Good & Gather Sweet Heat BBQ Trail Mix

I've lived in the Northeast, the South, the West Coast, and now the Northern Midwest. Of all those regions, there's only one where you can get fried cheese curds instead of French fries with your burger at fast food places, fairs, malls, and amusement parks.

On the back of this bag, there's a serving suggestion: "...make your own snack pack with trail mix, cheese curds, and your favorite dried fruit, like pineapple." Okaaay.

I'm not saying it wouldn't work, because it totally would, but it just seems kinda arbitrary to me. I'm wondering if the marketing folks at Target included cheese curds because they're based in Minnesota, where cheese curds are common fare.

Also...dried pineapple? Really? Okay, Captain Random.

Again, not saying it wouldn't work. But the funny thing to me is that this trail mix is actually pretty splendid on its own. It lives up to its name with a decent amount of sweetness as well as spicy heat.

It's very crunchy. Every element in the bunch is crispy and salty. There are corn nut things, sesame sticks, almonds, and "cracker-coated peanuts." The peanuts are probably my favorite, although every ingredient in here is delicious. It's that spicy barbecue flavor that permeates every element in the bag that really sets this mix apart from other run-of-the-mill trail mixes.

I recently had a wisdom tooth pulled, and I'm still in the process of healing, so I really shouldn't be eating something this crunchy, but lemme tell ya, this resealable bag keeps calling my name. Mmm. So good it hurts. The wifey keeps offering to take one for the team and finish the bag herself—you know, to help with my teeth. One way or the other, this bag will be finished soon.

I give this trail mix 8 out of 10 stars.

Favorite Day Cinnamon Churro Cookie Bites

Ah, there's nothing like a fresh churro.

Growing up in the 80's and 90's in my white bread central Pennsylvania hometown, there were no churros. I'd never even heard of a churro until I moved to Los Angeles in my twenties.

I was introduced to them by my then-girlfriend, now-wife and some of her friends. We'd buy them while visiting Disneyland for something like 15 bucks a piece. Way better and way cheaper than those Mickey head ice cream bars.

I loved the cinnamon and sugar flavor, but the thing that stood out to me the most was the dough. It was always soft and supple, and it melted in my mouth like a warm, bready wad of butter. Since then, I've had really good churros from a lot of different Mexican restaurants, donut shops, and even street vendors.

While this product pretty much nails the flavor of a churro: cinnamon and sugar up front with something bread-like in the background, it obviously can't duplicate the fresh-baked aspect of a real churro. Some people might be fine with that, but I just find myself wishing these cookies were soft and chewy.

As crispy cookies go, these are among the softest I've had. There's a sandy quality to the texture, and it makes me crave a tall glass of milk every time I eat them. The back of the bag suggests pairing them with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. I bet they'd be delicious that way, too.

I think these will be a hit with folks that love good-quality crispy cookies, but I'll almost always reach for something soft. Still, not a bad purchase at $2.99 for the 7 oz bag.

My wife was a bit more into these cookies than I was, and I must admit, she's more of a churro expert than I am. She probably would have scored them somewhere in the ballpark of 8 stars, in case you're curious. 

I give these cookies 7 out of 10 stars.