. When the microwave dinged I pulled the mug out and it didn’t look like the batter had cooked at all so I set the timer for another 90 seconds.

About that time, Brad, who was in the great room, asked “whatcha doing?” I just told him I was fixing something.

When the timer sounded again. I took the first mug out and stuck a spoon in to give it a little try. The batter was a bit overdone, so when I put the second one in the microwave I decided 90 seconds was probably enough time, remembering things cooked in the microwave don’t always look like things baked in the oven.

When the second cobbler was ready, I headed to the great room with the mugs and two spoons and asked Brad if he would like to try something. He said, “Sure,” and asked what it was.

I told him it was a microwave apple cobbler in a mug.

I gave him the second cobbler and after one bite, he said “it’s not bad, but it’s too sweet.”

He didn’t eat another bite.

I started eating the first cobbler and decided the 90 additional seconds I cooked it was way too long, the batter was a bit dry and hard.

I had a hard time deciding if I liked this recipe or not. It took me eating the entire mug full of cobbler to decide that it was OK, but not something I would fix again.

This is the second time I have tried a “mug-in-the-microwave” recipe and I probably won’t do it again.

The first time it was for a chocolate chip cookie in a mug. It was late and Brad wanted chocolate chip cookies. I thought it might be a quick fix for his craving.

I was wrong.

The chocolate chip cookie turned out to be more like a cake and Brad was not a fan. He only took about two bites of it.

All I have to say is this recipe is a failure and I won’t be trying any more mug-in-the-microwave recipes.

When we want something sweet, I will just have to take the time and make a “normal” dessert in the oven.

I still have lots of Bisquick to experiment with, so I guess I will be heading back to their website before too long.

Sarah Condley is an amateur baker and chef who is compiling a cookbook of her favorite recipes.