No-bake snowballs: a Christmas recipe for toddlers

Name: No-bake snowballs: a Christmas recipe for toddlers
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: about 16 balls
Ingredients: 1 large ripe banana; 1 cup quick-cooking oats; 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional); 1-2 tbsp apple sauce, if the mixture is too dry; ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Prep: 20 min · Makes: about 16 balls · For: Ages 3–5 Ages 6–9

Toddlers love to help in the kitchen, but most Christmas recipes are too hot, too sharp or too sweet. These little snowballs are perfect for the smallest cooks: mash a banana, stir in oats, roll balls and dip them in coconut snow. No oven, no added sugar, and very little that can go wrong.

Why toddlers love it

Mashing and rolling are great for small hands.
They can taste as they go.
In twenty minutes, they have made something real to share.

Tips

Very ripe bananas with lots of brown spots are the sweetest and stickiest.
Damp hands stop the mixture sticking to fingers.
Use fine oats or blitz ordinary oats briefly for a smoother ball.

Make it a little gift

Put a few snowballs in a paper cupcake case for Grandma and Grandpa, or take them to the daycare Christmas party (check the rules on coconut and nuts first).

Ingredients

1 large ripe banana
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1-2 tbsp apple sauce, if the mixture is too dry
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Method

Peel the banana and let your toddler mash it in a bowl with a fork until it is almost smooth.
Add the oats and cinnamon and stir well. The mixture should be sticky but hold together when pressed. Add a spoonful of apple sauce if it is too dry, or a few more oats if it is too wet.
Let it rest for 5 minutes so the oats soak up the banana.
Put the coconut in a shallow bowl.
With damp hands, roll small balls about the size of a cherry tomato.
Roll each ball in the coconut until it is white and snowy.
Eat them straight away or chill them in a box for 30 minutes so they firm up.