I used to love field trips as a kid—visiting the Wichita Art Museum, the Kansas Cosmosphere, the zoo, the Kansas State Fair, etc.
It was always an adventure in a new place, and I’m the type of person who enjoys learning something new whenever possible.
As an adult, you don’t seem to get to do field trips as often, so when Joey told me we were going to go to Emporia to visit his new friend Kim, owner of The Sweet Granada: A Chocolate Cafe, he didn’t have to do any convincing for me to jump in the car.
Joey recently met Kim through a small business group, and she invited us to come hang out for a bit and see her operation.
Guys.
There. Was. Chocolate. Everywhere.
It was amazing.
When you walk in, you’re hit with a smell wall of deliciousness, and you immediately want to empty your entire bank account into their till when you see the display cases full of every kind of chocolate-y treat you can imagine. I was, almost quite literally, a kid in a candy shop.
We had a great visit with Kim, got a full tour of their operation, and she even sent me home with a recipe to share with all of you for a treat they make at the shop.
This stuff is not only easy to make but delicious, too. It’s a perfect treat for the upcoming holiday snack table. The only alterations I made was to pare this recipe down, since Kim is used to making everything in bulk.
Avalanche Bark
Ingredients
- 22 ounces white chocolate or vanilla almond bark
- 1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
- 1/4 rounded cup crisp rice cereal
- 1/2 cup chocolate chunks I used bittersweet
Instructions
- Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking dish by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the almond bark, heating 30 seconds at a time and stirring in between, until it is all melted. Stir in the peanut butter.
- Once everything is smooth, stir in the marshmallows, cereal and chocolate chunks.
- Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with a few more toppings, if desired.
- Let the mixture cool completely on the counter or in the refrigerator and then cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.
This stuff was great. It was rich and had a fantastic texture. I had to immediately give away as much of the batch as possible to keep from eating the entire pan myself.
Plus, I had other goodies from The Sweet Granada that I needed to spend my calories on. (I highly recommend the dark chocolate pretzel caramel bar. That was my favorite.)
If you’re ever in Emporia, I highly recommend your own field trip to The Sweet Granada at 803 Commercial St. And if you can’t make it over there, get online and do your sweets shopping that way—they ship! You can find them at https://sweetgranada.com/. Locally made treats are a great gift for those hard-to-buy-for folks, or you can just let a group of experts make your holiday treats for you and save yourself some time and energy this year.
I love getting the chance to see how different small businesses do their thing around our state, and it was so fun to meet Kim and see her adorable shop and taste her delicious goodies.
That will definitely not be my last visit to The Sweet Granada. Joey just better watch out, because next time, it won’t be a field trip—it’ll be a shopping trip.
This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 4, 2021.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
