Delicious snacks for LOTS of kids

Hi. I'm on snack duty for an after school club at my kids school. I was thinking of baking cookies...enough for 75 kids plus free loading adult volunteers. Any suggestions for easy and great tasting cookies to crank out? Not too sugary, but delicious. Bonus points if they are nut and dairy free. And yes, I need to bring something home made. It is just me, if I have the opportunity to feed children, I want them to have something better than the usual store bought stuff.

monkeymom
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13 Comments

monkeymom
monkeymom May 7, 2012
Thanks for all the great suggestions! There are definitely logistical issues as ATL brought up. Grab and go with as little clean-up as possible was essential so I made carrot muffins. They are half whole wheat, use a pound of carrots per batch and are dairy and nut free. I cut the sugar down from the original recipe. I do plan to try some of your recipe suggestions as they sound delicious!
 
healthierkitchen
healthierkitchen May 6, 2012
These cookies from the blog coconut and lime are delicious and pretty healthy: http://www.coconutandlime.com/2010/10/chocolate-chip-oatmeal-pumpkin-cookies.html. If you sub dark chocolate chips for semi sweet, there's less dairy, I think.
 
ATL
ATL May 6, 2012
Good point about peanut butter/nuts above. I posted about tea sandwiches . I have an additional caution. I have been an evaluator of afterschoool programs and know that any snack has to be pre-assembled as kids have to stand in line to get them (at least most of the time). Time is limited as they have to move to their activities. Anything requiring assembly at the scene slows down the schedule (unless it is an activity). Also, students are hungry and tired following the regular school day so providing the snack first is a plus to successful participation.
 
amysarah
amysarah May 6, 2012
One note of caution - I'd check before you brought anything for 75 kids involving peanuts (or peanut butter, or even any tree nuts.) Many schools don't allow snacks containing them, as peanut allergies are pretty common now, and can be very serious.

You could do bamboo skewers threaded with cubes of cheese, grapes, dried fruit, etc. Not too sugary and fun.
 
Emily H.
Emily H. May 6, 2012
A homemade chex mix would also be a great snack, in my opinion. You can control the salt, make it totally gluten free [if there are allergies] or nut free [allergies again - use seeds instead of nuts!] etc.

Or the classic no-flour peanut butter cookie could be made with any variety of nut/seed butters.
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx May 6, 2012
I've only made 3 recipes in the dessert category on the site thus far, but did make these cookies for my nephews and were well received (especially by me!): http://www.food52.com/recipes/5804_crispy_oatmeal_chocolate_chip_cookies
 
petitbleu
petitbleu May 6, 2012
Fresh fruit with a slightly honey-sweetened yogurt sauce (you could even use almond or soy yogurt if you wanted) would be great for kids. I also loved ATL's suggestion to make tea sandwiches. But really, anything you cook will be more appreciated than the usual goldfish crackers.
 
Slow C.
Slow C. May 6, 2012
I'm always amazed at how popular fruit and veggie platters are with kids, and pretty much everyone can find something they aren't sensitive too. I'm never motivated enough to make them into cute shapes, but I had a friend who brought some sort of cauliflower snowman layout into the school and the kids tore through it.
 
vvvanessa
vvvanessa May 5, 2012
You could do a slightly softer-style biscotti. I use the King Arthur Flour's Italian Biscotti recipe which is dairy-free. They're meant to be baked on the harder side, but the addition of some fat (shortening or olive oil) and/or slightly underbaking them will keep them on the slightly softer side. They're not very sweet, and you can add in any kind of mix-in you like.
 
ATL
ATL May 5, 2012
Little sandwiches (tea sandwiches) cut in different shapes and with fillings, no crusts, are appealing, fun, and nourishing. They also offer an alternative to sweets. Even peanut butter and jelly dresses up quite nicely this way.
 
Brain H.
Brain H. May 5, 2012
Cookies are fun, but for something different I've made mass quantities of chocolate-dipped fruit: dried apricots, cherries, pineapple, mango, figs. This usually takes care of the kids with dietary restrictions to wheat, dairy, nuts, etc., and it's fun to eat.
 
SKK
SKK May 5, 2012
Oh, and Kelsey The Naptime Chef’s zucchini lemon cookies - http://food52.com/recipes/253_zucchinilemon_cookies

I have a thing for lemon, as you can see.
 
SKK
SKK May 5, 2012
You are such a good Mom! Beyondcelery has a recipe for coconut lemon macaroons that she brought to our Food 52 gathering. They were so delicious and disappeared in short order! I am not much of a baker, and I found them easy to make. http://food52.com/recipes/14717_coconutlemon_macaroons Another source for good healthy cookies is www.glutenfreegirl.com She has some wonderful cookie recipes.

 
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