We’ve been working on our cooking badge at scouts, and needless to say, I selfishly took a nap when I got home today after the meeting. Teaching 15 kids about grains, cooking 2 batches of no-bake cookies plus coaching them on cookie sales….all in an hour and a half….takes a lot out of a lady!
Depending on your meeting facility, using no-bake recipes towards a cooking badge is great. Granted, scouts don’t learn oven skills, but we used these cookies to talk about grains, practice stove top cooking, practice mixing and measuring as well as using a timer (and learning to wait!). These are important fundamentals of cooking. The grain part was fun. I had an array of different grains, from quinoa to bulgur to black rice and more. I put a little of each in a dixie cup and they each got to touch it, smell it and even taste it if they wanted. Then I heated up an Uncle Bens Quinoa and Brown Rice blend for them to taste. Many had never had any of these specialty grains. Then we discussed what grains went into the cookies for today.
All education aside, these were very good. Even the parents had these at pick up and wanted the recipes. The S’mores bars I adapted from The Domestic Rebel, a young blogger with a lot of spunk. The other cookie recipe has made its way around many kitchens, and handed down from many Grandmas. I cut back on the sugar after making it with the girls, they were a little too sweet. You can also add coconut to the batter, but my scouts were adamant about no coconut, so no coconut! I added grape nuts, to add more grain and crunch.
Save these for a cooking day with kids, or a day you don’t feel like turning on the oven or slaving away in the kitchen. Maybe a super hot Summer day? Or a lazy Sunday….like tomorrow?
1: No-bake S’more Bars
Ingredients
5 Tbsp. butter
16 oz. mini marshmallows, divided with 5 cups in one bowl and the rest in another
1 12 oz. box Golden Grahams Cereal
1 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chocolate chunks
Wax paper
Directions
In a large saucepan, melt the butter on medium-low heat. Add the 5 cups of marshmallows and continue stirring until melted and smooth. Take off heat, and quickly add the box of cereal. Stir to coat, working quickly. Once the cereal is well coated, add the chocolates and mix. Minis will melt a little, which is great! Add the rest of the marshmallows and combine.
Take a 13 x 9 pan and lay wax paper along the bottom. Pour the mixture into the pan, and using a spatula, flatten and press the mixture tightly into the pan. Press it as flat and even as possible. Chill for one hour. Cut into squares and serve ’em up with milk!
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2: No-bake Oatmeal, Cocoa and Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
1 stick butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup Grape Nuts cereal
Directions
In a large saucepan, combine sugar, butter, vanilla, cocoa and milk. Heat over medium heat until melted and smooth. Bring to a boil for one minute, to get the sugar crystals melted. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Add the oatmeal and Grape Nuts and mix until well combined. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Drop the batter into tablespoons. Let them sit out to harden up, about 30 minutes. I have read if there is a lot of moisture in the air, they won’t harden! So not a rainy day project!
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