1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups enriched flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup chopped and pared apples
1/4 cup apple juice or milk
1 egg
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)
1. Combine margarine, sugars, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. Sift flour with soda.
3. Add 1/2 of flour mixture to margarine mixture and blend.
4. Stir in apples, raisins, apple juice or milk, and egg.
5. Add the remaining flour; mix.
6. Drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 11 to 14 minutes.
8. Remove from cookie sheet while hot.
Optional: Spread with a thin glaze of powdered sugar and vanilla.

Yield: 30 servings
Serving size: 1 cookie
Snack Suggestion: One apple cookie and 1/2 cup of chocolate milk

(A child can help measure ingredients and drop dough by teaspoonful onto the baking sheet.)

APPLE PUDDING

1 cup leftover cooked rice
1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix rice and applesauce together in a large bowl. Add cinnamon and yogurt. Stir well. Spoon into dishes and serve. Makes six 1/2-cup servings.

BAKED APPLES
One-half cooking apple per child, and for each half apple:

1 t. honey
1 T. orange juice
1 t. sunflower seeds or nuts

Wash apples, cut in half, and help children remove cores (using a melon baller is easiest). Place apples in a baking dish. Spread honey, juice, and nuts in center and over top. Bake in microwave on high for three to five minutes or until tender. Allow additional time for more than two apple halves. These may be baked at 500 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, but remember to add enough water to cover the bottom of the baking dish.

Try using brown sugar, a dot of margarine, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and several raisins in centers.


BANANA SMOOTHIE
Make up your own variations using other fruits and juices.

1 small frozen banana, cut into chunks
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup orange juice

Put all ingredients into the blender and whirl until smooth. These are
fairly thick. Add more liquid if you want them thinner. Makes 2 servings,
each having 125 calories, 213 mg calcium, 10 mg vitamin C, 7 grams protein,
and 160 mg sodium.

BANANA ROLLS
6 bananas
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut
1/4 cup rice cereal

Peel and cut bananas in quarters crosswise. Spread with peanut butter. Roll in coconut and rice cereal. Serve immediately or chill until served.

CARROT RAISIN ROUNDS
1 carrot, grated
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 slices raisin English muffins (could be toasted)

Clean carrot and shred into small pieces. Mix all ingredients except bread. Spread on English muffin halves. Serve.



CHEESY MEATBALLS
This recipe lends itself to lots of small hands helping to roll balls. You may even want to double it to have it on hand for another lunch. Children do a great job crushing the cereal in a plastic bag with a rolling pin and rolling and shaping the meatballs. (Perfectly shaped meatballs should not be the goal in this recipe!)

1 lb. hamburger, preferably lean ground
1/2 t. salt
Pepper
1 c. grated cheese, (preferably lowfat cheddar, American, or Swiss)
1 egg
1/2 c. crushed high-iron cereal (Total, Kix, Corn Bran, Product 19)
1 small can or jar of spaghetti sauce

Combine all ingredients except spaghetti sauce and mix lightly. Form into small balls and brown in pan or bake at 400 degrees until brown. Pour spaghetti sauce over meatballs. Cook slowly for 20 minutes until meatballs are done. Makes about 16 meatballs.


FRUIT JUICE POPS
1 (6 ounce) can frozen juice concentrate (100% juice)
2 cups plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 (5 ounce) paper cups
6 wooden sticks
1. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.
2. Pour the mixture into six (5 ounce) paper cups (generous 1/3 cup mixture per paper cup).
3. Insert a wooden stick for a handle.
4. Cover and freeze until firm.
NOTE: To remove a pop, hold the paper cup under tap water for a few seconds.

Yield: 6 servings
Serving size: 1 fruit juice pop
Snack Suggestion: One fruit juice pop and four vanilla wafers

(A child can help measure ingredients, insert wooden sticks and arrange paper cups.)

See Healthful Snacks for Children Two to Five Years of Age for reference

HOT CHEESE FUNNIES

Making sesame seed-covered pretzels shaped like letters or numerals can be especially exciting. Inexpensive ingredients provide a tactile experience as children work with the soft, rubbery dough. A step saver is to start with frozen yeast dough.

1 package dry yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water (105 to 115°F)
3 1/2 c. flour
1 c. grated cheese, preferably lowfat
1 egg
Sesame seeds

Dissolve yeast in water; stir in flour and cheese. Knead dough until smooth. Add more flour, a teaspoon at a time, if it's too sticky. Break off walnut-sized pieces and roll into 12-inch long ropes. Twist into pretzel shapes. Let children make their own and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg and roll in sesame seeds. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 or 20 minutes.

JUICY FINGER BLOCKS

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup boiling water
1 12-oz. can frozen apple, orange, grape, or other juice concentrate

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add juice and stir until mixed. Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch cake pan. Chill in the refrigerator about 2 hours until firm. Cut into squares or use cookie cutters to make shapes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

MELTED CHEESE CHEWS
For the beginning cook, these can be a successful learning experience. Everybody raves because they taste so good. You'll need:

Whole-wheat bread (for variety, use taco shells or pita pockets) Cheddar cheese, preferably lowfat, grated
Corn oil margarine

Toast the bread on one side, either under the broiler or in a toaster oven: Spread margarine on the untoasted side, and sprinkle with freshly grated cheese. Cut the bread into strips or triangles, toast until cheese is melted, and enjoy. Or try spreading peanut butter on bread or pita pockets cut in wedges. Pop into a microwave for a really quick treat.

See Child Care Home: Appetites and Healthy Attitudes Toward Food for reference

ORANGE FROSTY
1/2 cup frozen orange-juice concentrate
1 cup milk or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
4 to 5 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend. Makes four 1/2-cup servings. For variation, add a ripe banana, a ripe peach, or a cup of fresh strawberries.



PEANUT BUTTER BREAD PUDDING
This is an advanced cooking project. Young children can spread peanut butter, cut bread, and break eggs, but an adult must scald the liquid. Older children can pour milk and whip the eggs.

2 c. milk, preferably lowfat
3 T. peanut butter
2 eggs
3 slices bread, preferably whole wheat
1/2 c. of sugar

Scald milk and add sugar. Beat eggs and gradually add milk mixture. Spread peanut butter on bread and cut into small cubes. Put cubes into a greased, one-quart baking dish and pour in milk mixture. Set in pan of hot water. Bake immediately at 350 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes, or until set.


PEANUT BUTTER POPOVERS
1 can (10) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
10 teaspoons peanut butter
10 teaspoons fruit preserves
1. Lay biscuits on cookie sheet.
2. Put 1 teaspoon peanut butter and 1 teaspoon fruit preserves on each biscuit.
3. Fold over each biscuit and pinch ends together tight to seal in filling.
4. Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Yield: 10 servings
Serving size: 1 popover
Snack Suggestion: One peanut butter popover and 1/2 cup of milk

(A child can arrange biscuits on the cookie sheet, spoon peanut butter and fruit preserves on biscuits, and help pinch ends together.)

POTATO PUFFS
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups enriched flour
1. Beat egg into mashed potatoes.
2. Add other ingredients.
3. Drop by tablespoonful into a small amount of hot oil.
4. Fry until light brown.
5. Roll in sugar.
NOTE: These are similar to donut holes. This is one way to use leftover mashed potatoes.

Yield: 12 servings
Serving size: 1 potato puff
Snack Suggestion: One potato puff and 1/2 cup of sliced peaches

(A child can help measure ingredients and roll in sugar.)


TIN CAN ICE CREAM

Making Tin Can Ice Cream never fails to be a special event for children. But, it is also a messy activity and one that requires extra help. A parent volunteer should be on hand the day you plan this. Since eggs should be cooked before eating, we recommend you use the following vanilla custard recipe. You need to prepare this in advance. Children can pound ice cubes in a cloth bag with a hammer to crush ice.


VANILLA CUSTARD

3/4 c. sugar
2 T. flour
1/4 t. salt
2 c. milk, preferably lowfat
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. whipping or all-purpose cream
1 1/2 T. vanilla

Mix sugar, flour, and salt and add milk. Cook slowly over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Mix a small amount of hot milk mixture with the beaten eggs. Combine the two mixtures and stir over heat, cooking for one minute. Chill custard mixture; add whipped cream and vanilla.

To make ice cream: Place half of the ingredients in a one-quart coffee can with a tight fitting plastic lid (or other type of container). Put the lid on the can. Set the filled can inside a three-pound shortening can with a tightly sealed, plastic lid. Pack crushed ice or snow around the smaller can. Pour 3/4 cup of rock salt evenly over the ice. Place the lid on the larger can. Have two people shake or roll the can back and forth for about 10 minutes. Remove the inner can, open the lid, and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and stir ingredients. Drain water from the large can. Insert the small can back in the large can. Pack with more ice and salt. Roll back and forth for another five minutes. Each can makes about three cups ice cream. This recipe makes six cups in all.