Week 7 Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Cookies

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

* 1 cup brown sugar

* 2 teaspoons vanilla

* 1 egg

* 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

* 3/4 cup all purpose flour

* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until creamy

3. Beat in the vanilla and egg until well combined.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture until just combined.

5. Stir in the chocolate chips.

6. Using a medium cookie scoop, drop balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes. Cookies will look slightly underdone, but should set up nicely as they cool.

Week 6 Lesson-Making Strawberry Shortcake

This week the kids were introduced to a pastry cutter, as well as strawberry huller. They all had a chance to use the huller and slice the strawberries. We also made fresh whipped cream using heavy cream and confectioners sugar. We sifted the sugar to avoid lumps in our whipped cream. 

The kids were taught the importance of using a cold metal bowl to whisk the whipped cream (I placed a stainless steel metal bowl in the freezer for a few hours.).

One reason why people use metal containers to whip cream is that metal will stay cold when chilled, and it is important when making whipped cream that you beat the cream when it is cold and keep it cold while beating it. Since the beating process generates heat, whipping the cream in a cold metal bowl can help counteract this buildup of heat. What happens when you whip heavy cream with lots of fat in it is that the fat forms a matrix that traps air (tiny drops of fat disperse evenly and stick together). This fat matrix falls apart when warm. (Egg whites whip up the same way not because of fat but protein, so they remain somewhat solid at room temperature. Copper bowls help the process of beating egg whites, but this is a different story.) Cool Whip isn't real whipped cream, so it doesn't melt as easily.
You could probably mix whipped cream in a glass or plastic bowl if you did so in a cold room with cold beaters and cold cream. Adding a little gelatin to stabilize the whipped cream (making it firm) might also help.

Bottom line: I told the kids it's easier to get the results you're looking for when you use a cold metal bowl. Soft peaks form pretty quick. 😃

Week 5 Baked- Cauliflower Tater Tots

My kids loved these!!!!

Baked Tater Tots

Ingredients:

* 1 small head of cauliflower

* 2 tbsp minced onion

* 1 egg

* 1/4 panko bread crumbs

* 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

* 1/2 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese

* 1 tbsp parsley (dried or fresh)

Directions:

To bake: Preheat oven to 375
To fry: Preheat 2 inches of oil to 360

1. Cut cauliflower into large chunks and cook in boiling salted water just until soft, not mushy. Remove, being careful to let the water drain off.

2. Run the cauliflower and onion through a grater of a food processor, or finally chop by hand. Let cool for a few minutes then stir in the rest of the ingredients and salt to taste.

3. Let it set up for 5 – 10 minutes in the freezer, or as long as you want in the fridge. This step is CRUCIAL to them staying perfectly intact. Keep the mix in the fridge while 1 batch is cooking so that it stays cool.

4. Shape into little tater tops using a tablespoon full or so, and either place in oil or on a baking sheet.

5. Fry until golden brown, or bake for 20 – 25 minutes flipping half way through.

*Baking is a healthier way to go, with less hands on time, however they do not get quite as crispy as they do when fried. That being said, my personal preference is the baked. My kids? They loved both.
*Feel free to mix up the Cheddar with your favorite cheese! I would love to do these with pepper jack next.
*After shaping, these can be frozen, pop them into the freezer on a baking sheet not touching and once they are frozen throw them into a ziploc bag and just take out what you need! Making a double batch means you always have these bite size pieces of joy on hand :)