Turn Off the Oven in the Heat: Trail Mix Treasures

Trail Mix Treasures

The story of when I decided to learn to bake is sad-funny. As I have discussed before I learned to bake from cookbooks, what I haven't talked about is when or why I started baking in the first place. It's a story that goes back to my great-grandmother's funeral. My mother was the oldest of 12 kids and was always close to her grandparents. We went up to visit every summer and my mom spoke to them on the phone a lot. After my great-grandfather passed away I was lucky to be given one of the metal donkeys that he crafted out of old bolts and screws. I still have it and my children have heard exactly where it came from and that one day it will be theirs. When my great-grandmother was in her 90's my mother decided that I should go and spend some time with her for the summer. I was 12 and she lived in a very small town in Eastern WA. So for a week I spent time with my 93 year old great-grandmother. She taught me to spin wool on a wheel, to weave with an old fashioned weaving board and to write. One of the most important things she taught me was that I should remember everything by writing it down. She gave me a journal to write all about my stay, and I did. I took pictures of her, I drew and I wrote. Not long after my trip she passed away. I was one of the last people to spend a lot of time with her and I cherish the memory. At her funeral there was a beautiful cake. It was a beautiful day and that cake was gorgeous. Until I took a bite, it tasted like rose water. Not a little bit, but entirely like rose water. My mother took a bite and burst out laughing. It was disgusting. We both decided that my great-grandmother would have hated it and would have probably said something sarcastic. She was very opinionated (something that I am glad to say I inherited). It was then and there that I decided I would learn to bake. Not a cake that tasted like rose water, but an actual cake. And so I did. Now days I bake for my kids. I tell them stories about the strong women in my mom's family (great-grandmother, grandmother, and my mom) that they will never be able to meet. I hope that through me they will learn a little bit about how to low to bake and cook and to love the family that they came from. Today I tried a new recipe for Trail Mix Treasures from the Ocean Spray website.

This recipe has 6 ingredients. I followed the recipe pretty closely to how it was written. Instead of using semi-sweet chocolate I used all natural dark chocolate chips. I prefer using dark chocolate in baking, especially if the recipe is already sweet. I sprayed the pan with non-stick spray in order for it to stop from sticking.

Since I was unable to find gluten free rice krispies at my local store, this became a treat for everyone, but me in the house. I did eat a number of chocolate chips out of the bag, I have a bad habit with that. While the dark chocolate chips were good, I think this recipe would also be great with white chocolate chips. White chocolate chips and dried cranberries seem to go hand in hand. I cut big pieces so I ended up with 12 pieces in total. My oldest son was not a big fan of the roasted pumpkin seeds, but my youngest disagreed. If your kids don't like pumpkin seeds roasted almonds or cashews would be great substitutes.

For the recipe go to Trail Mix Treasures.