Crunchy Garden Gates: I wanted to name these something May-like, so when I looked at the pretzels I thought that would work.  I whipped these up over Easter as I had all of my kids and grandchildren over and I wanted them to taste test and let me know which ones they liked the best. 

It was a tie between the teddy bears and the double pretzels, so I guess you'll have to make a variety too and let your little ones have a choice.  Anyway, they were fun and easy to make and tasted yummy. 

I love the taste of something salty and sweet together and the textures of creamy marshmallow, gooey caramel along with smooth chocolate with a crunchy pretzel are a real treat for your mouth.  I hope you enjoy making and eating them as much as I did!

Ingredients:

• a bag of square pretzels
• 5-10 rolls of Rollo chocolate-caramel candies (You can buy them by the box at Sams Club if you're a member.)
  
• a bag of small marshmallows,
• a small bag of whole roasted almonds,
• a box of honey Teddy Grahams
• large cookie sheet
• waxed paper

Directions:

1. pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
   
2. put as many pretzels on your cookie sheet as you can, or that you have Rollo's for.
3. cut just a tiny bit of marshmallow off one end so that it will stick to the Rollo.  You may have better luck, but when I simply placed them on top of the Rollo's and popped them in the oven, some of them fell off!  I guess you could also insert a toothpick, but then you'd have the tricky job of trying to get those off.
   
4. Pop in the oven for just 3 minutes.
5. Set timer.
6. Carefully remove pan with potholders and gently place on a pretzel, teddy graham or almond so that you squish down the marshmallow-Rollo.  The Rollo is not that "melty" so that it won't spill over, but will pat down nicely into a blob of chocolate and the puffy marshmallow will deflate.
   
7. Set aside to cool and then put on a square of waxed paper and serve. Yummy yummy for your tum-tummy.
8. Children can make these with daddy and put them in a box for a sweet treat for mommy for Mother's Day!

Nursery Rhyme Time: Chocolate Mice

I like to do Nursery Rhymes as a theme during May. If you do that too, why not make up a batch of these chocolate mice as a fun surprise treat for your students.   After their snack teach them the nursery rhymes Hickory Dickory Dock and Three Blind Mice!  This treat is also fun for Halloween, just call them chocolate rats, and make them out of white chocolate.  (Eek!)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of Hershey chocolate kisses
• 2 jars of Marishino cherries with stems ON.
  
• paper towel
• frosting in a tube (for eyes).
• toothpick
• waxed paper
• cookie sheet
• microwave-safe bowl
• spoon
  
• 1 tbs. Crisco
• 2 cups Nestles milk chocolate morsels
• Ears: Cocoa puff cereal, Wheat nuts, (You could also use Rice Krispies or slivered almonds.)
  

Directions:

1. Drain juice from the cherries and rinse cherries. 
   
2. Lay on paper towel to dry completely. 
3. Lay a sheet of waxed paper on a cookie sheet. 
4. Spill some cereal/wheat nuts on a paper plate so that everything is handy for you to use.
   
5. Unwrap as many kisses as you want to have mice heads for.  
6. Melt chocolate morsels and Crisco in bowl in the microwave.
7. Hold on to the stem of the cherry and dip into the melted chocolate 2-3 times.
8. Press on a Hershey kiss to the front of the cherry.
   
9. Lay the mouse on the waxed paper.
   
10. Press 2 ears between the head and cherry for the ears. I used Cocoa puff cereal in the left picture, and wheat nuts on the right.  The wheat nuts gave the candy a salty crunchy taste.
    
11. Because the melted chocolate will start to harden in the bowl, it's nice to have a helper to put the ears on, while you continue to dip cherries.  The helper could also press on the heads.
    
12. Continue 'til you have made as many mice as you want.
13. Let harden and then squirt some colored frosting onto a paper plate and apply dots for eyes.  I had yellow handy, but pink or red would look cute too.

Zingy Spring Tropical Punch for Mom:  

I wanted to make a pretty looking punch that children would have fun blending together to make their mommies as a special drink to "toast" all they do.  I experimented with my family for Easter and they loved it.  The concoction made a pretty salmon color. Put all of the liquids in the refrigerator to get cold, and then on Mother's day spill into a punch bowl, add your ice ring and sprinkle your pansies on the top.  You can freeze the leftovers and make slushies.

Ingredients:

• 1 liter Rudy-Red Squirt
• 1 carton of real lemonade
• 1 carton of pineapple juice
• 1 carton strawberry-papaya juice
• 1 bottle sparkling white grape juice
  
• 1 jar marishino cherries without stems
• 10 strawberries sliced up.
  
• 1 metal cake ring with hole in the center (for ice ring)
• real pansies
  
• punch bowl

• Cut the stems off the pansies. (Pansie flowers are edible!)
  
• Wash them and dip face down into a plate of sugar.  Set aside to dry.
• Spill liquids into a punch bowl and stir.
  
• Gently add the ice ring and sprinkle in the pansies in and around it so they float face-up on top.
  

Ice ring:

• Make ice ring 1 to 2 days before.
• Pour in the bottle of cherry juice, add the cherries and strawberry slices. (You could also add some pineapple tidbits if you wanted to.)
  
• Add any of the above juices to fill up the rest of the ring and then put in the freezer.

Flower Box Cookies: I was allergic to wheat as a child.  Wafer cookies were the first cookie my mom let my twin sister and I try that we weren't allergic to and they have been a favorite ever since.  I could eat 1/2 the package! 

I wanted to dream up a special treat little ones would have fun making for their moms that would involve some sort of flower.  Originally I thought of using real flowers like violets, as they are edible, and then dusting them with sugar.

I was still wracking my brain going up and down the isles when I went grocery shopping for the ingredients for the recipes on this page, when I came across Honey Comb cereal; thus the Flower Box Cookies were born.

They are a mini-mouthful of the "dirt cake" from April, so I know you'll enjoy the added crunch of the wafers! Don't they look cute? One is definitely satisfying.

Ingredients:

•  1 package vanilla wafer cookies
• 1 can of chocolate pudding
• 1 box of  cereal
• 1 package of Oreo cookies
• 1 can of vanilla frosting
• green & orange sprinkles
• tube of yellow frosting
• toothpick
• paper plate
  
• waxed paper
• cookie sheet
• plastic knife
• teaspoon
  

Directions:

1. Lay waxed paper on cookie sheet.
2. Make garden box by putting vanilla frosting on the edges of one vanilla wafer and pressing a wafer on either side.
   
3. Cut another wafer in half and put one 1/2 on each end.
   
4. Lay the cookie box on the cookie sheet that's been covered with waxed paper.
   
5. Fill with a teaspoon of chocolate pudding.
6. Crush up an Oreo cookie.
7. Spoon it into the cookie box.
8. Spill some cereal onto a paper plate and choose 2 small flowers and one large one.
9. Put a dollop of frosting on the back of each one.
10. Place the large flower in the middle and the two smaller ones on either side.
    
11. Squirt some yellow frosting onto the paper plate.  Use a toothpick and put a dot in the center of each flower.
    
12. Spill out some colored Sprinkles.  Insert an orange "stamen" into the center of each yellow circle.
13. Sprinkle some green "grass" sprinkles onto the Oreo "ground dirt".
14. Make as many flower  boxes as you want.
    
15. Serve one to mom on her breakfast-in-bed tray, or have a tea party with her and serve these special cookies with a cup of tea.