I decided to break with tradition this year. Since beginning the blog, I’ve always photographed and shared whatever birthday dessert I dreamt up for myself on my actual birthday. This year, I decided to go on a short solo hike to spend some time among the peace and solace of the trees and wasn’t really feeling an extravagant dessert or cake. I did want to pack a special treat to enjoy post-hike, so I decided on something small and portable. I ended up going with Renee’s pumpkin white chocolate cups because they perfectly summed up what I was craving.
The only thing I altered from her original recipe was to sprinkle some hemp seeds onto the tops of the cups. It’s rare that I post about recipes that aren’t my own on the blog, but these were simply magical and meant to be shared. I ended up storing them in my cooler so that I could kick back and enjoy them post hike.
For the hike I traveled up to the Davy Crockett National Forest (for more details on the hike see the end of the post). I was the only human soul out there which was oddly comforting. The only noises other than the crackle of dead leaves and brush beneath my boots were that of the native fauna. No cell phones (I turned mine off during the duration of my hike), no car alarms, and no city noises were to be heard. Oh what a glorious sense of peace it was. Before I left the forest, I decided to snap a few photos to share with you here. Aside from the pumpkin cups I brought along some fruit, raw cashews, and a thunderbird bar as back-up snacks, plus plenty of water. While shooting these photos I ended up having a very curious bee visitor that was pretty insistent on having one of the pumpkin cups. I tried to get him in one of the shots but he was a little too shy and buzzed off before I could manage. After all, he was on his own schedule, not mine.
To find the recipe for the pumpkin cups, head here. I absolutely love Renee’s blog so feel free to have a look around and get lost in the beauty of both her words and photographs.
hike details: I hiked a small portion of the 4C trail located in the Davy Crockett National Forest. I began (and ended) at the Neches Bluff Overlook (the northern terminus of the trail). I hiked in about 2 miles to the point where the trail turns west, then hiked back out. I love this end of the trail because the hike down/up the bluff provides for a nice elevation change. Plus, there’s a lovely view of the forest and bottomlands on top of the bluff 🙂
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