Sassy Sunflower Pops Cookies - Healthy & Fun

Baking with kids can sometimes be challenging. Creating something while keeping kids occupied or interested is no simple feat. Creating a healthier cookies is on not only on parents minds but also on the minds of many health conscience individuals. I would like to introduce you to a great website with some really fun recipes. Sure to please any kid, even that inner child of yours.

...this will
tempt anyone



with visions
of healthy
lovely treats
to decorate &
devour

I was so excited to be picked for
blogging about the Snackivate website.
It came with perks from Kellogg's company -
namely 2 full size boxes of Kellogg's
Frosted Mini Wheats used to experiment
with the recipes on the site, and a cool
little plastic gadget that you put into
the freezer (the cup has gel within the
walls of the cup,to insulate the milk and
to keep it cool),which once frozen will
hold your milk,while the top (it screws
into the bottom) holds your favorite cereal.
This is a nice little gadget for mom's or
dad's toting kids around. Or even college ,
students or teenagers on the go, in be-
ween classes, who haven't the time to
grab a decent breakfast (I think we've
all been there).

The Snacktivate website is a place for anyone looking for health conscience lot's of downloadable recipes, ranging from all different meals of the day to sweet treats, some samples are pictured above, that would be fun to make with children. There are nutrition tips and more for parents, relatives and teachers. Below is one of the featured recipes from Snackivate website.

Recipe: Sassy Sun Pops
I have added some notes on making this Veg/Vegan friendly. You will need to experiment with different ingredients to find the best formulation for Veg/Vegan style cookies using this recipe.

Prep time: 10 min.
Bake time: 12-14 min.
Servings: 33

These cookies are baked at 350 °F for 12 - 14 min.
Materials Needed:Candy sticks, that are oven proof (you can find at your favorite craft store, i.e Micheal's)
Almonds
Flaxseed
Cookie Sheet
Cookie Ingredients:

• 2 cups (AP) flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine (soft) (supplement Earth's Balance stick for vegan cookies)
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs (if going veg/vegan there are many egg replacers out there, you may want to experiment with what works best in cookies for you - consider the extra dry ingredients by way of the cereal and try opting for something with more moisture content)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 60 frosted bite sized mini-wheats OR 60 un-frosted mini-wheats (unfrosted is the best vegan alternative due to the gelatin in the frosting) , crushed (pulse in a food processor, or put into a zip lock bag and beat w/ rolling pin)

Procedure:

1. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl, add peanut butter, Gran. Sugar, Brown sugar and mix on medium-high w/ electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs & vanilla. Beat well
4. Beat in crushed cereal and flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.
5. Drop by spoonful onto a cookie sheet . While pressing down, use back of fork to make across hatch into cookie dough.
6. Add oven proof cookie sticks by pressing stick into one side of the dough of each cookie.
7. TO create sunflower: press flax seeds into the center of each cookie dough round. Press raw whole almonds into the outer edges of each round to form the petals of the sunflower design.
8. Bake at 350 °F for 12- 14 min. or until golden brown, remove baked cookies with spatula from cookie sheets immediately and let cookies cool on wire wracks.

This recipe is adapted from Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies a recipe © of Kellogg's NA Co. 2008. All Rights Reserved.


Hope you can recreate the fun time I had creating these with my 5 yr old daughter. It was a blast. She loved adding the spoons of dough to the cookie sheets and making the "sunflower" designs. Enjoy!