You all know how I love random obscure holidays. You know the ones, the holidays that you hear about on the internet or in your email. Today is one of those days and it sounds like a very fun one! Today, August 31^st is National Trail Mix Day. It’s a day devoted to that yummy snack that is versatile and yummy. It is a great day to ditch your diet and have a snack or two. Sometimes it is nutritious and sometimes it is not. Is it crunchy, salty or sweet? Is it fruity? How about chocolaty or otherwise gooey? Maybe it is spicy? There are so many kids of trail mix to choose from if you want to indulge on National Trail Mix Day.

We love trail mix at our house. I love to pack it for my kids to snack on at their sporting events or practices. Each of my kids likes their trail mix made a little bit differently. Some of them like fruit and others don’t. One of them likes it a bit spicy. They all like trail mix when there are chocolate chips or M&Ms in it. Trail mix is portable and easy to make in a hurry. Sometimes we get a little creative with our trail mix and make cookies out of it. We have a really fun trail mix cookie recipe. My kids all love these cookies. This is another fun way to enjoy trail mix. Have you tried Trail Mix Cookies? If not, it is a great idea to celebrate National Trail Mix Day. If you try the recipe, let us know how you liked it. We love to hear from you!

Trail Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 egg whites

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets.
2. Beat applesauce, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg whites until they are frothy and begin to firm up.
4. Fold egg whites into applesauce mixture.
5. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold into the egg mixture. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, walnuts, and cranberries.
6. Drop by heaping teaspoons on prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake cookies in preheated oven until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
8. Place on wire racks to cool.