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I love cooking with my grandchildren and they love to feel like the chef as we cook. Cooking is such a learning opportunity when it comes to science and mathematics, (you know, those STEM activities). We try to create learning opportunities for our children and grandchildren as often as we can, and have fun while we are at it. (Saturday, Lindsey gave you an example with theseboard books, that I just love! And, don't forget to check out our Dollar Tree Stem Activity Ideas for Easter here). When I came across a recipe for Grasshopper Pie in our local grocer's magazine, I knew it was the perfect no-bake recipe that would have enough jobs for all five of my grandchildren who are in my home at the moment and it would be something they would enjoy eating afterwards. Put that together with the fun name, this was a winning recipe. It would make a great dessert for St. Patrick's Day or Easter. I had made this pie years ago with ice cream, but this is a lighter, fluffier version. Here is how I made it happen with 5 young kids doing the work.
Division of Labor
I put my 4 older grandchildren into pairs. The 4 and 6 year olds worked together on the crust. The 9 and 10 year olds worked together on the filling. The 3 year old did the decorating at the end. It worked out great! I was able to send the oldest 2 off to play while I worked with the crust team!
The crust team counted, rolled and crushed Oreos in a plastic bag with the rolling pin. We could have used a food processor, but that wouldn't have been as much fun. After the cookies were crushed, we added the butter to the bag, resealed it and then mushed it all around to mix it together. Then, we poured the crumbs into the pie dish and used a fork to spread and form the mixture to the pie dish. We popped it in the refrigerator and I had those two kids go and get the other two for their turn. Remember that it is important to talk about the process with the kids so that they start to understand the whys and the science of cooking. For example, when things are warm, they can become liquid, when they are cooled, they become solid again. The older two checked the weight with me on the container of marshmallow cream so make sure we had the right amount. I set my granddaughter to melting it over a low heat on the stove as I watched her carefully. When it was melted, she put in the extract and the greed food coloring. She mixed it in very well. While it cooled slightly, my grandson and I got the cream whipping. He measured out 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream. Then we measured out the powdered sugar and discussed why we needed to use different measuring cups. Then, we talked about the air in the whipped cream and how we needed to keep the air in it. So, we folded in the marshmallow cream mixture and they each took turns learning to do that. After the filling was spread into the crust, it was the 3 year olds turn to sprinkle on the Easter colored M & Ms. Look at his chubby little hand. Counting the M & Ms is a good skill for young kids. Also, naming the colors. Final Touches
The hardest part of the process was to let the pie cool long enough to set before eating it. Using a clock, we did it and the kids were so excited for everyone to try their handiwork. I added one final touch before serving and that was to drizzle on some chocolate syrup to give it that little something extra.
Here is the whole recipe, adapted from Fry's Food Store's My Magazine!
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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support. Because St. Patrick's Day is in March, Alicia is sharing recipes from Ireland with us this month. Yesterday she shared this delicious Bacon and Cabbage Pot Pie. She forgot to mention in her post that when my husband and I did our DNA tests, he found out that he is 38% Irish! So, while St. Patrick's Day has always been one of those holidays we have given a fun nod to by having green milk at breakfast, wearing green and eating Corned Beef and Cabbage and maybe the occasional shamrock shaped sugar cookie, we now feel that perhaps we can add a little more to the fun of what we can now consider part of our family heritage, ha ha! Madalynn and I came up with a couple of fun printables to decorate the house with. We worked on them independently, but it is funny that we both came up with kind of tongue in cheek ideas that go with the idea of being pinched if you aren't wearing green! My idea involves an owl, of course. You can print off this little owl print today by clicking the button below. Madalynn's printable is more direct! Ha Ha! I love it! This one we are putting up for our subscribers, so go to your subscriber's printable link. What? You haven't subscribed? Then go to the top of the page and do it now! There are a lot of printables on that link just for you. We showed how to frame interchangeable printables on this post. I keep adding to my collection. Next, I thought my grandchildren would get a kick out of some little shamrock mints. They helped me put the little decorative pearls on them, and it was so hard for them to wait for the mints to dry and be ready to eat! I used my Wilton Cookie Press to make these St. Patrick's Day Mints, so they were so simple to form. I am happy that I have found another use for my Cookie Press besides using it for Spritz Cookies! If you are planning a party for St. Patrick's Day, Alicia had some great ideas that she shared last year! Check out this post and see! So there you go! Some simple ways to add a little fun to your St. Patrick's Day! Watch for more recipes from Alicia this month as well! Whether you are celebrating your Irish heritage or just enjoying the St. Patrick's Day tradition, we hope you have a ton of fun!
So, St Patrick’s Day is coming up, but you don’t want to be drowned in green. That’s how I feel anyways. (My brother and sister-in-law would probably love it though because they love green). It’s not that I hate green there’s just so many other things to love about St Patrick’s Day. It’s one of my favorite holidays and I’ve come up with some fun ways to celebrate the day that not only involve green but all the colors of the rainbow as well!
Additional Ideas:
For a date- Cozy up with your sweetheart watching “Darby O’Gill and the Little People”, you can stream it on Amazon! You can eat chips and dip and mint Oreos. A nice stay-in date. For Kids- There’s not much I would change except maybe changing out the music. Flogging Molly is a bit of an adult band. Hope you guys can use some of these ideas to make your St Patrick’s Day fun! Let us know if you do. Or if you have any fun ideas to include in the celebration. |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
April 2024
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