Living in a Cereal World

After December's Christmas cookie crush, I had to step away from the oven. But I slowly eased back into it with these  Harvest Cookies . I can never say no to a good oatmeal cookie. Some people don't like the chewiness of a cookie made with honey but I think that's a good quality for a oat-based cookie. Next my services were volunteered to make these  Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies . I find when you're tasked with making gift cookies you can't go wrong with chocolate!😋 (btw, I used the leftover pumpkin to make  these pumpkin pancakes ) Finally, I tried my hand at a birthday cake for my mom. Usually I make her an upside-down cake or a cake with fruit in it but this year I did this: She also loves gingerbread so instead of a traditional loaf I made this  Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze  (the unglazed part went in the freezer). I'd been having issues with under-baking last Fall so I may have erred on the side of caution and overbaked...

...or so it says on the box. On the website, Apple Cinnamon. No added sugar, no sugar added. Semantics. Either way, I didn't even notice that part when I picked up a box last week. I just knew Cascadian Farm had new granola flavors (the other being Coconut Cashew). So without the added sugar what stands out most is the cinnamon. It's--I don't want to say odd, because I like it--a deep cinnamon flavor, almost clove-y. Not like what I'm accustomed to using in my baked goods. Is this where the date powder comes in? Could be. As for the granola itself, it's very crisp and crumbly. Like  all   Cascadian Farm   granolas . The freeze-dried apple slices are easy to bite even with the skins on. I guess the next time I make a granola I'll have to find an apple cinnamon recipe--hopefully with that kind of apple.

Why try this cereal? I was in the mood for some fruity flavors. And who doesn't like bunnies? It's very Spring-ish, when you think about it, these bunny and blossom shapes. The perfect cereal for a cold, gray winter--except it's sunny and 60 degrees right now. I'm sure the February snow dump is coming. Anyway, to the cereal. The key word here is subtlety. There was barely a hint of berry aroma to pick up on when I opened the bag. The purples and pinks of the cereal bits are very soft shades. I tasted a purple bunny first; it had just a hint of berry. A pink blossom came next--was it a different flavor or the same, but less of it? The plain bunny also tasted the same, probably from being surrounded by berries. The corn, oat and rice blend give the pieces a crisp bite that gets chewy in milk but that also helped to bring out the berry flavor. Overall, I'd call this "Trix Lite." So if you're looking for natural berry flavors with fruit juice-colored...