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If your kids are feeling cooped up and bored during the winter months, have them make these edible log cabin treats!
These tasty edible log cabin treats are a fun and creative activity to do in the kitchen!
It is common for people, including children, to experience a decrease in energy and mood during the winter months due to the shorter days and lack of sunlight. This is known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and it is a type of depression that occurs during the same season each year. Symptoms of SAD can include feeling depressed, irritable, or anxious; having low energy; experiencing changes in appetite and sleep patterns; and having difficulty concentrating. (I sound like a commercial. Hahaha! But it is good information to know!)
Lack of sunlight can also lead to a deficiency in vitamin D, which can have an impact on a person’s overall health and well-being. Vitamin D is important for bone health and can also play a role in immune function and mood.
It is important for kids to have activities to do during the winter months in order to stay physically and mentally active. Without enough stimulation, children can become bored and restless, which can lead to behavior problems and an overall decline in mood.
Let’s keep them entertained!
Providing children with a variety of age-appropriate activities during the winter can help to keep them engaged and prevent boredom. These activities can be indoor or outdoor, and can be as simple as playing a board game, reading a book or making these delicious edible log cabin treats!
Not only will your kids have a blast making these tasty treats, but they’ll also have a sense of accomplishment and pride when they’re done. Bonus, these treats only require a few simple ingredients! So don’t let the winter boredom blues get you down – get the kids in the kitchen and start building your own edible log cabins!
Ingredients:
- Graham crackers
- Pretzel rods
- Pretzel sticks (opt.)
- Rice or Corn Chex
- Vanilla wafers
- Royal Icing (Recipe listed below)
- Food coloring (opt.)
Instructions:
1. Make your royal icing. Take about 1/3 of it and color it green(or your color of choice), then put the two colors in two separate piping bags with tips(I used tip 1B for the white, and a smaller version of 1B for the green. The tip didn’t say what size it was.)
2. Pre-assemble your houses. The icing for ours took some time to set. You can make your houses any size you would like. I used 8 full crackers per house, two attached lengthwise, for the side walls. One broken in half and attached on the sides, for each end of the house. Two connected in a V shape, for the roof. (If this is confusing, feel free to look at the pictures.)
*Alternatively, if time isn’t on your side, you can hot glue the houses together. (Yes, I have done it. Yep, it works beautifully. Sure, they can still eat them! The hot glue pulls right off when the kids are ready to eat the houses. It’s great in a pinch!)
3. Make some “plates” for the houses to be placed on. I used a cardboard box, cut it down to a size I thought would work, then wrapped each cardboard piece in aluminum foil. Attach the houses to the homemade plates, using royal icing.
4. Place all your “decorations” in separate bowls.
5. Now it’s time to let the kids decorate! If your kids are old enough, they should be fine to just go for it. If you have younger kiddos, you’ll need to help them apply the icing where they want it, cut down pretzels to size, etc.
Don’t be afraid of the mess this will undoubtedly make. It cleans up easily!
Let your kids use their imaginations here! Encourage creativity. Laugh with them, be patient with them, don’t rush them. Just sit back and enjoy the moment with them!
See what kinds of things they come up with! And feel free to share them in the comments section! My kids and I would love to see them!
My 5-year-old decided she wanted “Alice In Wonderland” mushrooms, so we attempted to make some for her.
The other two kids wanted trees. They weren’t perfect, but the kids sure loved ’em!
If your kids are anything like mine, they’ll eat it as they go along, lol!
I wanted to dust their houses with powdered sugar, to give them more of a winter vibe, but my little darlings were too impatient to wait. Can’t say I blame them!
Results:
My 9-year-old:
5-year-old:
3-year-old:
I love watching their creativity, and love to see how much each house differed, by their age!
And that’s it! Each kids’ edible log cabin is ready to enjoy. You can serve them as a dessert at your holiday party or give them as a gift to friends and family. They are sure to be a hit with both kids and adults. So why wait? Get the kids in the kitchen and start building your own edible log cabins today!
Royal Icing:
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- 6 egg whites
- 1 1/2tsp cream of tarter
- 1 1/2tsp pure vanilla extract
Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low-medium until frosting is smooth. A bowl and hand-mixer also work.
Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge. It should be good for up to a week, if kept in the fridge.
Note:
The royal icing will harden if left out. If you can’t fit it all in your piping bags, place the extras in an airtight container until ready to use.