There’s someone who doesn’t?? 
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Ah - or a Hostess orange cupcake. Eat the squiggle first!!
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Kind of the same thing as leftover wine.
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That’s another think I like about my boxed brownies. I have topped them with dulce du leche, cream cheese, raspberry jam, crushed pretzels. So much bang for the buck, and quick and easy.
And honestly, sometimes chocolate lovers really aren’t hard to please. Anything that has any hint of chocolate flavor is a hit with them.
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And I bet box cakes are even better now than they were a few years ago. There’s a ton of R&D involved in engineering mixes to have maximum fluff, moisture, and body. No one can replicate this in a home kitchen.
Since writing my grump, I’ve done some more research and I’ve discovered that there is a “bake-off point” at which the essence itself will degrade. Not the alcohol - the actual essence, for example, the vanillin in vanilla. So, as you read that irresistible recipe about the food bloggers perfect white vanilla cake, which requires you to buy expensive specialty ingredients, be prepared for disappointment. (Or add a teaspoon of butter-vanilla bakery emulsion.)
Again, food is emotional. If you “taste the chemicals” in a box cake, well, I have “tasted the chemicals” in any number of so-called natural foods. I am one of those cilantro-haters. It’s the aldehydes… and my genes.
Back to vanilla - cards on the table - I can’t stand imitation vanilla. Yes, I can taste the chemicals. But maybe that’s because imitation vanilla is simply junk, and I should try a better grade of bakery emulsion. I might well try that as an experiment. For science, I’d make a scratch cake. 
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I like this idea. Quick and easy for those times when you don’t have time. It seems like what we’re all saying is, it comes down to taste, and what you can do to have something delicious on that table, spending a “right” amount of time doing it. For some things, it can take longer because the taste payout is better, or it can be shorter, because the taste payout is better.
Good point.
Since writing my grump, I’ve done some more research and I’ve discovered that there is a “bake-off point” at which the essence itself will degrade. Not the alcohol - the actual essence, for example, the vanillin in vanilla. So, as you read that irresistible recipe about the food bloggers perfect white vanilla cake, which requires you to buy expensive specialty ingredients, be prepared for disappointment. (Or add a teaspoon of butter-vanilla bakery emulsion.)
Addendum to above. I wrote to Lorann Oils & they corrected me. The bake-off point is the point where the alcohol bakes off. I wrote them asking if there is a bake-off point where the vanilla (or lemon, or cinnamon, or whatever) bakes off & I am awaiting their reply.
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I would think (I’m very unsure), that if there was a reasonable baking temperature that caused vanillin to degrade, any artificial vanilla would suffer the same fate at a similar temperature.
Regarding “tasting the chemicals”, boxed biscuit mix (boxed scone mix, for the other side of the ocean) has always tasted very chemical-y to me. I haven’t had the same problem with cakes, or at least not to the same extent.
PS: Our friend Wikipedia claims that vanillin melts at 81°C (178°F) and boils at 285°C (545°F). Presumably if your cake is reaching an internal temp of 545, you’ll be worried about more than just whether the vanilla flavour has persisted. 
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How does raw cake batter compare with raw chocolate chip cookie dough? 
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I’ve been there.
I actually have made a great Kahlua bundt cake starting out with a mix.
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When I was catering we always used Ghirardelli boxed brownies, usually made in half sheet pans. Our most popular were Baseball Brownies. We topped the brownies with peanuts, popcorn and pretzels.
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Oh, that combo sounds very kid friendly! Did you use one package for a half sheet pan? I must admit, I’ve never baked any kind of brownie or cake in a half sheet pan before.
Some 50 years ago it was popular to add a package of instant pudding mix to a cake mix, along with sherry or a liquour, resulting in a super moist bundt cake. This recipe is a good one, although the original one did not include chopped nuts.
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uh-oh, what do you have against browned butter?
Nothing. I love it. I think the taste is awesome. I just think it’s funny when people go nuts over a particular ingredient and then put it in everything. Chocolate chip cookie dough, for example. If you’re going to use browned butter at least let it solidify.
In thinking about this I’ve changed my mind to:
Go for it.
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I honestly don’t remember how many packages. We bought the giant boxes at Costco and I know we used at least 2 bags. I think the instructions are on the box. I do recall that we lowered the oven temperature and increased the bake time but I don’k now the exact numbers.
Looking forward to reading about your results.
