Kids in the Kitchen: Frozen Treats

We're beating summer boredom (and teaching lifelong skills) by sharing some great tips and delicious kid-friendly recipes to get your kids in the kitchen and having fun. Last week I shared my favorite no-bake recipes. This week, I'm excited to share a handful of delicious frozen treats that kids can make on their own or with a little adult supervision, depending on their age or skill level. TODAY'S TIPS Teach kids proper hand washing techniques. Talk to your kids about keeping germs and disease from food by thoroughly washing hands: wet hands first with water, apply soap, and scrub hands thoroughly while singing the Happy Birthday song twice (about 20 seconds). Teach them to scrub the backs of their hands, in between fingers, and especially under fingernails. Explain freezer safety. We're used to teaching kids about hot stoves, but freezer burns are real (and painful). Make sure hands are completely dry before handing any metal from the freezer, or use hot pads as a precaution. If skin gets stuck to something frozen, teach them to run warm water over the skin to release it. FAVORITE FROZEN RECIPES Frozen Grape Skewers (shown above) 1/2 pound red grapes, washed and dried 1/2 pound green grapes, washed and dried bamboo skewers Directions Using the spear end of bamboo skewers, pierce through a grape and slide it to the end. Alternate with red and green grapes until skewer is full. Place skewers on a freezer-safe tray at least a 1/4 inch apart and freeze for at least 3 hours or until grapes are frozen solid. Once frozen solid, transfer skewers to a freezer bag or air-tight container.
Watermelon Ice Pops from Eat Yourself Skinny
5 cups seedless watermelon
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 pint lime sherbet, softened
Directions Puree watermelon and sugar in batches in your blender or food processor until smooth and strain into a medium bowl. Cover and freeze until puree is slightly slushy, but not quite solid, about 2 to 3 hours. Remove from freezer and stir in chocolate chips. Place twelve small disposable cups in a shallow baking pan and spoon watermelon puree into cups, leaving about a 1/2 inch space left from the rim. Place pan in freezer for 2 hours, or until puree is solid, but not rock hard.
Allow lime sherbet to soften before spreading on top of each cup, filling it nearly full. Smooth sherbet with the back of a spoon and cover each cup tightly with plastic wrap. Cut a small slit in the center of each cup and insert a popsicle stick. Freeze until solid. Before serving, allow pops to sit at room temperature for about a minute, then gently pull out from the cups.
Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Bites from nom! nom! nom! blog
2 large bananas 1/4 cup peanut but_ter 1/2 cup choco_late chips
2 tbsp-1/4 cup milk
Directions Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Slice bananas into coins about 1/2_3/4 inch thick. Spread a lit_tle dol_lop of peanut but_ter on top of each one. In a small bowl, com_bine the choco_late chips and milk. Microwave in 15 sec_ond increments, stirring between each one, until you can whisk them together. It should be thick enough to coat the bananas, but not too thin. Add a splash more milk if nec_es_sary. Dip the banana chunks using a fork, dip_ping them into the melted choco_late. Place choco_late coated bananas on the pre_pared sheet and place in freezer until com_pletely frozen (about 3_5 hours). Remove frozen banana chunks from the sheet and store in a freezer container.
Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag
from Mrs. Fields Secrets
1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup milk or half-and-half 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 heaping tablespoons sugar 1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag 1 quart-size plastic food storage bag rock salt Ice Directions Fill the gallon-size bag 3/4 full of ice cubes and sprinkle a handful (about 1/4 cup) rock salt over the ice. In the quart-size bag, add cream, half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. Seal the bag, removing excess air, and place inside the larger bag and seal it as well. Shake the bags vigorously (probably outdoors) for 5-10 minutes, or until the ice cream in the inner bag gets thick and hard. Remove and dry the inner bag to keep the saltwater out of your ice cream. Discard the larger bag. Serve immediately in a bowl or right out of the bag. For Chocolate Ice Cream: Add 2-3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup and reduce the vanilla to 1/4 teaspoon. For Strawberry Ice Cream: Add 3-4 tablespoons sweetened, pure_d strawberries. For Mint Ice Cream: Replace vanilla with 1/4 teaspoon mint extract and add 3 drops of green food coloring.
Back to blog