No Promise Baking

Say you opened up your email and saw that your son's drama coach was asking for help with intermission snacks for the crew. Say you decided to email back and commit to making snacks for them for one night. Beware dear reader. This decision will alter at least half of your day. Let me share my experience and you will see why.

It all began with a http://www.tadalists.com/ reminder I was on tap to make snacks for the dress rehearsal. I wondered to myself if I had any chocolate chips left. Chocolate chip cookies and spaghetti are two things I know how to pull out of my cook's hat.

So off I wandered to the kitchen to find chocolate chips. Only to be confronted by what I had been denying for a long time. My baking/spice cupboards were a mess. I had little bits of this and that in bags (which I hate) as well as odds and ends of drink mixes, spices, etc. So I took the plunge.

I pulled everything out. It was amazing what I found. Anyone need some vanilla pudding mixes? Ice cream cones? Give me a call! Crackers? Hot Apple Spice Drink? I have that too!
I began the process by releasing myself from the Vitamin B capsules that expired in 2005. I decided that I really wasn't going to use that mystery spice in the bottle labelled "Paprika" (it wasn't even the same color as paprika...perhaps it was celery salt? ) I confessed my obsession with marshmallows. I always think I am going to make Rice Krispie squares. By the time I go to make them, I have less than 2 cups of Rice Krispies left and yet, somehow, my little brain refuses to believe I still have enough marshmallows. So I buy more. I found one unopened bag. And one large bag with two marshmallows missing and two opened bags with one (hard and crusty) marshmallow each . Another thing I discovered was that apparently my family eats chips like they eat bread. They leave the heels of the bread in the bag to become a science experiment and the last handful of chips are left for some unsuspecting person.
I counted at least five bags with one cup of chips in them. What can you do with so few chips with such a variety of flavors? You can't camouflage them- especially when there are all types from BBQ to colored tortilla to vegetable chips..
While we are on true confessions, I found the most interesting thing in the microwave popcorn box. When I opened it up to see how many bags were left, I found four Coffee Crisps. Did you know that Orville Redenbacher was now making Coffee Crisp Popcorn??? Me neither!

Once I had assessed just how many ingredients I had available, I began the fakin' bakin'. (Not to be confused with fake and bake - that's teen talk for tanning). Seeing as how I had fewer chocolate chips than I thought, and a few other M.I.A. ingredients I decided to make what I am now calling :

"No Promise Crew Cookies".

Here's the recipe if you want to try it:



CREAM ALL THIS TOGETHER:

1 c. soft marg.
3/4c. w.s.
3/4c. br. s.
2 eggs
A capful (and the rest of it that spilled over the cap) vanilla

ADD (in no particular order, except that at some point you'll have to mix by hand)
2 c. flour
1/2 t. b.s. (Soda)
1 t. b.p. (powder)
2 c leftover cereal (Grapenuts, Rice Krispies, tortilla chips...) Add more if there's some left at the bottom of the bag)
2 handfuls (or so..) of raisins

Mix well, drop by scoopfuls, say a little prayer for grace and put them in the oven - I tried 375' and it seemed to work o.k. About 8 minutes...or longer if you've forgotten them. (just not an hour) Make several piles and put them into an ice cream container.

If you have some time while those are baking (see note about forgetting them) you can try the "No Promise Rice Krispie chews (or chomps depending on the age of the choc.chips) ".....

MELT
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (I added some butterscotch b/c there's wasn't quite enough)

ADD:
2 c. mini marshmallows (Again, I didn't have mini marshmallows. I had multiples of mongo marshmallows. So I cut them up with scissors. If you are going to do this and want to keep your scissor blade from sticking, dip dip and snip is the method. Dip the blades in water before you snip ...don't try it with flour, you'll just get stickier blades...trust me on this one. )
2 c. Rice Krispies (use the dust from the bottom of the bag to make up 2 c.)

Oil a piece of saran wrap with a pastry brush dipped in oil. (You're supposed to use wax paper, but I don't have a fetish for wax paper, but evidently I do have a fetish for saran wrap) and put the mixture on it. Make a log roll and put it into the fridge for a couple of hours. (Again, praying for grace and dulled taste buds of the crew).

Leave the blueberry muffins for another day. CLEAN UP THE REST OF THE MESS THAT YOU PULLED OUT OF THE CUPBOARDS. Throw some flour in your face and head to the computer to blog about it.