Snacks for little kids

[annabelle]

My mother used to save the scraps from pie crust and roll them out, spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon.  Then rolled them up like a jelly roll and sliced and baked like cookies.

 

Alternately, you can spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon and cut into strips and twist and bake.  They are like churros without the frying. 

 

My boys loved them.

[Jaymes]

My mother used to save the scraps from pie crust and roll them out, spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon.  Then rolled them up like a jelly roll and sliced and baked like cookies.

 

Alternately, you can spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon and cut into strips and twist and bake.  They are like churros without the frying. 

 

My boys loved them.

 

Me, too.  But I don't bake pies.  I could probably just buy some of that pie dough - maybe the pie shells - and cut them into strips and do this.  Could bake them in the toaster over, and the two biggest kids (both girls) could help with that.  Everyone, of course, could help with the sprinkling of the cinnamon and sugar - although the one that just turned three is a boy, and a Godzilla mini-me whirlwind of destruction.  He'd undoubtedly get a huge kick out of sprinkling the sisters more than he would sprinkling the pie dough.

[Jaymes]

Mom used to put a slice of ham or salami, a bit of cheese on a Ritz cracker and bake them.  Those were my favourites.

 

Mini pizzas on little pita or bagels

Tuna salad dip

Salsa + cheese on top, nuke it till the cheese melts for a dip. If you've got leftover chili, even better!

Microwave nachos

Grilled cheese sandwich or quesadillas

Mini quiches (make ahead & freeze)

Puff pastry spirals

Fruit & yogurt smoothies (mom called them milkshakes)

 

 

You can probably tell I didn't (and still don't) care for sweets as snacks! 

 

Fine by me.  Although, as I said, don't want to overdo it with the "healthy" thing, I sure don't want to just load them up with sugar every afternoon either.  These are some more great ideas. 

 

Thought about making some mini-quiches, but wasn't sure that the little kids would like them.  I will, however, confess that what I actually thought about doing was buying a box of frozen mini-quiches from Costco.  Maybe it would be worth a go.  Would be something substantial and, along with fruit, a nice snack.

[Darienne]

You can make tortillas roll-ups, spread both sides with butter, cinnamon and sugar.  Pin with a toothpick and bake for a few minutes.  Use small tortillas.

[heidih]

You can make tortillas roll-ups, spread both sides with butter, cinnamon and sugar.  Pin with a toothpick and bake for a few minutes.  Use small tortillas.

 

Yes! My kid had this for breakfast alot but I just did it on the stovetop in a pan and folded it over like a quesadilla, then scissored into wedges

[Jaymes]

Yes! My kid had this for breakfast alot but I just did it on the stovetop in a pan and folded it over like a quesadilla, then scissored into wedges

 

Are y'all using flour tortillas or corn tortillas or does it matter?

[heidih]

Are y'all using flour tortillas or corn tortillas or does it matter?

 

Flour. He said it reminded him of churros - the Mexican ones we get off street carts here

Edited August 1, 2014 by heidih (log)

[Shel_B]

I haven't read all the posts here, but many of the ones I read suggest snacks that are heavy on sweets  and generous with sugar.  Not always such a good idea, but definitely welcome by the youngsters.  Perhaps those sweet treats can be supplemented or alternated with good, fresh fruit., or make something simple and easy that includes fresh fruit.  When I was a kid, I loved it when grandpa came to visit, carrying bags of oranges,grapefruit, and similar treats.

[Jaymes]

Here's a blast from my past - this thread has reminded me of something that I used to make for my kids back when we were living in Tucson.  A popular dish there - the "Tucson take" on the classic tortilla and cheese combo - is a "cheese crisp."

 

I've had a lot of tortilla and cheese dishes through the years, but those ones in Tucson are still at the top of my "special food memories" list.

 

As I said upthread, I'm going to print these ideas and carry a hardcopy in my purse the next time I go shopping.  But, the kids are ready to come walking in the door any minute.  Too late to shop today.

 

But we have everything required to make these Tucson-style cheese crisps.  And that's what they're getting today!

 

http://www.everydaysouthwest.com/first-courses/classic-cheese-crisps-recipe/

[Jaymes]

I haven't read all the posts here, but many of the ones I read suggest snacks that are heavy on sweets  and generous with sugar.  Not always such a good idea, but definitely welcome by the youngsters.  Perhaps those sweet treats can be supplemented or alternated with good, fresh fruit., or make something simple and easy that includes fresh fruit.  When I was a kid, I loved it when grandpa came to visit, carrying bags of oranges,grapefruit, and similar treats.

 

Feel the need to reiterate that we're talking about snacks.  Overall, these kids eat a healthy diet.  My daughter and her husband, while not fanatical about it, are sort of health nuts - they watch their diets (and the kids' diets), exercise, etc.  But they're big believers in "everything in moderation," so they're not going to get their jogging shorts in a twist over the occasional buñuelo or slice of butterscotch toast.

 

And, like I said, I'm in a pretty heated competition for "most fun grandma."  There are two other competitors: "Mimi" and "Gran," one of whom is my former husband's second wife.

 

So I'm determined.

 

Now, where were we?

 

Oh yes, looking for that cookie jar.

[Beebs]

 

And, like I said, I'm in a pretty heated competition for "most fun grandma."  There are two other competitors: "Mimi" and "Gran," one of whom is my former husband's second wife.

 

So I'm determined.

 

 

Make-your-own ice cream sundaes or banana splits! 

 

Anyone who gave me that for an after school snack would be a serious contender for "most fun"!

[Kerry Beal]

Sausage rolls

Thumbprint cookies - ready to bake when they come through the door - they add the jam

little meatballs (isn't there a recipe where they put them in grape jelly?)

Spinach dip with pumpernickel chunks

nuts and bolts

whoopee pies

90 second nutella chocolate cakes in microwave

muffins

butterscotch squares

 

And of course you have to make the really good bubble solution for them to play with outside

[GlorifiedRice]

 

Feel the need to reiterate that we're talking about snacks.  Overall, these kids eat a healthy diet.  My daughter and her husband, while not fanatical about it, are sort of health nuts - they watch their diets (and the kids' diets), exercise, etc.  But they're big believers in "everything in moderation," so they're not going to get their jogging shorts in a twist over the occasional buñuelo or slice of butterscotch toast.

 

And, like I said, I'm in a pretty heated competition for "most fun grandma."  There are two other competitors: "Mimi" and "Gran," one of whom is my former husband's second wife.

 

So I'm determined.

 

Now, where were we?

 

Oh yes, looking for that cookie jar.

 

 

Take a look at these....

 

http://oi57.tinypic.com/euqxs7.jpg

http://oi61.tinypic.com/3493n7n.jpg

http://oi62.tinypic.com/11llnrl.jpg

http://oi61.tinypic.com/rbgncg.jpg

http://oi60.tinypic.com/28kjbif.jpg

[Jaymes]

Take a look at these....

 

http://oi57.tinypic.com/euqxs7.jpg

http://oi61.tinypic.com/3493n7n.jpg

http://oi62.tinypic.com/11llnrl.jpg

http://oi61.tinypic.com/rbgncg.jpg

http://oi60.tinypic.com/28kjbif.jpg

Those are adorable. This is turning into a really fun thread.

And Kerry - "90-second nutella cakes in the microwave"? How on earth do I do that?

[Kerry Beal]

90 Second Nutella Chocolate Cake Ingredients

 

• 1 tablespoon Nutella
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 heaping tablespoon flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

 

Method

 

Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.

Pour the batter into two greased ramekins or one large grease microwavable bowl or mug.

Microwave on 70% power for 30 seconds. At the end of the time, check for doneness (and volcano-ness!). If not cooked through, add 15 seconds at a time.

[Smithy]

I am all for being the Most Fun Grandma!  There are a lot of great ideas here, but I don't think I've seen piecrust rollups yet.  When Mom made pie, the inevitable scraps were re-rolled, spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon, and then rolled into spirals, cut and baked. We called the finished product "cinnamon rolls", and I may have been in college before I realized that most people think of a risen dough product when they hear that phrase. To this day I love doing that with scraps of dough.  If you wanted to nod toward more healthful but still fun food, you could substitute some savory filling: pesto, perhaps?  Walnuts and honey, for down-home baklava?

 

What about getting little mini-phyllo cups and filling them with, oh, pesto or an egg/cheese mixture or nuts and honey or ham and cheese or (let them fill in the blanks) and baking them?  Or fold dough circles around fillings and cook them, along the lines of samosas or mini-pasties or mini-fruit pies.  The sky's the limit on the fillings, and the kids can dream up the fillings and form the filled doughs, with you managing the oven and the baking sheets.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

How about dry roasted peanuts as a snack?

[heidih]

 

 

 There are a lot of great ideas here, but I don't think I've seen piecrust rollups yet.  When Mom made pie, the inevitable scraps were re-rolled, spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon, and then rolled into spirals, cut and baked. We called the finished product "cinnamon rolls", and I may have been in college before I realized that most people think of a risen dough product when they hear that phrase. To this day I love doing that with scraps of dough. 

 

Yes Annabelle mentioned in her post above http://forums.egullet.org/topic/149118-snacks-for-little-kids/#entry1980493

[Lisa Shock]

I've never done this with kids, but, I think they'd enjoy it in the winter -if you know what types of cheese they like, you could try fondue. I think they'd have fun choosing veggies or bread chunks and dipping. And, if you did the chocolate fondue (maybe force them to wear rain ponchos while they eat? -j/k) you'd definitely be their favorite relative. Chocolate fondue dippers: strawberries, banana chunks, marshmallows, caramels, chunks of pound cake, etc.

[Kerry Beal]

How about dry roasted peanuts as a snack?

With a little Shirley Temple of course!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

With a little Shirley Temple of course!

 

I've never known a child who didn't enjoy an occasional maraschino cherry.

[Jaymes]

I've never known a child who didn't enjoy an occasional maraschino cherry.

Absolutely. Did you happen to click on that "pear bunny salad" link back at the beginning of this thread? Several of the "pear bunnies" had maraschino cherries for noses. Definitely going to be doing that.

[djyee100]

My mother had various snacks set out when my brother and I came home from school, but the one I remember best is jello, because it's so much fun to play with and eat. My mom usually gave us the Reddi-Whip container to swizzle on some topping. More fun. But sometimes we only got some milk to pour on the jello.

 

These days commercial jello is out of favor, with good reason, because it has so much sugar in it. So how about a simple homemade gelatin made with fruit juice? You could put some fresh fruit in it when you're cooking it. My mom always made the jello in little dessert cups or custard cups, so my brother and I had individual servings (less fighting). You could also make homemade whipped cream and keep it in the fridge for topping. I have to say, though, that aiming the Reddi-Whip nozzle at my brother and pretending it was a fire extinguisher--and he was on fire--was an important part  of my early gastronomic experience.

[heidih]

djyee 100's jello post reminded me of POPSICLES! I had a neighbor who stocked the homemade ones. Coming in from playing and popping one out of the mold was such a treat. They are all the rage on the internet now and you can make them in smaller sizes for the smaller kids so they don't end up mostly on the body versus in the tummy.  Ice cube tray versions = tiny treats. The flavor options are endless and with your long hot season they will work for quite some time.

Edited August 2, 2014 by heidih (log)

[LaurieB]

Graham  crackers spread with (canned) chocolate frosting.