Hit The Trail Mix Clusters

Crunchy, chewy and chocolaty goodness

    While packing for the weekend I decided to make a batch of trail mix.  It's a great recipe for junior cooks to join in.  You don't need exact measurements so they can pick whatever they want and "dump" it in.  I was thinking of a simple combination of Cheerios and raisins.  Then I saw a bit of carob powder and the mini-Marshmallows leftover from the Lego cake.   I couldn't see how I could roast those tiny marshmallows over the campfire.  I thought of combining the ingredients to make a s'more cookie.

    I decided my fudge recipe would make a good base.  As my helpers were washing up and donning their aprons,  I searched for the needed ingredients.  The bad news was we were low on honey.  I used one half cup honey and one half cup agave nectar. The good news was, we had a whole shelf of trail mix ingredients.  I found unsweetened coconut, walnuts, and a 15 ounce box of raisins. I was planning to give my assistants measuring cups to add a cup of each item.   While I was whipping up the fudge in the food processor they had a ball pouring all of the items together.  I moved everything to my biggest bowl and added the fudge to it.  We decided to add 3/4 cup of peanut butter to the batch. They stirred and got their spoons in there like they were tossing a salad.

    Then we took out the cookie scoop and dropped the batter onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  I took the second sheet and spread the mixture out to cut into squares.  The trays went into the freezer to chill the fudge.  We had enough to share with friends and enjoy over the long holiday weekend!

Micky's Hit the Trail Mix Clusters


Trail Mix: empty out the pantry of Cheerios, nuts, chips, dried fruit, mini-marshmallows
One batch of fudge
3/4 cup Teddie Bear natural peanut butter

Mix the dry ingredients.  Make the fudge.  Pour the fudge and peanut butter over the dry mixture.  Drop by spoonfuls or smooth onto parchment paper.  Chill for 30 minutes.  Use a pizza cutters to make squares.