The holidays are a great excuse to spend some quality time in the kitchen with your child while indulging your sweet tooth. These recipes, from Orlando, Florida private schools, are a great way to get the holiday season started.
![Girl eating a cupcake surrounded by cookies](https://www.lakeforrestprep.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/girl-eating-cupcake-while-sitting-beside-woman-in-blue-denim-1261408.jpg)
Gingerbread Men
There’s nothing better than sitting down to decorate gingerbread men. They allow your child (and you!) to get creative and have some fun, and once fully decorated, they’re a delicious treat.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Candy and icing to decorate
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and then line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream together butter and dark brown sugar until smooth. Then, add the molasses and vanilla. Continue to beat the mixture until well combined.
- Add in eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Slowly add this to your butter mixture until fully incorporated.
- Roll out dough until it’s ¼ of an inch thick. Using a gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out cookies.
- Transfer to baking sheet.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until crisp around edges. Let cool.
- Now it’s time for fun! Decorate with icing and candies.
![Two kids decorating gingerbread cookies](https://www.lakeforrestprep.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/boy-and-girl-making-cookies-3171354.jpg)
Melting Snowman OREO Balls
In Florida, we don’t have many opportunities to build a snowman. So when there’s no snow, build a snowman using delicious ingredients!
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. softened cream cheese
- 36 OREO cookies, finely crushed
- 16 oz. melted vanilla candy coating
- 48 mini OREO bite-sized cookies
- Icing to decorate
Instructions:
- Combine the cream cheese and cookie crumbs until fully blended.
- Shape mixture into 48 balls. Place in a single layer in a shallow pan. Freeze for 20 minutes.
- Dop frozen OREO balls into melted vanilla candy coating using either a fork or toothpick.
- Chill until coating is set.
- Using any leftover candy coating, adhere the mini OREO hat to the snowman’s head.
- Decorate OREO balls. Add small black eyes, and orange carrot nose, and a smile!
- Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
These treats are sure to put a smile on your child’s face! For more recipe inspiration from Orlando, Florida private schools, including brain-powering breakfasts, fruity snacks, and allergy-friendly lunches, check out our blog.