Guest Author - Erika Krull

Here is an easy kid-tested recipe that your children can make together. Use every opportunity you can to teach your kids the benefits of cooperation. This is easy to do when you use kid-friendly recipes that allow for an assembly line approach, or for everyone to put together their own snack while sharing ingredients. The more time they spend working together happily, the less time the kids have for fighting!!

The following instructions are given with assignments for 2 children and an adult. You can adjust these directions to the size of your family and your kids’ ages. Print this article and have it for your children to follow. You could make a copy for each child and highlight their part, or highlight one copy with each child being a different color.

Children who take on a mentoring role get the benefit of the “tutor effect”. By teaching others, they actually learn and understand information in more complex ways than the learner does. Give all of your children an opportunity to teach their siblings. Older siblings can take turns reading the instructions aloud. Or, the adult can coach a younger sibling to teach the others how to make the recipe.

Cheesecake Apple Dippers
(You may want to double this recipe to have some on hand for the next day, or for the parents to enjoy.)

Ingredients

Kraft Philadelphia brand Ready-to-eat Cheesecake Filling
Milk
Brown Sugar
At least one apple

Tools
Paring knife/cutting board, small mixing bowl, mixing spoon, measuring spoons, two small bowls or disposable muffin cups per child, ¼ C measuring cup, plates or napkins

Adult/Older child: Wash and cut one large apple into 12 slices, cutting out the core and seeds.

Adult/Older child: Measure about 3 tablespoon of the cheesecake filling per child and put it in a small mixing bowl. Add milk one Tablespoon at a time to the filling, one Tablespoon at a time. You will probably need about one Tablespoon per child, but pay more attention to the mixture than the exact amount.

Child 2: Blend the cheesecake and milk as the adult adds the milk. Mix until it is smooth and creamy, a good “dipping” consistency. Use the ¼ C measuring cup to scoop out an even amount of the mixture into one small bowl or muffin cup per child.

Child 1: Measure out about 1 heaping Tablespoon of brown sugar per child into each bowl or muffin cup.

Child 2: Serve the apples on a plate or napkin, and set out the dip and brown sugar for everyone. Enjoy!!