“But wait!” you say. “What kid doesn’t like pretty much all sweet treats?” And you have us there. But we’re going to showcase what our kids all-time favorites are. At the very end, I’ll show you a cute and easy after school project for your smart little owls that even the littlest helpers can be in on.
Summer may be winding down for most people, but here it’s still in the 90s-100s on a regular basis, which means we can toss around a little ice cream after school:
Some schools don’t allow homemade treats and snacks to be served to an entire class, but if you’re still allowed to send homemade goodies for holidays and birthdays, you can’t go wrong with Peanut Butter and Jam Bars (if your child’s school allows nuts)
Now…does anyone else have a hard time letting their kids help in the kitchen? I feel like so much of the time, I’m focusing on my food turning out pretty for blog pictures or guests or parties paired with my hatred for cleaning up food-related messes that I’m really not great at letting my kids help me in the kitchen.
which effectively makes me tear up within about 2.5 seconds and reminds me that my “baby” is in Kindergarten and my sweet babiest baby is in preschool and that if I’m gonna have any more babies, I should probably get cracking. So I’m trying to be better about not kicking my kids out of the kitchen and part of that has been finding projects that they can work on that are quick and hard to mess up.
About a year ago, there were lots of blogs posting about cute little owls made out of Moon Pies. They’re the perfect project for little hands and while they might not be the most intricate or elaborate treats ever, they’re darling and there are plenty of easy opportunities for your kids to help. Like actually help, not like, “Sure, you can help! Come here and put those measuring cups into that drawer and then back again!”
Here’s my problem: I hate Moon Pies. Every year at the Mardi Gras parade, there are people on floats tossing Moon Pies and I will forget that I hate them and YELL for them because they’re pretty high up there in value when it comes to Mardi Gras loot. And every. Single. Time, I bite into it and wonder what I was thinking. So I had to come up with an alternative. I tried Oreo Cakesters, which ended up being too small and too sugary, especially when they were decorated. I finally settled on Rice Krispy Treats (and yes, it’s completely coincidental that that commercial makes me cry and that I’m using Rice Krispy Treats in this recipe, and no, I am not being paid by Kellogg’s, Snap, Crackle, OR Pop to bring them up twice in one post) for the owls and Double Stuft Oreos for the little baby owls.
If you’re making the bigger owls, you’ll need a very sturdy round cookie cutter–think along the lines of the metal ones with the rubber gripper on top. Believe me, your hand will thank me. Then you just cut as many circles as you need (or as you can) with the cookie cutter. Save the scraps for snacking or try letting your kids make sculptures out of them (just rub some oil or shortening on their hands first to keep them from getting too sticky). Dip the treat in some melted chocolate.
and shake it to remove the excess chocolate. Insert a lollipop stick into the bottom and lay the chocolate-covered treat onto a piece of wax paper coated with vegetable shortening.
You do almost the same thing with the Oreos, only you insert the stick BEFORE you dip them. When the Rice Krispy Treat gets warm from the chocolate, it loosens up and the stick falls out. Trust me. I made a giant mess.
When you’re done dipping, place two peppermint Mentos in the chocolate for eyeballs and a candy corn for a beak. The Mentos are kind of big on the Oreos, but I think it’s kind of goofy and cute, like a little kitten with eyes that take up half its face.
Spoon the remaining chocolate into a Ziploc bag and cut a tiny corner off the bag. Carefully (this is a good job for the grown up) dot each Mento with chocolate, making the eyes. Allow the chocolate owls to cool completely–you can pop them in the fridge or freezer if you need to and they’ll be done in no time.
I popped these suckers into a wooden basket filled with floral foam and basket filler. It looks kind of like a little nest, don’t you think?
Well, that’s it! I hope you guys have enjoyed Kids Week as much as we have! Don’t be too sad, though–if you’ve been with us for over a year, you know that we’re just BEGINNING to kick off our favorite time of the year and we have lots of fun tricks up our sleeves for this fall and the upcoming holiday season!
These cute little owl pops are a great for any fall party, and kiddos love ’em!
Ingredients
Rice Krispy Treats (on the cereal box) and/or Double Stuft Oreos
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. canola oil
Peppermint Mentos
Candy corn
Supplies
Long lollipop sticks
Wax paper
Instructions
Using a heavy-duty round cookie cutter, cut desired number of circles out of the Rice Krispy Treats. If using Oreos, carefully insert a lollipop stick about halfway into the cream filling. Set aside.
In a 9″ pie plate, combine the chocolate chips and oil. Heat on high for about 2 minutes or until the chocolate is smooth and liquid, stirring every 30 seconds.
Dip each treat/cookie into the chocolate and twirl to remove the excess chocolate. Insert a lollipop stick halfway into the dipped Rice Krispy treat. Place dipped treats onto a sheet of greased wax paper.
Place 2 Mentos on each “owl” for eyes and a candy corn for a beak. Spoon a few tablespoons of remaining chocolate into a Ziploc bag and cut off a tiny corner. Dot each Mento to make an eye. Allow to cool and harden–you can place them in the fridge or freezer to hurry things along.
Notes
Great tip: If making Rice Krispy Treats, be sure to line the pan with greased wax paper. When they have set up, you can just pull out the wax paper, making your life infinitely easier!
*Disclaimer: this post includes affiliate links, which just means that when you purchase items through our links, we earn a small commission, which helps us keep working hard to create recipes for you!
27 comments
My son's 1st birthday is next week and I have been looking EVERYWHERE for the bright sprinkles like you have shown on the colorburst cupcakes. Where did you get those??
I've loved your blog for a long time now, and I use your recipes constantly. But I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed your posts this week. All the great ideas and fun – I'm looking forwards to trying them all. Thank you!
My son wants to help in the kitchen, but he's too bossy. I'm not confidant enough in the cooking department to be told how wrong I'm doing it. It usually ends poorly, so I avoid it for now. Maybe later when we've both learned better interpersonal communication skills.
My daughter is really starting to express interest in being in the kitchen (which just makes my heart flutter). These owls will be the perfect thing for us to try together. Thanks for posting!
My husband is the cook in our family and really doesn't like having our daughter cook with him. He says that it's his way of relaxing and when she cooks with him then he doesn't get his relaxing time.
Me, I hate cooking, so having my daughter cook with me couldn't ruin it any more ;D
My son's 1st birthday is next week and I have been looking EVERYWHERE for the bright sprinkles like you have shown on the colorburst cupcakes. Where did you get those??
Those owls are amazing!
I've loved your blog for a long time now, and I use your recipes constantly. But I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed your posts this week. All the great ideas and fun – I'm looking forwards to trying them all. Thank you!
Oh, I love those cute little owls!
I like these owls, they may just be the Harvest Party craft/ snack for a 5th and 3rd grade classroom soon 🙂
My son wants to help in the kitchen, but he's too bossy. I'm not confidant enough in the cooking department to be told how wrong I'm doing it.
It usually ends poorly, so I avoid it for now. Maybe later when we've both learned better interpersonal communication skills.
My daughter is really starting to express interest in being in the kitchen (which just makes my heart flutter). These owls will be the perfect thing for us to try together. Thanks for posting!
All of your recipes are always so great–I love when you do round ups of all your past ones–I really need to make those colorburst cupcakes–how fun!
I just had to say that I am a lurker on your blog but I have so been enjoying your posts this week that I had to comment and tell you.
Your blog is awesome and I can't wait to get in the kitchen with my kids and try some of the tricks and recipes you posted on this week.
My husband is the cook in our family and really doesn't like having our daughter cook with him. He says that it's his way of relaxing and when she cooks with him then he doesn't get his relaxing time.
Me, I hate cooking, so having my daughter cook with me couldn't ruin it any more ;D