Kid Food

I've noticed a bit of a direction change in my cooking. I mean, my absolute favorite recipe I've found this year has been for spaghetti and meatballs! I'm definitely not taking a lot of chances. I'm sure that's because I'm cooking for a four-year-old and a six-year-old everyday and I expect them to eat what I make. It's fine with me, though- I really do love that spaghetti and meatballs. I'll have plenty of time to try that recipe for Penang Curried Pumpkin and Prawn Soup that I've been holding onto. And until now, I've never really been into preparing food that is all about "kid-appeal" and less about taste, but my kids are old enough to enjoy it and I think it's pretty fun. I mean look at these fun cheesy witch fingers I made for Franny's Halloween party at school:

The girls and I made these on Saturday afternoon between Halloween activities. I think they are so cute!! I found the chocolate dough a little hard to work with, so I ended up just pinching off two small pieces for each cookie and smashing them under a drinking glass.

Owl Cookies from Tangled and True

Ingredients:

This dough is enough to make a large batch of cookies for Halloween school parties or Halloween home parties.

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. Baking powder

1/2 tsp. Ground sea salt

1 1/2 sticks organic butter

1 1/3 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

1/2 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix the dry ingredients well in bowl. Cream the butter and add sugar to dry ingredients. Beat eggs and vanilla separately then add slowly to mixture. Blend well.

Separate the dough. Take approximately 1/3 of the dough and mix in half a package of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips. The dough will become chocolate dough and form a log. Roll the dough very quickly before the chocolate solidifies. Make sure it is a solid roll. Cover with wax paper and put in the refrigerator.

With the remaining vanilla dough (white) roll it out in a long rectangular shape, this dough will be the outer later that will encase the chocolate log. It should resemble a bulls-eye, an outer vanilla layer, with the inner chocolate roll. Wrap the log in wax paper and refrigerate until firm. Wait at least 2 hours or you can freeze the dough a head of time for up to one month.

When ready to assemble the owls place the semi-sweet chocolate chip in a small bowl for easy access. Place the cashews in another small bowl.

(If there are nut allergies you can substitute with candy corn for the nose)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the cookie sheets with butter. Cut the logs into 1/8-slices. On the cookie sheet join the two slices together, by pinching them. Slightly pinch the two opposite sides of the rounds into pointy ear shapes. Place a chocolate chip upside down in the center of each chocolate eye. Then place the cashew embedded into the center of the two joined circles. It is now complete.

Continue the same process. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees, for about 10 minutes. Watch closely until lightly browned. Remove and cool on a cookie rack.

Thanksgiving Dinner cupcakes. I found these on familyfun.go. I cannot believe how cute these are!!!! The mashed potatoes- cream cheese frosting with a little cinnamon (pepper). The peas- non-pareils for cake decorating. Cranberry sauce- red crystal sugar. Turkey- pie crust baked and broken into small bits to look like turkey slices with a little hershey's syrup over top as gravy.

I think the cupcakes were a big hit with the girls. :)