50+ Lifestyles

Ella’s Kitchen – Kid’s Corner

Kids are loads of fun…and a bit of work! Luckily, cooking with them can be one of the fun aspects. All you need are simple recipes for nutritious foods that look good and taste yummy. Luckily, I had two granddaughters visiting me, and we tried some recipes. Hope you have fun cooking, too!
Ella

[Ella can be contacted at ellaweeze@yahoo.com or Ella – 50+ Lifestyles, 804 W Lombard Street, Davenport, IA, 52804]

Peanut Butter S’Mores

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sufar
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts (optional)
16 large marshmallows
4 (1.55 ounce) milk chocolate candy bars

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl; set aside. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, egg and vanilla until well-blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until blended. Stir in peanuts, if desired.
3. Roll dough into 1 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough with tines of fork,
forming criss-cross pattern. Bake about 14 minutes or until set and edges are light golden brown. cool cookies 2 minutes on
cookies sheet. Transfe to wire cooling rack. cool completely.
4. To assumble sandwiches, break each candy bar into four
sections. Place 1 section of chocolate on flat side of 1 cookie. Place on microwaveable plate. Top with 1 marshmallow. Microwave at HIGH 10 to 12 seconds or until marshmallow is puffy. Immediately top with another cookie, flat side down. Press slightly on top cookie, spreading marshmallow to edges. Repeat with remaining cookies one at a time. Cool completely. Makes about 36 cookies.

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Flag Dessert

2 pints fresh strawberries
1 package (12 ounces) pound cake,
cut into 16 slices
1 1/3 cups blueberries
1 tub (12 ounces) COOL WHIP® Whipped topping, thawed

Slice 1 cup of the strawberries; set aside. Halve remaining strawberries; set aside. Line bottom of 12×8-inch glass baking dish with 8 cake slices. top with 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1 cup of blueberries and 1/2 of the whipped topping. Plce remaining cake slices over whipped topping. Spread remaining whipped topping over cake. Arrange strawberry halves and remaining 1/3 cup blueberries over whipped topping to create a flag design. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 15 servings

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Picnic Pizza Biscuits

1 can (10 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup marinara or pizza sauce
2 tablespoons French’s Dijon Mustard

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Separate biscuits; pat or roll into 10 (4-inch) circles on floured surface. Press circles into 12-cup muffin pan.
2. Cook sausage in large nonstick skillet over high heat 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to separate meat; drain fat. Add onion, mushrooms and bell peppers, cook and stir 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in cheese, sauce and mustard; mix well.
3. Mound filling evenly in buscuits. Bake 20 minutes or until biscuits are browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 10 servings.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

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Bird’s Nest Cookies

1 1/3 cups (3 1/2 ounces) flaked coconut
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups “M&Ms”® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits, divided

1. Preheat oven to 300° F. Spread coconut on ungreased cookie sheet. Toast in oven, stirring until coconut just begins to turn light golden, about 25 minutes. Remove coconut from cookie sheet; set aside. Increase oven temperature to 350°. In large bowl combine flour and salt; blend into creamed mixture. Stir in 1 cup “M&Ms”® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits. Form dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll heavily in toasted coconut. Place 2 inches apart on lightly-greased cookie sheets. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until coconut is golden brown. Remove cookies to wire racks; immediately fill indentations with remaining “M&Ms”® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Baking Bits, using scant teaspoonful for each cookie. Cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Little Helper: To grease cookie sheet, use shortening or vegetable cooking spray for the best results. Lining the cookie sheets with parchment paper instead of greasing cuts cleanup and bakes the cookies more evenly.