Road Food: Good food that travels well
Whether you’re heading across the country, across the world, or simply across town, this series of recipes is made for life on the move. They’re easy to make, easy to pack, and taste just as good hours later as they do fresh from the kitchen. Perfect for road trips, picnics, hikes, airplanes, potlucks, packed lunches, busy weeknights, and anywhere else you need to go.
This series of recipes is exclusively for members of The Lost Supper Club (paid subscribers).
Bourbon Vanilla Caramel Bars
Road food notes: Packs easily • Travels well when wrapped individually • Stays fresh for several days • Includes plenty of options for substitutions and additions
We are going to start this discussion with a bold statement: This recipe is exclusively for paid subscribers and, my friends, if it’s all you get for your $35, it alone would be worth the price of admission.
Like I said, bold statement. But I stand by it.
Here’s what we’ve got going on here: Salty, sweet, bourbon and vanilla flavored shortbread bars, dripping with caramel and covered in bourbon glazed pecans, toasted coconut, and chocolate chips.
They are seriously seductive, so you might want to be careful who you share them with. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
This series is about food that travels well, and whether we’re talking road trips or packed lunches, I think there’s value in a bit of decadence interspersed among the healthier options. You might have packed white bean pasta salad or paprika chicken for lunch, but you’ve got bourbon vanilla caramel bars for dessert.
Everything in moderation, including moderation.
These cookie bars were inspired by a bag of bourbon vanilla trail mix I purchased for a recent sailing trip. The flavor combo was delightful and I immediately typed out a few notes on my phone for how I might replicate the idea in some kind of cookie. This recipe is the result.
At first glance, these cookie bars might strike you as unnecessarily complicated when you could satisfy your sweet tooth with a candy bar from the gas station.
But I have two very good responses to that objection: These cookie bars will be done and cooling on your counter within about an hour. And, once you make them, you’ll never think of a candy bar as a reasonable alternative again.
And look, I love myself a Twix from time to time. But, if I have the option, I’ll take one of these cookie bars every single time.
Recipe notes:
These bars rely on a very simple shortbread base. Simply stir the ingredients together in a bowl, press the dough into a square baking dish, and pop it in the oven to bake.
While the shortbread bakes, make the caramel. Making this bourbon and vanilla flavored caramel requires nothing more than dumping ingredients into a saucepan and heating it to 250°F (121°C). The process is super easy, but it is important to have a candy thermometer so you know when it’s reached the right temperature.
Pour the caramel over the shortbread and top it with bourbon glazed pecans, toasted coconut, and mini chocolate chips.
To take them with you: Cut the bars into squares and wrap each square individually. Well wrapped, the bars will keep for at least 5 days. You can also freeze these bars for up to 3 months.
Easy packing tips
Lining the pan with foil keeps the caramel from sticking to the pan and if you cut a large enough strip to overhang two of the pan’s edges, it makes removing the entire slab a piece of cake. :-)
Make three evenly spaced cuts in one direction, then three evenly spaced cuts perpendicular to them to make 16 bars.
Wrapped individually, these bars will keep well for at least 5 days at room temperature. Or, freeze for up to 3 months.
Additions and Substitutions
All of the topping ingredients for these bars can be swapped out with something different if you prefer.
Use almonds, walnuts, or peanuts instead of or in addition to the pecans. You could even swap the nuts with pumpkin seeds.
Lean in hard to the trail-mix vibe these bars were based on and add some dried cherries or dried cranberries to the topping ingredients.
Omit any of the topping ingredients: Leave out the bourbon glazed pecans for a nut-free version. Leave out the coconut if it’s not to your liking. Same with the chocolate. If you want more nuts, or chocolate, or coconut, add as much as you like.
If you’re not a fan of bourbon, a great substitution is rum. Or, leave the liquor out entirely. The glazed pecans and the caramel can be made as instructed with or without the bourbon.
Other Road Food Recipes
White Bean Tuna Salad
This bright, protein-packed salad is tossed in a simple lemon-Dijon vinaigrette and loaded with crisp scallions, creamy white beans, flaky tuna, and your favorite briny vegetables. It’s endlessly adaptable, requires no cooking, and is perfect for meal prep, road trips, picnics, or easy lunches on the go.
Paprika Chicken Bites
Tender, juicy paprika chicken bites made with just a handful of pantry ingredients, one pan, and ready in about 20 minutes. Delicious served hot, at room temperature, or cold, they're perfect for easy weeknight dinners, meal prep, packed lunches, road trips, picnics, and travel days.
Spicy White Bean Harissa Dip
This dip takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and will keep in the refrigerator for days, and in a cooler for many hours.
Roasted Eggplant Dip
This roasted eggplant dip is smoky, garlicky, just a little bit spicy, and exactly the kind of thing I want to eat with pita chips or warm buttered naan—and maybe a stash of cut vegetables and a handful of roasted nuts.
Blueberry Pie Bars
These sweet, jammy little bars are much easier to transport than blueberry pie but still deliver plenty of bright blueberry flavor. Use your favorite can, or jar, of prepared blueberry pie filling, or make the filling from scratch. You'll find my favorite recipe below.
White Bean Pasta Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes
All the ingredient amounts in this recipe are suggestions, not rules. Adjust everything to your personal tastes and preferences. This is also one of those salads to which plenty of other delicious things can be added or substituted. Toss in some chopped marinated artichokes, any kind of pickled vegetable, banana peppers, chopped cucumber, broccoli, or cauliflower. The number of people this recipe serves depends on how you serve it. As a side dish, it will serve at least 6 people. As a main dish, it will serve 4. If you want to add some protein, add tuna, shredded rotisserie chicken, or hard-boiled eggs.