Looking for Family Activities in Mesa? Start With a S'mores Cookie and a Summer Memory

Remember making s'mores as a kid?

The sticky marshmallow fingers.

The way you'd carefully rotate your marshmallow over the fire, trying to find the exact balance between golden brown and too charred… so this one’s Dad’s.

The arguments with your siblings because someone was taking too long.

The excitement of watching your marshmallow puff up just before it caught fire because you pushed it a little too far.

The truth is, most of us weren't just making s'mores.

We were making memories.

For me, those memories happened on summer nights with my family.

Lake Bartlett.

Lake Pleasant.

Alamo Lake.

Lake Powell.

Anywhere we could escape the noise of the city and trade city for dirt, water, and stars.

Sometimes we were surrounded by family.

Sometimes we were surrounded by complete strangers, however they often left as friends.

Families gathered around campfires chasing the same thing we were.

A chance to slow down.

A chance to reconnect.

A chance to remember that life exists outside of schedules, deadlines, and responsibilities.

No clocking into work.

No emails.

No boss asking for timelines or financial projections.

Just nature.

Connection.

Laughter.

And, of course, s'mores.

Years later, when I started developing what would eventually become Cris the S'mores Cookie, I wasn't trying to make another cookie.

I was trying to recreate a feeling.

I was longing for those summer nights.

The big shirts over a light sunburn as the night starts to cool.

The third marshmallow that didn't turn out right, so I'd hand it to my dad and start over.

The feeling of being completely surrounded by love, care, and connection.

That feeling deserved more than a chocolate chip cookie with a marshmallow stuffed inside.

I needed the crunch of the graham cracker.

The melt of milk chocolate.

The stickiness of the marshmallow.

The balance of sweet, smoky, crunchy, and nostalgic.

I needed all of it.

And I needed it in a protein cookie.

Because while those memories belong to childhood, we're not kids anymore.

We've learned more about our bodies.

We've learned more about the ingredients we consume.

We've learned that indulgence and nourishment don't have to live on opposite sides of the table.

So while the marshmallow may still be the star of the show, I wanted to build the entire experience around ingredients chosen with intention.

Protein to support the bodies we're building.

Real cane sugar that our bodies can recognize and utilize.

Real butter instead of shortcuts.

Quality chocolate without unnecessary seed oils.

And by far my favorite detail of all, a marshmallow made with real marshmallow root.

The very ingredient marshmallows were originally created from.

For centuries, marshmallow root has been used as a traditional herb to support digestion and soothe inflammation. Whether those benefits survive the journey into a cookie is far beyond my humble baker's expertise to claim.

But I do know this:

When given the choice between returning to the roots or chasing shelf stability for profit, I'll choose the roots every time.

Because Cris was never designed to be another product moving through the endless machine of consumerism.

It's a love letter.

A homecoming to every wild nature kid who ever sat around a campfire with sticky fingers with sand and smoke braided into their hair.

An ode to every master Tetris player of a father, that packed the truck and found the perfect camping spot.

To every summer night that felt like it would last forever.

To every parent who worked hard all week and spent their weekends creating memories that their children would carry for decades.

And maybe that's why Cris feels so special to me.

Because every bite reminds me that some of the best parts of life have never been found in the rush.

They're found around the fire.

Buried in our very nature.

Around the people we love.

This summer, whether you're looking for family activities in Mesa, searching for weekend activities with your kids, or simply looking for an excuse to slow down for a moment, we hope you'll stop by The Kitchen's Market and experience Cris for yourself.

Not because it's a cookie.

But because sometimes a cookie can remind you of who you were before life got so busy.

And sometimes that's exactly what we need.

Stop in every Saturday June-October for fresh baked cookies straight from the oven, 10am-sell out. Ship them straight to your door here.