Wondering what to do with your children over Christmas? (Other than trying to calm down the pre- and post-Father Christmas excitement?) Well, thanks to the FABULOUS (they really are) team at Cooking Them Healthy, we have 3 easy, healthy and delicious recipes for you to make with your children. Something to do that ends up with something tasty to eat? I think they call that a result…
“Here at Cooking them Healthy we have come up with some fun festive treats to make with your children. We wanted to create some alternatives to the many sugary treats available at this time of year. These are such fun to make with little ones, really do taste delicious and would make great gifts too.”
Chocolate and Orange Christmas Lollies
These lollies are a healthier alternative to typical lollies and really do taste delicious with a wonderful festive hint of citrus from the clementine. They are great fun to make all together, albeit a bit messy but that is all part of the festive fun! They would make a gorgeous present, perhaps for a teacher as the end of term approaches?
Makes 8-10 lollies
50g dates
50g raisins
50g almonds
15g cocoa powder
20g brown rice crispies
1 clementine, grated
1-2 tbps honey to bind
10 Lolly sticks
80g 70% dark chocolate for coating
Sprinkles
Method:
Simply place the raisins, almonds, dates, cocoa powder, honey and grated clementine into a blender and blitz until everything blends together. Then add in the rice crispiess and continue to blitz again. The rice crispies provide the crunch inside your lolly so try not to blitz them too finely.
Put your hands into the mixing bowl and bring together little balls of the mix – you should get at least 8-10 balls. Gently squeeze each ball around a lolly stick. (If you don’t have lolly sticks just do it without – see below)
Melt the dark chocolate in a small bowl and dip your lollies inside, shaking off any excess. Dust lightly with the sprinkles and place upright in an empty jam jar and allow to dry. If you are not using lolly sticks they will still work well – simply dip or drizzle with chocolate and sprinkles then place on some silicone/ non stick baking parchment to dry.
Enjoy!
Festive Chocolate Disks
Dark chocolate is healthier alternative to sugar laden milk chocolate, and it has the bonus of being rich in antioxidants – although it might be deemed “grown up” don’t under estimate how much children love it. These Festive Chocolate Disks are great fun to make, take no time at all and would make a wonderful and impressive Christmas gift.
100g 70% dark chocolate
Green pistachios
Dried sweetened cranberries
Mixed seeds
Goji berries
Sprinkles
Silicone paper or baking parchment
Method:
Simply melt your dark chocolate in a bowl over some simmer water.
Get a large piece of non stick baking parchment or silicone paper and with a teaspoon create little disks roughly the same size as each other. Sprinkle over any of the other ingredients to decorate and allow to cool.
When set, peel off the paper.
Cheese Biscuits
Savoury biscuits make a brilliant healthier alternative to those laden with sugar, and would make an ideal gift. As a child cheese biscuits were always the one things we remember making with our parents – the perfect gift and lots of fun and mess in the kitchen. These are incredibly easy and little ones will really enjoy making them resulting in a great sense of achievement.
Makes 20-30 biscuits
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn paprika
120g butter, softened
120g cheddar cheese, grated
160g spelt flour
40g oatbran
1 egg yolk
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180
Place all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until everything comes together as a dough-like ball. Take small chunks of the mixture (slightly bigger than grapes) and roll into balls. Place the balls onto a baking sheet and press down slightly, then into the fridge to chill for at least 10-15 minutes. Once chilled, cook for 15-20 minutes until set and turning slightly golden around the edges.
Allow to cool and enjoy as a snack or wrap up and give as a lovely gift.
Merry Christmas!
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