sweets for kids to make - with barely any cooking involved?

[hatwoman]

I have to get a group of about 14 7-10 year old girls making sweets of some description. really not at all fussy what - could be a complete cop out idea involving buying something and decorating it - just as long as it's easy, can be made into a nice pressie, and no-one's going to burn themselves. don;t mind cooking in the oven - but not keen on stirring sugary stuff on a hob. any ideas?

[Fimbo]

We used to make peppermint creams at Brownies doing hardly any cooking. Will see if I can find a receipe. Hang on....

[K999]

Top Hats? Marshmallows, with melted choc on top and then a smartie shovede on top??

[onepieceofcremeegg]

We have an usborne Christmas book and we have various easy recipes.

(just use your discretion re quantities - I haven't got the book to hand)

We melt white chocolate, then stir in some chopped marshmallow and tiny bits of plain biscuits, you can add a little butter too. (melt it in microwave for easiness)

Put small teaspoons in petit four casees. Top with a bit of glace cherry or something else that looks pretty (I did mini eggs at Easter). Put in fridge to set.

I got those cellophane bags from Lakeland and tie at the top with ribbon, quite attractive imo.

[onepieceofcremeegg]

Or "florentine" style chocolate. Melt chocolate (white, milk or plain). Drop it into little circles on a baking tray or similar. Top with chopped walnuts, cherries etc.

[Fimbo]

Peppermint Creams.

I also saw this on a back of a rice crispie packet. Cut bananas into 2. Put a lolly stick into the banana. Roll in melted chocolate, then roll in rice crispies, leave in fridge to set.

[Juwesm]

K999 - we used to make similar 'Easter Bonnets' - marshmallow on a Rich Tea biscuit, covered in icing and decoarated with jelly diamonds etc

Coconut Ice?

[K999]

Fimbo - that sounds good....

[hatwoman]

excellent ideas - what's anyone's opinion on using raw egg white for peppermint creams though? personally it doesn't bother me - but might it bother some parents? also need to check if there's a microwave at the place where we'll be doing it - of there is then the florentine idea sounds good.

[Fimbo]

Yes! Yum.

Thought of something else - two digestive biscuits, sandwich them with jam, make up icing, plain or coloured using food colouring, ice the tops, sprinkle hundreds and thousands on and leave to set in the fridge.

[Fimbo]

Well it was fine back in the good old 70's!

It wouldn't bother me tbh.

[onepieceofcremeegg]

I wouldn't risk raw egg white tbh. (also my dd is allergic to egg so maybe I am biased)

I expect they could be made without raw egg white?

You don't necessarily need a m'wave to melt chocolate. It can be done in a bowl over another bowl/pan of hot water. I just prefer the m'wave as it is quicker and safer.

[hatwoman]

I'm not that daft re the chocolate melting - just, like you, would prefer to do it in a microwave with lots of kids around.

[onepieceofcremeegg]

Sorry, didn't mean that to sound so obvious/insulting.

[annoyedmum]

well it might be too easy but icing sugar mixed with a little fresh lemon juice makes lemon sweets,just mix it together and roll pieces of it by hand into balls and press flat.

[Flibbertyjibbet]

Coconut ice.
I made some the other week with my pre school age sons.
Can't remember the exact quantities but you need half a can of condensed milk, dessicated coconut and icing sugar.

Just mix it all together (with some food colouring if you want pink etc) squash down into a tray, put in fride, stuffitalldownyourthroat about 3 hours later

Tastes just like bounty bar without the chocolate. have considered dipping chunks of it into melted chocolate to make bounty bars but I have no willpower when it comes to eating anything sweet in the house

Have to say ladies some of the other ideas on here sound VERY nice and of course I could pass them off as education baking time with the kids

[hatwoman]

blimey - all these years and I never knew you didn;t have to cook coconut ice! (that'll teach me to try to establish any credentials at all by putting my ability to melt chocolate on record...). the only problem with that is that it needs to be left to set - and I;ve only got just over an hour with the girls. maybe if I could find some foil trays they could take it home then cut it up the next day.

[LRB978]

hatwoman

Another peppermint creams recipe is made with condensed milk, icing sugar and peppermint flavouring (plus colouring if wished). It works out roughly 4 tablespoons of condensed milk to between half a box and a box of icing sugar (put condensed milk in bowl, sieve in some icing sugar, mix, repeat until mix is firm), plus peppermint flavouring to taste (and a couple of drops of colour if chosen).

This does away with the egg issue, and is easy to do (did it with ds, 7, at Christmas)

[hatwoman]

oooo LRB978 you may just have come up with the perfect answer. now....if they sell condensed milk at the spar, thus doing away with any need for a trip to the supermarket (15 mile round trip) you will officially be my hero.