5 Ingredient Trail Cookies
Thru hikers, by and large, eat like absolute garbage. The goal is to get the most amount of calories packed in the lightest package. Why? Because when you’re hiking 15 – 20 miles a day over tough terrain with a 40 pound pack, you’re burning a ton of calories. You need to replenish those calories somehow, and you don’t want to be carrying a ton of heavy food in your pack when you’re carrying all of your necessities for your thru hike.
Every time I am on a long hike or run, I always start to crave cold, juicy fruit. Without fail. I’m sure it’s because I’m sweating profusely and want something to cool me down, but it’s also because I crave sugar. I feel as though I need a sugar boost to keep me going. It’s completely natural and justified to feel this way. When Mike and I did our Presidential Traverse last year, I hiked with a ton of different candy in my pack. Of course, it froze, so that was most unfortunate, but I knew that the sugar boost would keep me going over all those peaks. That and the caffeine pills I took when we reached our first of many summits.
Where am I going with all of this? I really wanted to create a cleaned up version of a candy bar that I could make for myself for future hikes, and that’s exactly what these cookies are to me. Come summer time I will definitely be making these cookies again to take on hikes.
Is 2020 absolutely bananas so far or what? I definitely did not see this craziness happening. Like so many others, world events have caused massive disruptions to my 2020 travel schedule which is such a bummer! I did go to Nashville at the beginning of March and it was like as soon as I arrived home the crap really started to hit the fan. So much so that my BFF from high school had to postpone her wedding from early April to sometime in 2021! So Mike and I are no longer traveling to New Orleans in April and I’m fighting to get refunded for our travel expenditures. Fun. Is. We’ve also halted planning our U.K. trip for July because who knows what the world is going to look like then.
You know what’s not canceled? The outdoors. So far anyway. I suppose I should watch my words. Because I can’t stay cooped up in my tiny apartment and because finding ingredients at the grocery store may prove to be a bit of a challenge over the coming months, I see myself spending a lot of time outside. Not that I’m complaining since that’s all I ever want to do anyway. My advice to you? Make up a batch of these cookies and pack up the family for some time in the great outdoors! Hang in there and try to remember that this too shall pass.
5 Ingredient Trail Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer to beat for 1-2 minutes until combined completely. Use a small cookie scoop or your hands to form 1" balls. You should yield approximately 16 balls. Space them evenly out on the sheet pan. Use a fork to flatten slightly.
- Bake at 350° for 14-17 minutes until the edges are starting to brown and crisp and the middles start to set. Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet pan completely. Enjoy!
