This week a little teacher appreciation love was spread at my daughter’s school. The teachers were treated to fun snacks during their weekly development sessions and I signed up for chocolates. I love taking good care of our teachers. I love sharing food allergen aware treats too, so this was a match made for heaven.
I made my favorite Chocolate Cluster Recipe, which was created based on an old Mrs. Field’s recipe, which I changed around to suit my food allergy needs. I wanted peanut-tree-egg-dairy free (these can be made gluten free, but I used Rice Krispies for this batch). But, instead of my usual choice of mix-ins, I used some real Mix-Ins from Zego Foods. The Cranberry Seed Fruit Blend needs to be renamed Caroline crack- just say’in. I can’t ever seem to get enough of it, I even travel with it!
I sifted through the Cranberry Mix-ins and removed the seeds and chopped up the dates and cranberries to be more delicate. When I make this chocolate cluster again, I will use the entire Mix-in blend. Be sure to use fancy little candy cups and serve these up on inexpensive chargers from a craft store like Michael’s and you have a quick, easy and safe dessert ready to dazzle.
I also added in Rice Krispies and Craisins. But the magic, besides the Zego Foods Mix-ins, was using beautiful artisan chocolate (62% semisweet), Scharffen Berger, which never ceases to fail. I had my reservations when the company was sold to Hershey’s. Still they have stayed true to making an outstanding product. These can be made gluten free by choosing a gluten free rice crispy type cereal.
Rumor has it that the clusters were a hit, but little do they know these bad boys only took me about 45 minutes to make. Don’t you just love fast and easy recipes which rely on wholesome good quality ingredients?
College students: this is a must-do to stay safe
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..