With the festive, feastful days of November and December behind us, we brave the bleak midwinter in January, minds set on abdominal crunches, not Crunch bars; on full-body squats, not banana splits.
Is it any wonder the days seem dark and dreary?
We won't go against the advice of the nutritionists and fitness experts beseeching us to do better with our bodies, but perhaps we could make a small allowance for our sweet tooth - small as in kid-size, or at least kid-inspired, the simple desserts that made us happy when our palates were less sophisticated.
Here are three childhood indulgences to feed your winter comfort food cravings. We've included simple recipes for all three, along with ideas for purchasing in case the kid in you needs some instant gratification.
Snow creamSNOW CREAM
Who doesn't want to be a kid again on that first honest-to-goodness, flakes-are-falling-from-the-sky snow day of the season? Time to don coats and mittens and head outdoors to play - but don't use all the snow for snowballs. You'll want to save some of those scoops for snow cream, a simple concoction of snow, milk and flavorings.
If for no other reason, snow cream is a treat in the South because the chance to partake in the actual stuff is so rare. You can never be sure when the next chance to enjoy it will come.
Unless, of course, you're not a purist about your main ingredient. There's really no reason that shaved ice wouldn't create a reasonable facsimile of snow cream, if you and your ice-maker were so inclined. The website Gimme Some Oven even suggests the option in this recipe.
Snow Cream
What you need:
1 cup milk (any kind)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
8 cups clean snow (more or less, depending on density of the snow) or 8 cups shaved ice
What you do:
1. Whisk together milk, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large mixing bowl until combined. Pop the bowl in the freezer while you run outside to get your snow.
2. Immediately stir the snow into the milk mixture, adding until an ice cream-ish consistency is achieved. It should be fluffy and scoopable, but not runny.
3. Dish it up, top with sprinkles if desired, and serve right away as it will melt quickly.
Source: gimmesomeoven.com
Retail Option
For walk-up convenience, get your fix at Rita's, 100 Market St., which specializes in Italian ice, cream ice, gelato and custard treats. Or, try Mayfield Snow Cream frozen dessert, sold in containers for scooping like ice cream, or the brand's more portable Snow Cream Stix.
S'MORES
The origin of this confection is vague, but it is generally agreed that the first written recipe for s'mores appeared in "Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts." They were called "Some Mores" in that 1927 how-to guide. It's unclear when the name was shortened, according to the National Day Calendar website, which lists Aug. 10 as National S'Mores Day.
S'moresIdeally, you need a campfire for toasting the marshmallows to gooey perfection. Then, layer the roasted marshmallow with a chocolate bar between two graham crackers and mash it all together. Compression-confection perfection.
No campfire? Use your oven. AllRecipes.com contributor "Neela13" shares this recipe for Baked S'mores Dip.
Baked S'mores Dip
What you need:
Six 1.5-ounce bars milk chocolate candy bars (such as Hershey's)
2 tablespoons milk
12 marshmallows
Two 4.8-ounce packages graham crackers
What you do:
1. Heat oven to 450 F. Break chocolate bars into a saucepan over low heat. Add milk. Heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes.
2. Pour into 8 1/2-by-6 1/2-inch casserole dish. Arrange marshmallows over melted chocolate. Bake until marshmallows are golden brown, 4-7 minutes.
3. Serve dip with graham crackers.
Source: AllRecipes.com
Retail Option
Try a MoonPie, composed of two graham cracker cookies with a marshmallow filling dipped in chocolate. For the closest approximation to s'mores, heat the unpackaged MoonPie in the microwave for about 10 seconds. You can find MoonPies in stores ranging from Walmart to Pep Boys, or pay a visit to the MoonPie General Store, 429 Broad St., for other treats and toys that trigger childhood nostalgia.
Cookies and milkCOOKIES AND MILK
Since there are complicating factors for our first two sweets (blazing campfire, forecast of snow), we'll go simple for the third: cookies and milk.
This quintessential childhood soother works just as well in adulthood, too. Preferences vary, of course, from plain vanilla wafers out of the box to peanut butter cookies warm from the oven. The favorite, though, may be chocolate chip cookies, and there's even a scientific explanation for why that particular combination tastes so good together.
We won't go into the particulars here, but suffice to say that shared chemical compositions play a role in how the cookie, chocolate and milk all interact on our tongues.
Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
What you need:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (see notes)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
What you do:
1. Heat oven to 350 F. Microwave butter for about 40 seconds. Butter should be completely melted but shouldn't be hot.
2. In a large bowl, mix butter with the sugars until well combined. Stir in vanilla and egg until incorporated.
3. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until just combined. Dough should be soft and a little sticky but not overly sticky. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Scoop out 1.5 tablespoons of dough (medium cookie scoop) and place on baking sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until cookies are set. They will be puffy and still look a little underbaked in the middle (see notes).
» Recipe Notes
* Flour: Be sure to fluff and then scoop and sweep to measure the flour. Too much flour will result in a dry or crumbly cookie.
* Baking time: Don't overbake the cookies, or you won't end up with soft cookies. Several people have said they've needed to bake the cookies for longer. Since oven temps can vary, we suggest starting with the listed baking time and increasing the time as needed.
Source: ihearteating.com
Retail Option
Find your favorite in the cookie aisle at your local supermarket, or stop by for Cookie Happy Hour at Bread & Butter, an artisan bakery in Red Bank. From 3-7 p.m. every Thursday, prices are $1 per cookie. (They usually run $1.25 to $2.50.)
The choices are Chocolate Chip & Walnut, Garam Masala Snap, Pecan Sandie, Double Chocolate Cherry and the SCOOP, an acronym for its main ingredients: spices, chocolate, oatmeal, orange zest and pecans.
"We do the same five cookies day in and day out," says retail manager Tiffany Ng. "A lot of our older customers generally like the Pecan Sandies. Younger kids gravitate toward the Chocolate Chip & Walnut because that's what they know."
Her favorite is the Garam Masala Snap. "It's made with an Indian spice," she says, "but basically it's a molasses cookie."