Favorite School Snack

Now that my kids need to take lunch to school every day, and Meg and Pip have "snack time" (insert big eye roll here), I need to keep them supplied with snacks and sandwich fixin's.  I simply refuse to buy the goldfish that Meg asks for because there is 0 nutrition.

I know---I'm a nutrition snob.  But we do have plenty of times when we eat garbage!  Like the obligatory doughnuts after confession.  It just seems wrong to me to give them something like that on a daily basis when a little effort provides something much better---and they like it more, too.

Oh, and I did buy them Nutella-to-Go once.

Yesterday, we were out of snacks due to a busy weekend with no time or energy to think about it, but it takes only 15 minutes to whip up their absolute favorite treat:

One Minute Fudgies

(there should be sparkles and flashing lights there!)

1/2 C butter

1/2 C cocoa powder

1 C evaporated milk (but I always use whole)

2 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 C natural peanut butter

6 C oats

Melt butter, add the cocoa, milk, and sugar, mixing well.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla and peanut butter.  Last, add oats and mix well.

Let it cool for a few minutes, so you can handle it, and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.  Give them a little help making them round, and then you're finished.  No baking necessary!

 And way more nutrition than extruded starchy fish.

I don't know where the recipe for these came from.  It might have been my La Leche League cookbook from many years ago.  There are similar no-bake chocolate cookies on the web that use different amounts of the ingredients.  We tried one last week that everyone loved (like this).  They oozed into a traditional cookie shape and then hardened like pralines.  They were very popular.  I think because the sugar ratio was higher.  ;-)  I'm sticking with my recipe for every day.  In fact, I've been known to put in half the sugar and no one notices!  You could definitely do that if, instead of natural, you use regular peanut butter that has sugar in it.

Let me know what you think!  Have you made something like this before?  I'm always interested in other ideas, if you have them.