Dolly Parton Expands Her Line of Boxed Baking Mixes — and Talks Her Cooking Rituals (Exclusive)

Parton's Duncan Hines partnership will now include chocolate cake mix, yellow cake mix and more

Dolly Parton is busy working "9 to 5" — in her kitchen, that is.

The global icon has added to her line of boxed making mixes with Duncan Hines. Chocolate Cake Mix, Yellow Cake Mix, Cinnamon Crumb Cake Mix, Blueberry Muffin Mix and Banana Nut Muffin Mix will be hitting store shelves starting this month.

"They're like having kids. They're all my favorites,” Parton, 78, tells PEOPLE of the mixes. “It just depends on the time of day and what kind of mood I'm in and what my tastes are calling for.”

Along with the expanded baking line, Parton has also ventured into the breakfast category for the first time, too, thanks to Duncan Hines' parent company Conagra. Her Buttermilk Pancake Mix is set to be released later this winter, and frozen foods are next on the agenda for further into 2024 as well.

Parton's line, which she has dubbed the “Cook Like a Rockstar Series” after her latest (and highest chart-topping) album Rockstar — is already beloved by many, including Parton’s husband, Carl Dean Thomas.

“My husband's a big chocolate fan, so I'm always cooking him chocolate,” she says.

Related: 'Messy' Cook Dolly Parton Says Husband Carl Dean Is 'Good About Cleaning Up for Me' in the Kitchen

Parton admits she’s actually a better cook than she is a baker, which is why “it's good to have things in a box that you can read and make sure you don't mess up too much!”

Still, the "Jolene" singer promises she's a “natural cook” — and she has her upbringing to thank.

Related: Dolly Parton Sent 'Love Note' to Beatles' Paul McCartney and Ringo Star Asking Them to Appear on 'Rockstar'

“I've been cooking all my life, being brought up in the country and a big family, and as one of the older girls, so I know how to cook," she says. "I have to sometimes really concentrate on that baking, but I do enjoy it when I'm doing it.”

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Parton is also a masterful multitasker — she says she’ll often play back her own projects as she’s cooking to see what else she needs to add (to the songs, that is).

“Sometimes I'm working on things on my own and I'm listening back to see what I need to do, if I need to add more instruments, or if I need to add background vocals here,” she explains.

And sometimes, she'll even shake up her playlist — or let Alexa choose.

“I usually have one of those little devices in my kitchen that you can say, 'Hey Alexa, play rock music or play soft rock or play yacht rock. Play country music,'" she says. "Sometimes I have the TV on, [so] I'm listening to what's going on in the world, and so it just depends."

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