I love to cook with my children and in the fall the temperature is perfect for cooking projects.

We also love gathering apples from the orchards and cooking with pumpkin. So there are several options to choose from during the fall season.

 

 

Apple Nachos

I love coming home from the apple orchard with my children and making an apple dish that is fast and easy. This recipe only involves washing and cutting apples up into thin half slices.

I leave the peel on because it has more nutritional value. Spritz the apples with a little lemon juice and water. I have the children help spread them on a tray while i melt peanut butter in the microwave until it is runny and drizzle over the apples. I have the children then sprinkle on mini chocolate chips while the peanut butter is still hot. Pick up a Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Apple Nachos with your fingers and enjoy it as a snack or lunch. A picture of this recipe can be found on pinterest with The Best Blog Recipe.

 

Vegan Cinnamon Apple Tacos

I am still full steam ahead with the apple recipes in the fall. This recipe is light and delightfully topped with coconut whip topping.I have an apple peeler that suctions to my counter and i can allow the kids to turn the handle to help prepare the apples. Once the apples are peeled and cored they can be cut up into small pieces and placed in a saucepan. I prepare a salt shaker with a cinnamon sugar combo so the kids are able to sprinkle the flour tortillas with this combination after they are lightly fried. The apple filling does not take long to cook in a pan on the stove and you can use your mixer to make the coconut whipped topping while they are simmering. The final part is to assemble the apple filling in the cinnamon sugar tortilla, add the coconut whipped topping sprinkle with a little cinnamon if desired. Another great finger food to easily eat. This recipe is by Eat Drink and Shrink and my family loves Cinnamon Apple Tacos.

 

 

Pumpkin Pie Crescents

My children like cooking when the end result is in their time frame…….which means fast.

So these Pumpkin Pie Crescents provide a chance for them to add ingredients, stir, assemble,bake, drizzle and eat in about 20 minutes. The pie filling is bought but a few additional spices are added, then crescent rolls are unrolled, filled, and rolled again. Put them in to bake while preparing a light drizzle for the top. I place some drizzle icing in a ziploc bag and cut the point off. Allow your children to drizzle the icing on a certain number of crescents and then taste test one. This recipe is by Spend With Pennies and is a hit everytime my family makes them.

 

Apple Spice Muffins

These muffins are delightful for breakfast or a snack. They have chunks of apples and are kept moist from applesauce being one of the ingredients. The muffins have a spice cake taste and are great warmed, with cream cheese, or plain. A beautiful topping of Turbinado sugar adds a crunch. The children may help with the measuring parts for the batter and help fill the muffin cups. I use Granny Smith apples because they hold up well with baking. The muffins store well in the refrigerator and the kids can pop them out of the tupperware container to have a snack. This is also a great go to recipe for them to make for friends for a play date or back to school. Recipe by The Life Jolie.

 

One Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta

If you mention anything taco to my children, they usually want to try to make it. This recipe is a one pot dish but when I want to incorporate my children into the cooking, I cook the noodles separate so we can do lots of stirring with the cheesy goodness. I transfer my browned hamburger into a cool pot so they can stir in taco seasoning and other ingredients. I t does not take long to reheat the pot and add the cooked noodles last. I allow my children to help decide what toppings to use each time we make this dish. So sour cream, tomato slices, avocado, corn chips or onion all seem to add a different flavor. This recipe is by Mother Thyme and my children love it.

 

Grilled Cheese Roll Ups

The best part of this recipe is that it is fast and definitely child friendly. In the fall, warm sandwiches dipped into tomato soup describe the perfect lunch. We have mini rolling pins which you may find in a kitchen store but I purchase from the toy area near the play dough.

Each child is supplied with 2 slices of bread, a rolling pin and 2 slices of cheese. Remove the crust, roll bread flat, add the cheese and roll up. Then I cook them in a little butter until golden brown and the cheese is melted. We dip them in tomato soup and can easily make more if we need them. This recipe is by Cincy Shopper and I think the whole family will like it for lunch.

 

Fall Candy Corn Popcorn

If your kids like to pour and measure then stir, this is the recipe for them. I mark a measuring cup with colorful duct tape so they know how far to measure with each new ingredient. Make the popcorn while measuring the ingredients into small bowls. Then the mixing begins with the melted butter and marshmallows. The final step is sprinkling candy corn, fall colored jimmies and M&Ms on top. When it is all cool and set up it will break into pieces.

This is better served the first day but can be stored in a airtight container and served the next day. This recipe is by Two Sisters Crafting and my children drool in anticipation of the first bite.

 

Halloween Hot Vanilla Milk

A drink made for Trick or Treat night is a great family tradition. This drink is orange in color and you may use the remainder of your Fall colored jimmies on the top. It is regular milk with vanilla added, a little bit of sugar (optional) and orange food coloring. Top it with whip cream and sprinkles in a special tall glass mug and it is a treat your children will wait for every Halloween. Please allow them to add the vanilla and food coloring before you warm it up. Then the whip cream and jimmies in a small bowl can be added. I like to add a colorful straw. This recipe is by Two Sisters Crafting.

 

Mini Spider Pizzas

A great treat for the month of October or whenever they ask for spider pizza. This recipe is easy for the kids to assemble on their own and  you can choose to have them help roll out the pizza dough. I sometimes use store bought sauce or follow this recipe and make my own sauce. This recipe is by Recipe Runner and utilizes black olives to make a spider on top of each mini pizza. I like to be creative and cut up green and red peppers to also make monsters. The clue to fun cooking is being creative.

 

 

Turkey Leg Rice Krispie Treats

If you have not tried to make these yet, it is tons of sticky fun. My children like to give one leg to each friend so make a double batch. The bone is made out of a pretzel rod dipped in white chocolate, with 2 marshmallows on the end and then rice krispies and marshmallow molded to look like a turkey leg. They are fun and cute. We wear buttered greased gloves to do the molding of the leg itself. This recipe is by Kitchen fun with My Three Sons  They can also be served at the end of your Thanksgiving meal as a fun treat for the children.

 

Pumpkin Pancake Bites with Chocolate Chips

These donut hole sized pancakes are fun to make with lots of measurable ingredients for the kids and they taste delicious. These bites are a great breakfast for a cool fall morning. It is best if you you line up your ingredients on the table and have several measuring cups for the children to practice their skills. They will be able to stir wet and dry ingredients and mix together, then folding in mini chocolate chips. These are great for dipping in a glaze or maple syrup. We like them with warm apple cider. This recipe is by Mom Foodie and has a bold fall taste.

 

Hedgehog Bread

My entire family loves the smell of bread in our house. This recipe has taught my children to work with yeast and they now appreciate a good bread. The Hedgehog bread has raisin on it for the face of the hedgehog. We utilize scissors to make little cuts to look like the spikes of a hedgehog. It is like play dough to knead and has a yummy end result. We now make it once a week to have for dinner. It is also a great idea to bake on a chilly day since you will be baking in the oven for about 25 min. It does need to rise for about an hour so let the kids know it is not a fast process. This recipe is fun, tasty, and delightful and is by Rainy Day Mom.

 

Best Apple Crisp

We never celebrate the fall season without making apple crisp. My children now know the recipe by heart and all we have to do is measure out ingredients. In our house we always double the recipe so it lasts longer. When it is first out of the oven it is great served with vanilla ice cream and later it can drizzled with a caramel sauce. The oat topping becomes nice and crispy and we have never had this recipe fail. I use my apple peeler and corer to make the process a little faster. The final product bakes for only about 30 to 35 minutes. This recipe is by

It Tastes Better From Scratch.

 

Meatball Mummies

The Meatball Mummies are so much fun to make and tasty to eat. They are almost like a meatball sub after you dip them in sauce. If you are in a hurry the meatballs can be purchased at the store. I try to make my own and keep them frozen for using in this recipe. It only takes meatballs, dough, one uncooked spaghetti noodle for each mummy and marinara sauce for dipping.The wrapping of the dough around the meatball is easy by using the uncooked noodle that you pull out before baking. The dough is cut into strip for easy wrapping and little hands. All age kids will have a blast making and eating these. This recipe is by Spend With Pennies

 

Autumn Play Dough Recipes 

Play Dough is alway nice to have on hand to keep little hands busy. These Fall Scented Play Doughs are easy to make and I love the different scents. You can make one kind over several days or make them all in one day and trade off on what child uses which scent. I think your child will enjoy making these and find fun using them for days. The balls of Play Dough keep well in tupperware containers.So decide which scent is your family's favorite.This recipe is by

Emma Owl.