Snack time—or not

Given that Sophie's school is a ways from our house, we're in a very complicated yet extremely efficient three-family carpool. Yesterday afternoon was my turn to pick up. Over the past two years I've created the expectation that I will show up with a snack of some significance. I ride home from work on my motor scooter to switch to my car before heading out to school, so I have the opportunity to duck into my kitchen and put something together. I've enjoyed doing this particularly since Sophie and the eleven-year-old boy I drive home are such great eaters. One of their favorite snacks is fresh fruit (sliced, please), cheese, and baguette slices. Their taste in cheese is excellent: lately they've favored the Greek manouri and a goat brie (no Kraft single slices for these two). And they especially love homemade baked goods, like muffins, various quick breads, blondies, gingersnaps, or eggnog cookies, the latter of which the boy recently declared the best cookie he had ever had.

But given that yesterday was the last day of school before the winter break and I've been both under the weather and running like mad to get us ready to leave for the mountains (I admit to squeezing in a pedicure), I had a special treat for them. Trader Joe's Peppermint JoJos! "Look, kids! A whole box!!" Might I add that these are very popular cookies this time of year and people on food blogs often discuss how upset they at not being able to find them at the store near them? Seriously, take a look over at Chowhoundwhere foodies are tracking sightings of them throughout the nation.

But no such enthusiasm here. The boy, forgetting his manners, exclaimed "Oh, I hate those!" and then remembering them, "No thank you!" Sophie looked at me with horror and said "Mama! Those are, like, made in a factory!" "Fine," I said. "Pass me the box." Have you had one of these? They're really quite tasty. . . .