Buzz Around New England: Bristol Harbor Homemade

Months ago, I stumbled upon an article on kidoinfo.com about baking mixes from Rhode Island based Bristol Harbor Homemade that were about to begin production at a nut-free facility in Maine. Interesting!

I recently had the opportunity to try a few of the mixes. They were all delicious and simple to make, but my absolute favorites were the white chocolate cranberry scones. What a treat! These mixes come in a gorgeous blue package which is perhaps the most attractive packaging I've seen for baking mixes. The Bristol Harbor Homemade website refers to the mixes as "artisan", and that is an apt description. These gourmet mixes are a nice change from mixes typically produced in nut-free facilities and come in several varieties including White Chocolate Cranberry Scones, Blueberry scones, Dark n' Stormy Ginger Cookies,  Chocolate Chip Bakery Cookies, Afternoon Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Chocolate Orange Cranberry Biscotti. They are a great treat for yourself and would certainly make excellent gifts.

The origins of Bristol Harbor Homemade are interesting too. Cindy Elder, the founder of Bristol Harbor Homemade, began preparing dry mixes for her own family to make meals away from home--away in the mountains or out in the sailboat--a little easier. She began to give her mixes as gifts to family and friends, and eventually began to receive requests for the mixes from "friends of friends", and customers--and Bristol Harbor Homemade was born. As the mixes began to gain popularity locally, Cindy began to receive increasing numbers of inquiries asking if the mixes were "safe for nut allergies". So when the time came to move to a larger manufacturing facility, production of the baking mixes shifted to a nut-free facility in Maine, The New England Cupboard.  

Bristol Harbor Homemade mixes are available in specialty stores around the Northeast and are also available for purchase online on The New England Cupboard website, www.newenglandcupboard.com.  Prices range from $5.49 for a bread mix to $8.49 for a cookie or scone mix. For additional information, you can also contact Cindy Elder and Bristol Harbor Homemade at shop@bristolharborhomemade.com.