The holiday of Thanksgiving revolves around two things: Family and food. It can be extremely stressful to prepare a massive Thanksgiving dinner that the entire family will enjoy. And how many times do we see kids being reluctant or even downright refusing to help with the cooking?
Nobody understands why this is. It is because kids don’t like cooking things that they do not eat themselves? The following recipes can solve this problem, as they are easy for kids to make, and will be something that both the kids and the adults on Thanksgiving will enjoy. That way you can have cooking stuff to do with the kids.
Treats that do not need to be baked
Many things made at the Thanksgiving table need to be baked to be prepared. Baking things requires patience, which is a trait that many children understandably do not have. The following treats do not need to be baked, and match up to a younger child’s personality of cooking things quickly and being very involved in the cooking process. There are two baked treats that your children can make: Pretzel Turkeys and Chocolate Acorns.
Pretzel Turkeys
Required materials: wax paper, pretzel crisps, white chocolate, red food gel, semi-sweet chocolate chips, candy corn
Preparation: Place the pretzel crisps on the wax paper. Microwave white chocolate for 30 seconds or until soft. Pour a small amount of white chocolate into a plastic bag and cut off one of the corners. Mix the rest of the chocolate with the red gel until the white chocolate turns red. Take the mixture into a plastic bag and cut off one of the corners.
Procedure: Squeeze the melted white chocolate into the pretzel’s two upper cavities. Once they are filled, put a chocolate chip into the holes. This makes the turkey’s eyes. Take a piece of candy corn and press it into the chocolate. This makes the beak. Squeeze out some of the red chocolate mixture underneath the beak to make the turkey’s wattle. Let sit for about five minutes before serving.
Chocolate Acorns
Required materials: Box of Nilla wafers, Hershey’s Kisses, semi-sweet chocolate chips, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Preparation: Place some parchment onto a baking sheet. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave. Stir them until they are smooth. Pour the melted chocolate into a ziploc bag and cut off one of the corners. Pour a drop of this chocolate from the corner onto the flat part of the nilla wafer. This functions as a glue of sorts. Attach a hershey’s kiss on the top. Set it aside on a baking sheet. Place as many as necessary onto the baking sheet and place the baking sheet into the freezer.
Procedure: Pour a tiny amount of melted chocolate onto the frozen nilla wafer. This makes the stem of the acorn. Do this to all of the frozen cookies. Place them back into the freezer, wait five minutes, and serve.
Baked treats
As mentioned previously, anything that needs to be baked requires some basic cooking skills, including patience, knowing times and temperatures, and gathering specific amounts of necessary materials. Your older children will be able to make these baked treats easily. And no we are not talking about pizza this time.
Pumpkin Spice S’Mores
Required materials: Graham crackers, Rice krispies cereal (6 cups), mini marshmallows (4 cups), sugar (¾ cup), Karo syrup (¾ cup in one container, 2 tbsp in another), Almond butter (1 cup), pumpkin pie spice (1 tsp), white chocolate chips (12 oz), heavy whipping cream (5 tbsp),
Preparation: Spray a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the rice krispies and marshmallows in a bowl. Mix the sugar and ¾ cup container of Karo syrup in a saucepan.
Procedure for the marshmallow mix: Place the sugar and Karo syrup on the stove on medium and bring to a slight boil. Take this off the stove and add the almond butter and pumpkin spice. Stir until the mix becomes smooth. Pour it over the bowl of rice krispies and marshmallow mix. Press the mix into the pan and stir.
Procedure for the chocolate mix: Combine the white chocolate chips, heavy whipping cream, and tbsp of Karo syrup into a microwave safe bowl. Cook in the microwave on high for ten 15 second increments. Stir frequently until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Spread over the top of the marshmallow mix and top with any leftover marshmallows. Place graham crackers onto the pan. Sandwich the mixes in between the graham crackers. Set the pan in the oven or broiler and make sure it is four inches from the heat. Broil until the marshmallow mix is light brown. Let them cool, cut, then serve.
Rice krispie pumpkins
Required materials: Melted margarine (3 tbsp), rice krispies cereal (6 cups), mini marshmallows (10 oz), Mike & Ike candies, orange food coloring.
Preparation: Add marshmallows to the melted margarine. Put the mix back into the microwave and heat until the marshmallows puff. Add food coloring if you desire. Add cereal to the mix and stir thoroughly. Lightly cover hands with grease, mold mixture into balls, and place onto a pan lined with wax paper. Place a piece of Mike & Ike to make the stem. Place into oven and cook until marshmallows are solid on the outside.
