Cookies and Cream Frozen Yogurt Fun
Jodie Fitz
This dessert combo will be a homerun of flavorful fun. It’s a simple recipe that when put together becomes a big hit!
Making this cookies and cream frozen yogurt recipe is like crafting with food. When it’s complete, sit back, enjoy a few good bites and a little more conversation; making recipes is never time wasted.
Here are a few key lessons to focus on when making this cookies and cream dessert with children:
- Preparing fruit
- Hulling strawberries
- Slicing
- Measuring ingredients
- Following directions
- Safety and using the food processor
- Knife safety
- Stovetop safety
- Thickening agents and cooking
Cookies and Cream
½ cup vanilla frozen yogurt
4 PICS chocolate cream filled cookies
1 tablespoon PICS chocolate syrup
Strawberry gel (see below)
Grind the cookies in a mini food processor or blender until they are crushed and look like dirt.
In a bowl, stir the cookie crumbs and syrup together. Spread it on a plate.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the frozen yogurt onto the cookie base.
Use the chilled strawberry gel in a piping bag with a writing tip to create the baseball lines.
Strawberry Gel:
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
2 tablespoons PICS honey
½ teaspoon PICS vanilla extract
1 tablespoon tapioca
Wash the strawberries, hull them and slice them. Measure 1 cup of fresh strawberries. Place them into a mini food processor or blender. Puree the strawberries very well.
Pour the strawberries into a saucepan. Over low heat, stir in the honey and vanilla extract until they are mixed well.
Stir in the tapioca. Continue to stir until the tapioca softens and the mixture begins to gel. Remove it from the heat and let it cool completely before using.
You can make this the day before or let it cool until lukewarm. Spoon into a piping tool with a writing tip and put it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Festive Food Fun!
Written by Jodie Fitz
Grab the kids, head to your Price Chopper/Market 32 Supermarket, grab some key ingredients and get ready for holiday fun in the kitchen! What’s up this month?
• A healthier version of Grinch Pancakes
• A little snack/appetizer yum fun
• A fruit kabob activity that’s delish
Grinch Pancakes
1 cup fresh baby leaf spinach
4 oz. PICS cinnamon applesauce
1 PICS egg
1 cup PICS milk
¼ cup PICS sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups PICS all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 tablespoon PICS baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
PICS non-stick cooking spray
Place the spinach, applesauce, egg, milk, sugar, and vanilla into the blender. Blend the ingredients together; until the spinach is very fine and the mixture looks green.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the liquid from the blender into the dry ingredients. Whisk all of the ingredients together.
Cook the pancakes over medium to low heat on a griddle pan that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray.
Drizzle the pancakes with yogurt glaze.
Jodie’s Yogurt Glaze
½ cup PICS Greek vanilla yogurt
¼ cup PICS low fat milk
1 tablespoon PICS honey
Whisk the yogurt, milk and honey together well. Drizzle the mixture on the pancakes.
Lessons for the kids:
- • Measuring
- • Blending safety
- • Whisking
- • Stovetop safety
- • Pancake flipping
- • Drizzling
Spinach Wraps
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
½ cup PICS cream cheese
½ cup shaved Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
NOTE: You cannot taste the spinach in this recipe.
Wash and dry the bell peppers. Remove the seeds and cut them into thin strips.
Stir the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion powder and Italian seasoning together.
Spread the cheese mixture onto a large spinach wrap. Place the green peppers on the cream cheese mixture; approximately 12 strips of pepper. Roll the wrap and carefully slice.
Repeat the process with the red pepper.
Note: The cheese mixture should yield three rolls.
Build a tree: You can eat these sliced rolls as is or you can create a little holiday fun and build a tree with a yellow star (see the photo). You can create the star on top by cutting a yellow bell pepper with clean kitchen scissors.
Lessons for the kids:
- • Cleaning vegetables
- • Stirring
- • Spreading
- • Slicing
- • Knife safety
- • Food creativity
Fruit Kabobs & Pomegranate Dip
Great party food (or just for a yummy, fun snack).
1 honeydew melon
8-10 kiwi
1 pineapple
1 pomegranate
6 oz. Greek vanilla yogurt
6 oz. low fat vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon pomegranate juice
Rinse the outside of the honeydew melon. Cut it in half, remove the seeds. Cut the halves into half and remove the rind. Use a small round cookie cutter or a large circle fondant cutter to create circle pieces of honeydew melon.
Rinse the kiwis. Cut off the ends of each kiwi. Peel them. Slice them into circles.
Rinse the pineapple. Remove the top and bottom of the pineapple. Cut it into slices and use a small star cookie cutter or large fondant cutter to create yellow pineapple stars. Note: Cheat and buy already cored pineapple at your Price Chopper/Market 32 Supermarket.
Rinse the pomegranate. Remove the seeds from the pomegranate.
Fold together the Greek vanilla yogurt, low fat vanilla yogurt and pomegranate juice. Stir in ¼ cup of pomegranate seeds and top the dip with 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds.
Serve the honeydew melon circles, the cut kiwi and the pineapple stars in individual bowls with skewers available so that the kids can create their own fruit tree kabob and then dip it into the pomegranate dip.
Lessons for the kids:
- • Cleaning Fruit
- • Prepping different fruits
- • Stirring
- • Folding
- • Slicing
- • Knife safety
- • Food creativity
I’ll be out in the community and schools cooking up some fun, and here’s where you can see me this month:
December 7th
Jingle Bell Bash
Halfmoon Town Hall
Halfmoon, NY
This event is open to the community.
The Kids Cooking Club is also visiting the following this month:
St. Mary’s Elementary School, Troy, NY
Schuylerville Elementary School – Schuylerville, NY
Mohonasen Schools, Rotterdam NY
Broadalbin Middle School, Broadalbin, NY
Northville Elementary School, Northville, NY
If you would The Kids Cooking Club to visit your school or event please email me at [email protected]
Cheers to a Tasty Month ~ Jodie
P.S. I can’t wait for next month’s recipe shares and starting the New Year in the kitchen with you all!
Tie Dye Smoothies
½ cup blackberries
6 Tablespoons PICS honey
½ teaspoon raspberry extract
½ cup raspberries
1 mango
2 ¼ teaspoons Full Circle vanilla extract
3 cups ice
1 ½ cups PICS low fat milk
6 oz. PICS low fat vanilla yogurt
1 banana
Rinse the blackberries. Place the blackberries, 1 tablespoon honey and ¼ teaspoon of raspberry extract into a food processor, mini food process or blender. Chop/blend until it’s almost a puree; the seeds will even blend into the mix. Set the mixture aside.
Rinse the raspberries. Place the raspberries, 1 tablespoon honey and ¼ teaspoon raspberry extract into a food processor, mini food processor or blender. Chop/blend until it’s almost a puree; the seeds will even blend into the mix. Set the mixture aside.
Prep the mango (see below) and dice it. Place the mango, 1 tablespoon honey, ¼ teaspoon of vanilla into a food processor, mini food processor or blender. Chop/blend until it’s almost a puree. Set the mixture aside.
Put the ice, milk, banana, 3 tablespoons honey and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract into a blender and blend.
Slowly pour 1 tablespoon of each of the purees down the edge of your serving glass. Add the banana smoothie mixture and serve.
Corn Salad
1 lb. bag PICS frozen corn, thawed completely
15.5 oz. can PICS black beans, drained and rinsed
1–1 ½ cups diced grape tomatoes
1- – 1 1/2 cups diced cucumber
3 – 4 Tablespoons cilantro, fresh
1/4 cup PICS white vinegar
1 oz. cold water
1/2 cup PICS light olive oil
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon Price Chopper onion powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon Full Circle organic garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch Full Circle cayenne pepper
In a large bowl, combine the corn, beans, grape tomatoes, cucumber, and cilantro.
Whisk the vinegar, water, oil, lime juice, onion powder, sea salt, cumin, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepper together.
Add the dressing to the corn mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Serve chilled.
NOTE: You can also put all of the dressing ingredients into a bell jar. Secure the top and shake the ingredients together.
Caterpillar Snack Fun
1 Tablespoon PICS whipped cream cheese
1 teaspoon PICS peanut butter
½ teaspoon PICS honey
1 slice PICS whole wheat bread
1 banana
watermelon
1 stalk celery
2 candy eyes
Optional Items:
Blueberries
Blackberries
Yellow bell pepper
Stir the whipped cream, peanut butter and honey together. Set aside.
Using a small round cookie cutter or fondant cutter, cut out six circles from one piece of bread. Set aside.
Slice your banana.
Assemble three body sections of your caterpillar;
- Spread the cream cheese mixture onto all 6 bread rounds
- Place 1 banana slice on 3 of the rounds
- Add the remaining three rounds on top of the banana to create three mini sandwiches
Cut 6 little legs from the stalk of celery and use the remaining pieces as a branch for your caterpillar to crawl on. Add the celery legs to the round (see the picture provided).
Assemble the body in a staggered fashion above your celery stick.
Using a small cookie scoop, scoop a head out of watermelon. Place the watermelon head in place. Add two eyes and a celery smile.
Optional: Create blueberry and blackberry clouds in the sky along with a yellow bell pepper sunshine out of thick slices.
I’ll be out in the community cooking up some fun, and here’s where you can see me this month:
August 14th
2:30 pm
Crandall Public Library
251 Glen St.
Glens Falls, NY
Call 518-792-6508 to register
The Kids Cooking Club is also visiting the following this month:
Saratoga YMCA Camp, Saratoga, NY
East Greenbush YMCA Camp, East Greenbush, NY
Clifton Park YMCA Camp, Clifton Park, NY
If you would The Kids Cooking Club to visit your school or event please email me at [email protected]
Join us next month as we have fun with back to school recipes.
Jodie Fitz