Are you looking for fun springtime recipes that you can make with your kids? Look no further than these tasty treats! Cricket Azima and The Creative Kitchen teamed up with Betty Crocker and Howdini to teach you how to make delicious Pop-Art Cookies and Cinna-spin Cookies. The Pop-Art Cookies are perfect for springtime playdates with their bright colors and playful designs. Check out the recipes and a step-by-step how-to video below!

Ingredients: 

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

Instructions: 

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. 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 cookies

Ingredients: 

Cookies:

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

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions: 

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, mix cookie mix and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir in butter and egg until soft dough forms.
2. On piece of waxed paper, shape 1 tablespoon cinnamon into a line about 5 inches long. Using floured fingers, shape 1 tablespoon of dough into a rope 5 inches long. Press one side of dough rope into cinnamon.
3. On ungreased cookie sheet, coil dough rope tightly, cinnamon side facing center, into cinnamon-roll shape. Press end of rope into roll to seal. Repeat with remaining dough. Place cookies 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
4. Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
5. In small bowl, mix glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Video: 

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.

Eat your peas, please! Ring in the spring with these fresh and tasty recipes from our friends at Cooking Light. These recipes utilize fresh springtime bounty and are sure to please every palate. 

Spring Pasta with Fava Beans and Peas

The vibrant colors of spring shine in this elegant, seasonal pasta dish. Choose firm, bright fava bean pods free of black marks—avoid pods on which the outline of the beans inside is pronounced, indicating older favas.

Click here for the recipe!

Strawberry-Avocado Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Make the chips in advance, cool completely, and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Click here for the recipe!

Grilled Chicken with Spicy Rhubarb-BQ Sauce

When you think rhubarb, you may only think pie, but that’s selling it short: The rosy stalk packs enough bright tanginess to transform a variety of dishes. Here, paired with smoky heat and sweet tomato, it makes homemade BBQ sauce sing.

Click here for the recipe!

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.

With winter hibernation over and lively spring upon us, many parents worry that their busy little bees aren’t getting enough protein to sustain all of that buzzing about! Use this helpful tip for calculating your child’s necessary protein intake from our friends at Cooking Light and choose one of their protein packed recipes for the whole family to enjoy!

How much protein?!

Our bodies need protein for muscle growth and repair, but just how much do our bodies need? Well, the requirements are based on weight and come from the Institute of Medicine. Here’s how they break down. The requirements are the same for girls and boys through age 13.