Home for the holidays – Herald Family Recipes Week 4

Home for the holidays

David Carpenter

Herald Staff

design@harrodsburgherald.com

Leading up to Christmas, The Harrodsburg Herald staff will be sharing some of their favorite holiday candy recipes and the memories surrounding them this time of year. 

In case you aren’t already painfully aware, the holiday season is currently hitting harder that prime Ray Lewis filling the A gap. Perhaps you, like me find yourself repulsing from this season that is so often filled with over indulgence and spectacle. Most often, the emotion that I associate with the Christmas season is an overwhelming feeling of emptiness. I find it empty of the wonder that I experienced as a child, devoid of the spirit of incomparable joy that it is so often in it’s billing, and as someone who moved over 650 miles to move to Central Kentucky, it lacks the feeling of warmth that only comes from being home. 

I am incredibly thankful for the support system I have here, a loving wife, her family, friends and colleagues who support me, however the smells, taste and feeling of home is something that can’t be replicated or “Zoomed” in. 

While our team was developing the idea for our “Herald Family Recipes” series I knew that I wanted to be a part. Now, I didn’t get to go to my mom’s house to work on this article or recipe with her, instead we communicated through FaceTime, phone call and text messages. Maybe you find yourself in the same circumstance this year. Or maybe you would give anything for the chance to text, call or FaceTime the person who makes you feel the indescribable sense of home. 

In honor of the family I am missing and the memories we have created over many holiday seasons, I’m sharing a recipe that takes me back to that feeling. Though this recipe might be simple, its crunch, combined with sweet and salty flavors elicit much more than an enjoyable treat, for me with each bite I get just a taste of that indescribable feeling of home. 

I invite you to share in this feeling with me. Perhaps you, like me, find yourself searching for a time when the overwhelming joy was palpable and when peace on earth was something that seemed material not abstract. Then maybe for just a moment this simple treat can take you back to a place where all is right with the world, and you too can catch a taste of home. 

Ingredients

Trash: 

• Vanilla Flavored Almond Bark (12 oz)

• Approximately 2 cups Golden Grahams Cereal

• Approximately 1 cup Unsalted Dry Roasted Peanuts

Directions

In a large microwave-safe bowl, heat almond bark for 30 seconds. Stir and heat again for additional 30 seconds.  Stir until mixture is melted.  May need to be heated for a few seconds more, but be careful not to overheat.  Immediately add cereal (one cup at a time) and peanuts (half a cup at a time) and gently stir until well coated.  Spoon onto waxed paper and allow to cool completely.