After a little web surfing I settled on some recipes from the Duncan Hines website itself. Lemon cake mix became lemon bars and chocolate brownie mix became coconut chocolate macaroons. The macaroons were (not surprisingly) very brownie-esque and absolutely delicious. The lemon bars were not light and citrus-y but rather thick. If you're looking for a fluffy, sticky lemon bar then these are not the ones for you.
These recipes are both from http://www.duncanhines.com/ (with some slight changes on my part to the chocolate coconut macaroon recipe).
Lemon Bars
1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup buttered flavored shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
confectioners sugar for topping
1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, 1 egg and shortening in a mixing bowl. Beat until crumbs form. Save one cup for topping and lightly pat the remaining mixture into an ungreased 13x9 pan.
2. Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown. While it is in the oven, combine last 2 eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Pour over the hot crust. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of crumb mixture over top and bake 15 more minutes or until lightly browned.
3. Let bars cool in the pan. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and cut.
Chocolate Coconut Brownie Macaroons with White Chocolate Chips
1 box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix
2 cups coconut
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or coconut extract
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the brownie mix and coconut in a large bowl.
2. Stir in the oil, water, egg and extract with a wooden spoon until all dray ingredients are moistened. This dough is very stiff. I added in the white chocolate chips at this point, but it would probably work better if they are thrown in with the brownie mix and coconut in the first step.
3. Roll dough into one inch balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten the cookies slightly.
4. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges are set. The center will still be a little soft (and chewy like a brownie. Yum). Let cool for 2-3 minutes and transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.
Next, I assembled my two care packages! Aka... two paper plates piled with cookies and lemon bars and then carefully covered with plastic wrap. Then I painstakingly finished with personalized post-it note name cards.
