Won’t Stop Snackin’ White Chocolate Snack Mix

Do you ever:

1) Need a snack for on the go?

2) Want to be known as that parent who packs the best school lunches, and whose child every other kid asks to swap snacks with?

3) Run out of time?

4) Crave a delicious dessert that takes less than 10 minutes, start to finish?

5) Care about somebody and want to show them? Seriously. Like, ever?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions…well then, my friend, this snack mix is for you!

“Can’t stop, won’t stop,” is one of my friend’s favorite mottoes–but once you try even the tiniest taste of this addicting snack mix, you’ll find that you not only can’t or won’t want to stop–you won’t want to be able to stop.

Your fingers will reach for a second, third, and fourth fistful before you know it.

All willpower will fly out the window like a plague of forgotten locusts that are trapped inside your house for I know not what reason.

It will be like setting an entire chocolate-ganache fudge-swirl ice cream cake in front of you and your dangerously-thin wallet, and telling you that anything you can finish in the first 3.257 minutes is free.

You will no longer want to stop eating this food of the gods. In fact, you will find yourself wondering as you chew thoughtfully whether or not you’ve died and gone to heaven. And that’s okay. In fact, it’s a perfectly normal response. It’s just your taste buds talking–so keep chewing.

You’ll suddenly realize how the name of this delicious snack came about, pause for a moment…then shrug your shoulders and throw back another handful as your mind goes blissfully blank.

And that’s good, because you can make as much of this as you want or need–say, a pound to lure away your nosy hubby and gleeful kids, and a pound for yourself–to keep everyone happy. It takes less than 10 minutes to assemble, so even if every single member of your household manages to make away with a substantial portion of your not-so-hard-earned treat, you will still have the resources to sneak into the kitchen on the pretense of doing an “intense cleaning” (that’ll keep others out of the way), lock the door for safe measure, whip up a batch, chow it all down, and be back out before anyone can say, “Clean?”

Am I starting to sound like a terrible influence? Good. The internet wouldn’t be the internet without some solid, community-based egging-on. So what are you waiting for? Less reading, more making! I do have a fantastic story about the amazing Disney Archives Exhibit I visited today with my friend, but that will have to wait until we officially celebrate with some intensely fudgy and souped-up brownies tomorrow.

In the meantime, happy eatings!

Won’t Stop Snackin’ White Chocolate Snack Mix

Ingredients:

• 2 cups assorted cereal (I used Special K yogurt + fruit, and Fiber One honey clusters, but any variety of cereal will work)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 6 oz. white chocolate chips (half a regular-sized package)
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine cereal, nuts, and dried cranberries. Feel free to add anything else you’d like to the mix–chocolate chips, sweetened coconut flakes, and M&M’s are all great ideas!
2. Melting white chocolate on the stove: Place white chocolate chips and shortening in a small pot and heat over low flame. Stir occasionally until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove immediately from heat. Microwave method: In a microwave-safe bowl, place white chocolate chips and shortening. Heat at 20-second intervals on medium-low power (I use level 4 for my microwave), stirring in between each interval. Heat until white chocolate is melted and smooth when stirred. (Tip: Be careful not to overheat your white chocolate! Because white chocolate isn’t “real” chocolate, it will seize much more easily if you heat it for too long. Shorten the intervals to 10 seconds when your chocolate seems about finished melting; it should take about 2 minutes total, depending on your microwave power.)
3. Stir vanilla and cinnamon into melted white chocolate. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and toss until completely coated. Transfer everything to wax or parchment paper and allow to cool before packaging, serving, or–better yet–snacking that won’t stop!