Adventures in the Kitchen: Grandma Seger's Christmas Candy Clumps

My favorite room in our whole house is the kitchen! 

I have so many good memories in kitchens. I loved watching my mom, grandmas, and great-grandmas cook. I loved when they would let me "help" when I was little. And when I got older they would teach me how they made the most delicious treats for me and my family to enjoy. Now that I have a kitchen of my own, I love making meals for friends and family. You could say that cooking is one of my love languages! Many of the recipes I make have special memories attached to them, which makes the treat all the more special. 

A few weeks ago, I shared this recipe on Callie's blog Through Clouded Glass. If you didn't get a chance to stop over to her sweet blog then, I would urge you to go there now. Her heart for the Lord is so evident in everything she posts, I promise you will love it over there! Anyway, back to the recipe....

Every Christmas my Grandma Seger would make a smorgasbord of different Christmas candies. (I know it is way after Christmas, but I still want to share this recipe with you today!) Special treats that she would only make at Christmas time. Chocolate covered cherries, peanut brittle, and turtles to name a few. All home made. She would package the treats in little boxes. And she took requests to make each box special. My special order was peanut brittle with out the peanuts. (yep, I'm a little weird like that!) Anyway, EVERYONE who knew my Grandma Seger (and even people who didn't know her) hoped each year that they would get a box of this special candy. Sadly, my Grandma Seger passed away this summer {You can read my 10 favorite memories of here HERE}.  Now she is in heaven with Jesus, but while she was still here, I got to learn how to make some of her special candies! And today I am going to teach you how to make a family favorite. 

They are super easy!

All you need is 5 ingredients: 2 c. Rice Krispies, 1 1/2 c. Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, 1/2 can of mixed nuts, 2 c. mini marshmallows, and l package (24 oz.) Vanilla Almond Bark (normally found by the chocolate chips in the baking section of the grocery store).

Step 1: Melt Vanilla Almond Bark.

You can follow the directions on the package. It can be melted in the microwave, on the stove top, or in the oven. My Grandma melted hers in the oven, in a glass baking dish, so I do to. I set the oven to 250 degrees and stir evey 3 minutes or so....

Until it is melted like this

Step 2: Carefully mix in all the other ingredients. 

Tip #1 - You kind of need to work fast because as the almond bark cools, it hardens.

Tip #2 - Mix the cereal and nuts in first, add marshmallows last, it helps so the keep their form, your don't want them to melt to much. 

 Step 3: Use a spoon to scoop golf ball sized clumps of the mixture on to a wax paper lined cookie sheet.

 Step 4: Let the clumps cool completely. It should only take 20 minutes of so. 

Step 5: Peel off and enjoy! 

They are a little salty, a little sweet, a little crunchy, and a little squishy. 

Something for everyone! 

Do you have any special memories attached to special recipes?