January 2026’s FFF Fave Fun Food – Cranberries

Okay technically dried cranberries! Summer 2025 was the first time I added dried cranberries to muffins and it was a very pleasant surprise. Last Saturday I added dried cranberries (& walnuts) to my current fave brownie which I also reinforce with a chocolate pudding mix for extra fun. My brownies will now only be made with dried cranberries and pudding!

Cranberry juice has always been a killer mix with soda water or ginger ale or orange juice – the list goes on. And it has medicinal properties that give it an added boost.

And I intend to add whole dried cranberries to my next batch of Breakfast Cookies. Cookies may feature in future as a Fave Fun Food (“FFF”) as many of my 2025 FFFs were cookies – the killer Cereal Cookie at Mello (their Cereal Milk Donut is almost as good) or the crazy expensive but wunderbar White Chocolate, Hojicha & Walnut Cookie at cowdog or the Christmas Leclerc Celebration chocolate covered Gingerbread.

I’m going to try a new idea for 2026, a monthly post of the Fun Food that made the top of my fave eats. This month is an ingredient that can make any Fun Food even better. Stay tuned for what future months unveil.

For the record, still not a fan of cranberry sauce, even if repurposed as a sundae topping…

Happy Pi & Pie Days!

Okay technically Happy Pie Day was January 23rd AND yesterday was March 14th Happy Pi 3.14 Day. But, any day is a great time to celebrate PIE !

Pi is a VERY specific although unending number 3.14159265…! Pie can be a VERY wide ranging (perhaps unending) food! This is a comprehensive CNN article which outlines both the geographical histories and also the huge variety of ingredients possible. There could be 365 days of PIE.

Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies – both an adjective as well as a verb!

This viral & respected CC cookie recipe from Sarah Kieffer & recommended by Food52 shares an interesting cooking step that is new to me & I HAVE baked quite a few cookies, chocolate chip or otherwise. I do know about chilling or freezing batter before putting in a hot oven but this recipe has you BANG your cookie sheet to help influence the texture of your cookie!

And I found this recipe on Instagram by Sarah Gormley that also both BANGS after baking and also CHILLS before for 24 – 48 hours!! Time to start chilling & banging.

From Sarah’s book The Order of Things –

Ingredients:

1. 2 sticks salted butter, softened
2. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3. 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
4. 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 
5. 2 large eggs, room temperature 
6. 2 tsp. vanilla extract
7. 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
8. 1/4 tsp. Smallish-to-medium-grain sea salt (Maldon) for batter, more topping 
9. 1 tsp. baking soda
10. 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
11. 2 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (chunks are better, chopped up a bit for texture, but you should use one and a half 16-ounce-bags- definitely more than typically called for)

A. Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until the mixture is nice and fluffy (approximately 3 minutes on medium-high-speed, seem like forever so watch the clock)
B. Add both eggs and the vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes 
C. Add baking soda, baking powder, a bit of salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally, add chocolate pieces and mix until well distributed. 
D. Chill dough for 24-48 hours if you want them to be the best cookies ever. 
E. The cookie batter will be somewhat thick and quite sticky, so use your hands to plop balls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I prefer dough balls slightly larger than a quarter (8 per sheet)
F. Sprinkle some sea salt over them before they go in the oven
G. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges are golden brown but the center is still light and puffy.
H. Remove from heat, slam down (hard, like SLAM them) to flatten out a bit 
I. Transfer cookies to a room-temperature, nonporous surface to cool for at least 3-5 minutes before serving 
J. You can reuse the parchment paper – just brush off the excess salt

Fun Food for the 2025 Super Bowl

Nachos are a very flexible Fun Food or combination of Fun Foods! Depending upon when you start your Super Bowl Celebrations, you can serve nachos for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

This comprehensive PureWow article sets out 30 nacho recipes that covers the range of ideas that can work for guests of all ages – vegans, vegetarians, gluten or lactose intolerant and plain picky.

And this equally comprehensive Purewow article identifies 25 dips that include a Skillet Nacho Dip so that you can avoid Naked Nacho Chips! PLUS 10 of the 25 recipes are for DESSERT dips…!

Easter pt.2 – Iconic Egg!

As a quick follow up, another Eater article outlines the history & evolution of the Cadbury Easter Egg. And perhaps it is not only Iconic but also deserves Cult status!

From a horizontal eating perspective, it will be important to get “non Hersey made” Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs to double check the slight flavour variation(s) and it may require travel… This deep dive by the BBC gives additional background on this important taste test topic.

Easter Eggs!

Easter is quickly approaching – it is the final weekend of March in 2024.

Easter means Easter Candy and more specifically Easter Eggs! This past Christmas, Cadbury put out Candy Cane Mini Easter Eggs which were the PERFECT “Combination” Holiday treat. In fact, a bag has been stockpiled to taste test against the usual Cadbury Eggs in all their sizes – Mini vs Macro.

Now, this Eater article gives an impressive line up of Easter Eggs available this year – plus a ranking – Cadbury Mini Eggs rank #1! I’ve only tried 4 of the 12 listed Candy Eggs so time for an Easter Egg Hunt to double check the ranking… I personally do like Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs (unfairly ranked at #11) and learned that they were first produced in 1923!

And Krispy Kreme is decorating their special Easter Donuts with Cadbury Mini Eggs – a true Fun Food Combo!

Halftime Fun Food

Super Bowl means Super Fun Foods! 

Dips are an opportunity for multiple Fun Foods – the dips PLUS the dippers! This Simply Recipes article sets out 22 different dips (plus appropriate dippers) for consideration and as they suggest, do multiple dips for an “all-dip” Super Bowl Celebration.

You can have main course dips ( Lasagna dip!) plus dessert dips ( S’Mores dip!) for your Game Day menu. Savoury & sweet – both dips & dippers – which presents an opportunity to “cross pollinate” BUT remember, never double dip!

This fun article by Eater suggests that Queso is The Best Lazy Fondue. Their recipe also makes a tasty dip that can be quickly put together if needed because good luck having any dips left by the time halftime starts…!

Poutine & Fish

Poutine is a well established Fun Food (one of my faves) and is celebrated during La Poutine Week each year!! For 2024, the week starts today, February 1. 

This Vancouver is Awesome article outlines where to experience the 2024 special poutines for the next 7 days. One location is at the Vancouver Aquarium so you can visit your favourite fish and eat your favourite Fun Food! 

Hot Choco, Comforting Fun Food

It is that time again in Vancouver where Hot Chocolate is celebrated and it starts today. For 2024 there is celebrating at 105 locations across the Lower Mainland! My fave food writer has outlined the impressive offerings in her Festival article.

The Greater Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival starts on January 13th and has over 160 versions of this Liquid Fun Food. First started in 2011, this 14th Festival is the biggest yet as the festival has grown in both locations and versions that make this perfect Liquid Fun Food more perfect and comforting!

And an update on MY very favourite Hot Chocolate (liquid chocolate pudding!) – you can find it at Eataly as well as in Budapest!