Friday, March 22, 2013

Friday baking... Messy milo balls...

I'm going to be incredibly honest here, though it may sound harsh: since involving both children in my Friday baking, I have found it more stressful then enjoyable... I have thought about it at length and what I have come up with is this, when I am baking for therapy, I am emotionally invested in the process and the outcome... Stress negates the point for me... This week I saw a recipe on Stay At Home Mum http://m.stayathomemum.com.au/occasions/christmas/food/milo-balls/ for milo balls, it occurred to me that maybe if we made something for the kids, in a way that the kids would be more independent and emotionally invested in their outcome, maybe it would change the experience to be less stressful...
So this morning we gave it a go! I zipped up the mixture, set each kid up with their own station and sat in the middle to 'help' while they did the rolling of the balls and covering in coconut... The concept was perfect, it was super messy, but I didn't get stressed about it, because I didn't care so much about the outcome, more just making the process fun for both - can be tricky sometimes with a 2 year age gap! The recipe wasn't great, it said it was really sticky, I didn't count on how sticky! Mace couldn't roll the balls, so he covered them in coconut and ate the mixture, Marley enjoyed it but by the end wanted to watch me to it while she licked her fingers...
So good concept, bad recipe! Will be looking for more independent kid style recipes for our future recipes... Speaking if which, this is the recipe:
Ingredients:

1 packet Arrowroot biscuits, crushed
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
3-4 tablespoons Milo
Coconut, for rolling
Method

Crush biscuits until small or fine (this works well in a food processor if you have one!).

Add the milo and condensed milk and mix until well combined.

Roll into balls with your hands and then roll in coconut to coat.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

NOTE: Wash your hands every 2-3 balls as the mixture is VERY sticky






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