On the Road Again. Or...Watch Out Michigan!

On the road again!  This time Mark and I are heading to Michigan to visit our daughter and son-in-law, two grandsons and our only granddaughter.  I LOVE the holidays!  We don't need a holiday to make the trek up north, but holiday excitement always makes it even more fun than usual.

While we're there, Mieke and I will have a chance to do a little (um...make that a LOT!) of cooking together.  Fun!

Mieke and Tall Matt are having a get-together while we're there. Turns out, I'm not the only one who is eating gluten-free now....Jackie is, too!  So I'm taking along my Mochaccino Chex Mix.  Thank you Chex for being gluten-free now...well, except for the Wheat Chex kind, of course.  

This snack mix is chocolate-y, cinnamon-y, coffee-flavored crunchy deliciousness with little pillows of marshmallow melting everything all together....and it's addictive!

Mochaccino Chex Mix

• 1/2 box corn chex®, chocolate variety (check to be sure it's gluten-free!)
• 1/2 box corn chex, cinnamon variety (check to be sure it's gluten-free!)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, extra dark
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 1/2 cups almonds, dry-roasted, a whole jar of the brown sugar cinnamon variety

   

Preheat oven to 250.
 

Stir espresso powder and cocoa powder into melted butter until well blended.  Add maple syrup & mix well.
 

In a LARGE roasting pan, mix chocolate chex and nuts, pour butter mixture over all and mix WELL.
 

Bake for an hour stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and mix marshmallows in completely (you'll see them start to melt slightly and hold the cereal together).  Let cool completely and store in zip top plastic bag.

NOTE:  One of my grandsons has a severe peanut and tree nut allergy.  So he can enjoy the mix, too, I substituted crushed gluten-free pretzels for the almonds this time.  Everyone can enjoy it...even the lucky people without food issues!