eNewsletter
EASY NO-BAKE RECIPES
Let’s face it, no one wants to turn that oven on during the hot summer days. So, the YPL Staff got together and created a list of treats that are super easy to make, delicious, and do not need to be baked. Kids will have a ball creating their own versions of these simple snacks. If you have any easy, no-bake recipes that you would like to share, please send them to efusco@ypl.org or agantzer@ypl.org, and we will add them to our blog. Enjoy!!!
How About A Day at the Beach. No sunscreen necessary!
Ocean Themed Pudding Cup
Ingredients:
1 small cup of vanilla pudding
Blue food coloring
2 cups graham cracker crumbs or crushed teddy grahams
Gummy lifesavers
Swedish Fish or Gummy Bears
Small plastic cups
Cocktail umbrella
Directions:
- Mix pudding according to package directions and add blue food coloring until desired color is reached. Set aside.
- Make your own graham cracker crumbs by placing graham crackers in a zip-top bag and rolling over them with a rolling pun until they are crushed.
- Cover the bottom of each cup with graham cracker crumbs, then pour pudding over the top of the crumbs.
- Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over one half of the top of the pudding.
- Decorate with a candy flamingo on top of the graham cracker crumbs and a candy fish inside the pudding.
Next stop Brazil! Ana, YPL’s Spanish Services Librarian, brings us this traditional Afro-Brasilian delicacy.
CUSCUZ de TAPIOCA
Ingredients
500 gr (4 cups) of granulated tapioca
1 cups of sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 ½ liters of milk at room temperature
1 can or (200 ml) of coconut milk
2 cups of shredded coconut (grated fresh if possible or unsweetened)
1 cup of condensed milk
Directions:
1) In a baking dish mix well the granulated tapioca with the sugar and pinch of salt;
2) Add milk at room temperature slowly, mixing well with the tapioca mix and leave to soak for 5 minutes until it absorbs the liquid; add coconut milk and mix well again.
3) When the mix gets creamy and more homogeneous, cover with a plastic film or metal foil and let it rest in the fridge for about 5 hours.
4) Take out of the fridge, uncover and sprinkle the grated coconut. Serve drizzled with condensed milk.
It says Puppy, but this treat is not for Cooper!
Easy Crispix Puppy Chow
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
1 cup of peanut butter
1 large package of chocolate chips
1 box of Crispix
2 cups of powered sugar
A paper bag and a large pot
Directions:
- Melt 1 stick butter (or margarine), 1 cup peanut butter, and 1 large package chocolate chips in a large pot.
- Stir in a package of Crispix cereal.
- Dump this into a large brown paper bag with 2 or more cups of powdered sugar.
- Shake back and forth until it is coated.
How do you keep kids busy on a rainy summer day? Who better to ask than the YPL Children’s librarians? Renee and Michelle offer some suggestions with these simple tasty delights.
Honey Peanut Butter Bites
1 cup of smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup raw & unfiltered honey
24 waffle shaped pretzels
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup sprinkles
In a small bowl, stir together your peanut butter with the raw honey
On a parchment-lined cookie sheet, place a dollop of the mixture on top of 12 pretzels
Top those 12 pretzels with a second pretzel to create a sandwich and set those aside
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil in 20 second increments – stir every 20 seconds until chocolate is smooth
Dip half of each pretzel sandwich into the melted chocolate – transfer back to the parchment-lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with sprinkles while the chocolate is still melted
Once all pretzels have been dipped and sprinkled, refrigerate until chocolate is firm. (Makes 12)
Apple Ring Donuts
Peanut butter
Yogurt
Nutella
Sprinkles and other toppings
Never Fail Fudge
Ingredients:
- 7½ oz jar Marshmallow Fluff
- 2½ cups sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ stick butter or margarine
- 5 oz evaporated milk
- ¾ tsp vanilla
- 12 oz (~2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate pieces
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
Grease a 9-inch square baking pan; set aside. In large saucepan combine first 5 ingredients. Stir over low heat until blended. Increase heat to medium and bring to a full-rolling boil being careful not to mistake escaping air bubbles for boiling. Boil slowly, stirring constantly, 3½ – 5 minutes to the soft ball stage*. Remove from heat, stir in semi-sweet chocolate pieces until they are melted. Stir in vanilla. Add nuts. Turn into greased pan and cool. Makes 2½ pounds.
*The soft ball stage is a test to see if the fudge has been cooked to the proper stage. Before you start cooking, fill a small dish with ice water and set aside. After you have brought the recipe to a full boil for 3½ minutes, dribble a few drops of the mixture into the ice water from a wooden spoon. After it cools in the water (about 10 seconds), you should be able to roll it into small ball with your finger tips. If you put it in your mouth, it will be slightly chewy. If it passes these tests, you are done and should remove the mixture from heat and add the remaining ingredients. Otherwise, cook for another 30 seconds and try the test again. Most of the time, cooking time will not exceed 5 minutes.
Hint: As with all fudge recipes, cooking time will vary depending on factors such as humidity, altitude, and cooktop temperature.
We all know Christine as our go-to Tech expert, but her recipe for fudge is anything but high tech. It doesn’t get easier than this!
Rainbow Chip Fudge
Ingredients:
1 bag (12 oz) white vanilla baking chips
1 container Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy rainbow chip frosting
Directions:
- Grease 8-inch square pan.
- In medium microwavable bowl, microwave white vanilla baking chips uncovered on High in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth. Do not overheat; it’s okay if a few lumps remain. Keep stirring, and they should melt completely.
- In another microwavable bowl, microwave frosting uncovered on High 20 to 30 seconds or until melted.
- Mix melted chips and frosting together; pour into pan. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Cut into 6 rows by 6 rows.
- This fudge is slightly soft at room temperature. If desired, store in refrigerator.