Category Archives: kids

Peanut Butter Krispy Treats

dessert, kids 6 Comments

We’re gearing up for the 4th of July! It’s especially fun this year because — get this — Kiddo has all kinds of foods that he likes now! He keeps trying something new and saying, “I CAN’T BELIEVE I’VE BEEN MISSING OUT ON THIS!” Top of that list? Peanut butter. He would now eat it all day every day if I let him, so he was excited to be my official taste tester for these little treats which I adapted from Momadvice.com. Verdict: thumbs up!

Peanut Butter Krispy Treats

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups rice krispies*
  • sprinkles, if you so desire

Instructions

  1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add in sugar and honey, stirring together; bring to a boil then remove the pan from the heat
  2. Stir in the peanut butter, cinnamon and salt till peanut butter is melted and everything is thoroughly combined
  3. Add in cereal and stir to coat
  4. Press into ungreased silicone muffin pans (Mickey Mouse optional) or greased square 8″ pan, press firmly, top with sprinkles and wait for treats to cool

Notes

I think you could pretty much make this with whatever cereal floats your boat, but the peanut butter sauce is so sweet that I wouldn’t pick a very sugary cereal — might be sugar overkill.

Peanut butter maple syrup

breakfast, dessert, kids 8 Comments

I was looking for a way to get a little extra protein on our Saturday morning waffles. I mean because everyone needs to have enough fuel to get through till creamy jalapeno ranch chicken tacos at Chuy’s.

Just me?

Anyhoo!

I Googled a couple recipes for peanut butter syrup and they all seemed essentially the same and insanely easy.

Peanut butter maple syrup

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Add both ingredients to saucepan and heat on medium heat, whisking occasionally (more often as it gets warmer), until heated and well combined

That’s it! One step, and it’s SO good, and SO filling. Half a waffle with this drizzled on and I was good to go till salsa time.

Enjoy!

Wheaties granola

baking, breakfast, kids, snacks 1 Comment

I should tell you how carefully I planned this recipe.

I should tell you how I planned for substituting Wheaties for half the oats in an effort to enhance the texture, flavor, and nutrition of the recipe.

I should also tell you that the truth is I ran out of oats.

Ahem.

Regardless of how I arrived at this version, I do make it this way on purpose now and I eat it with my lazy yogurt every single morning. And even the Kiddo loves it. That’s kind of a miracle, folks. It’s based on the recipe from Creative Kitchen because she didn’t use seeds in her recipe; she’s speaking my language.

Wheaties granola

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (the real stuff, not “pancake syrup”)
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup wheat germ
  • 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 2 cups Wheaties cereal
  • 1 cup Craisins or raisins (optional, obviously)

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F
  2. Melt butter and honey or maple syrup in a saucepan, then stir in remaining ingredients, making sure everything is well coated with the butter mixture
  3. Spread on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until the oats are golden brown
  4. Cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 20 minutes, then scrape in long strokes with a spatula to aid clumping. Store in a jar or zip top bag in the fridge

What I cooked up

kids 4 Comments

This is totally one of the cutest two things I’ve ever made.

The Peanut made her arrival in December and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind since then. We’re starting to settle into a nice routine (which means, of course, Peanut will change the routine posthaste) and I’m easing back into the kitchen, so more recipes soon. Smart money says they’ll be faster to make than ever before. 😉

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

baking, kids 5 Comments

With just a few weeks to go till baby girl makes her debut I am all about easy recipes and shortcuts right now. When Pillsbury asked if anyone had any simple recipes to share for the holidays I knew this was for me! (Click here to see all the cookie ideas — there are definitely more I want to make!) These cookies have one of my favorite combinations, and the colors can be changed up for any celebration. The fact that Kiddo can easily help me with them makes me love them all the more.

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 chub Pillsbury peanut butter cookie dough
  • Red and green chocolate candies
  • Colored sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Sprinkle colored sugars onto plates
  3. Scoop up about an ounce of cookie dough and tuck a few chocolate into the middle. Roll the dough between your hands to make a ball with the candies hidden inside; repeat with remaining dough until you have 16 cookies, about 1 1/2” each.
  4. Roll each cookie in colored sugar so all sides are covered. Place 2” apart on parchment lined cookie sheet without flattening dough.
  5. Bake at 350° till golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for two minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips:

  • This is a great project for kids! They can poke in the candies, roll the dough, and love working with the sugar.
  • Customize the colors of the sugar for any holiday or team! What about taking these to a tailgate?
  • When baking with kids, use a pencil to mark an X on the underside of the parchment paper where each cookie should go; the mark will show through and show kids where to place cookies so they’re well spaced.
  • Colored sugar is found in the grocery store baking aisle, or can be easily made by stirring a couple drops of food coloring into 1/4 cup of white sugar (that’s what we did).