Ingredients:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon water

1 egg

2 tablespoons sugar

36 Hershey’s® Kisses® Brand milk chocolates, unwrapped

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, oil, water and egg until dough forms.
2. Shape dough into 36 (1-inch) balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately press 1 milk chocolate candy in center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely, about 20 minutes. Store cookies in tightly covered container.

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Tips & Tricks: 

Peanut Butter Blossoms can be made with any type of kisses or candies! Get your kids helping in the kitchen by allowing them to help decorate these yummy cookies with their favorite treats.

Ingredients:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 egg

1/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

1 teaspoon almond extract

60 Hershey’s® Kisses® Brand milk chocolates, unwrapped

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, egg, flour, cocoa, almonds and extract until soft dough forms
2. Shape dough into sixty 3/4-inch balls; wrap each around 1 milk chocolate candy. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
4. Roll cookies in powered sugar. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Re-roll cookies in powdered sugar. Store tightly covered.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Video:

For more tips and a video how-to by Cricket Azima, view the video below.

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

BOO! Did we scare you? No need to fear, Halloween is near! Between the costumes and the candy, it’s no doubt Halloween is a favorite holiday for kids and adults, alike. But candy shouldn’t get all the attention –  there are creative and easy-to-make treats out there. That’s where these festive, delicious cookies come in! Whether you make a goblin or a ghoul, candy corn or Frankenstein, these Halloween Cookies are sure to be a hit! They are fun and simple to make – the hardest part about making these cookies is picking which one to make first!

Ghoulish Cookies

2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
Neon green food color
1 container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting
Betty Crocker® black or white decorating gel
Miniature marshmallows
Miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart.
2. Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
3. Stir enough food color into frosting until desired green color. Frost cooled cookies. Use black or white decorating gel to make “ghoulish” faces on cookies. Use marshmallows and baking bits to decorate.

Tips & Tricks:

Don’t limit yourself just to the black or white decorating gel – add candy corns, M&M’s, or any small candy to bring your idea to life!

Create Frankenstein, spiders, bats, or jack o’ lanterns – there’s no rules, just have fun and create!

Candy Corn Cookies

9 1/2 dozen (small) cookies

Ingredients:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
Orange paste food color
2 oz semisweet chocolate, melted, cooled

Instructions:

1. Line 8×4-inch loaf pan with waxed paper, extending paper over sides of pan. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms.
2. On work surface, place 3/4 cup dough. Knead desired amount of food color into dough until color is uniform. Press dough evenly in bottom of pan.
3. Divide remaining dough in half. On work surface, knead chocolate into one half remaining dough until color is uniform. Press over orange dough in pan, pressing gently to edge of pan. Gently press remaining plain dough into pan on top of chocolate dough. Refrigerate 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until firm.
4. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove dough from pan. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice into 5 wedges. On ungreased cookie sheet, place wedges 1 inch apart.
5. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set and edges are very light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely.

Tips & Tricks:

Keep these cookies fresher for longer by storing them in a tightly covered container.

Video:

For some design ideas and a video how-to, view the video below.

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Spring is finally here! The sun is shining bright and the flowers are blooming, and what better way to celebrate spring then to stir up a batch of colorful and tasty cookies with the kids?! Watch this video from Cricket Azima and our friends at Howdini on how you and your little chef can make your very own Springtime Lollipop Sugar Cookies. AND kids get a kick out of eating this cookie on a stick, which is an easy and almost clean way for kids to eat a frosted cookie!

Lollipop Sugar Cookies

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 egg
12 wooden sticks with rounded ends
1 container (1 lb) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy frosting (any white variety)
Food colors in desired colors
Assorted candy decorations

1.Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, flour and egg until dough forms. Roll dough on floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with 3-inch round cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Carefully insert a wooden stick into side of each cookie.

2.Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheet. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

3. For cookie decorating, divide frosting among 4 small bowls. Tint frosting in 3 of the bowls with different color of food color. Reserve some of the tinted frostings for piping on designs. Frost cookies with remaining white and tinted frostings. For piping, place each tinted frosting in small resealable food-storage plastic bag; snip off tiny corner of bag. Pipe frostings on cookies in desired designs. Decorate with candy decorations.

Makes 1 dozen lollipop cookies

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.