Okay, so Teacher Appreciation Week was coming up, and I really wanted to do something nice for my kid’s teachers. They work so darn hard, you know? Store-bought stuff is fine, but I figured something homemade would feel a bit more special. Desserts seemed like the way to go.
Deciding What to Make
First, I had to figure out what exactly to bake. I tossed around a few ideas. Cookies are always a safe bet, right? But maybe a bit boring? Then I thought about cupcakes, but frosting and transporting them can be a real pain. I remembered seeing some cute ‘apple’ themed treats online before, but made out of cake pops or Rice Krispie treats. That seemed manageable and kind of fun.
I also wanted something maybe a little less ‘kiddy’. So, I landed on doing two things:
- ‘Apple’ Rice Krispie Treats: Easy to make a big batch, kids love ’em, and they look cute.
- Simple Chocolate Chip Cookies: Can’t go wrong with a classic. Everyone likes a good chocolate chip cookie.
Seemed like a good balance. Nothing too fancy, just good old comfort treats.
Getting Started – The Mess Begins
Alright, baking day. Got all the stuff out. Butter, sugar, flour, chocolate chips for the cookies. Marshmallows, cereal, red candy melts, pretzel sticks, and some green icing for the ‘apples’. My kitchen counter looked like a disaster zone before I even started, but hey, that’s part of the fun, right?
I decided to tackle the Rice Krispie treats first. Melted the butter and marshmallows in a big pot. Stirred in the red food coloring – tried not to make it too red, wanted a nice apple shade. Then dumped in the Rice Krispie cereal. Stirring that stuff is always an arm workout. Once it was all mixed, I let it cool down just enough so I could handle it without burning my hands off.
Then came the shaping part. Greased up my hands with butter – lots of butter – and started rolling the mixture into ball shapes. Tried to make them look sort of apple-like, you know? Poked a little pretzel stick piece in the top for the stem. Set them all out on wax paper to firm up.
Cookie Time and Finishing Touches
While the ‘apples’ were setting, I moved on to the cookies. Standard procedure here. Creamed the butter and sugars together. Added the eggs and vanilla. Mixed in the dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, salt. Then folded in way too many chocolate chips, just how I like ’em. Scooped out balls of dough onto baking sheets.
Got those baking in the oven. My house started smelling amazing, that classic cookie smell. Baked them until they were just golden brown around the edges. Let them cool on the sheets for a few minutes before moving them to wire racks.
Okay, back to the apples. Melted the red candy melts. This part was a bit tricky. Dipped each Rice Krispie ball into the red melt, trying to get an even coat without it being too thick. Tapped off the excess. Put them back on the wax paper. Once the red coating was mostly set, I used a tube of green icing to pipe a tiny leaf shape next to the pretzel stem. They actually turned out pretty cute!
Packaging it Up
Last step was making them look presentable. I found some clear cellophane bags. Put one ‘apple’ treat and a couple of cookies in each bag. Tied them up with some simple twine. Didn’t want anything too fussy. Just simple, homemade, and hopefully tasty.
Making all this definitely took a good chunk of my afternoon, and the kitchen cleanup wasn’t fun, but seeing all those little bags lined up felt pretty satisfying. Just a small way to say thanks to the folks who teach our kids every day. Hope they enjoyed them!
