Chopped!

My Oldest is a chip off the old block...and when I say "old" block,  I don't mean old.  No, no, no.  I mean, somewhere pleasantly in the mid-30's and feeling fine!

Right.

She loves to watch cooking shows, in particular Chopped and Food Network Challenge.  She loves them so much that she decided we had to put on our own version of Chopped.  Initially she wanted me and The Mister to make some creations using what we have in our kitchen, but...I quickly decided what would be more fun for her and me, would be to have the kids be put on the chopping block.

First we started with this dough, minus the chocolate chips, and gave the kids 4 scoops on a plate so they could create 4 cookies at a time.

We provided many mix-ins for them to choose from, including: Cheesy corn chips, white chocolate covered pretzels, chopped up candy bars, nuts, fun sugar cereals, Skittles, Nerds, Junior Mints, Pop Rocks, popcorn...and goodness only knows what else.  We learned many things along the way...including what is good to put in cookies...and what is not.

Then...we let them go to it.  No restrictions, just unbridled creativity on their parts....

...And it was timed.  HANDS UP!   This added to the excitement.  A little frenzy is good in a cooking competition.

 

Then the adults taste-tested and judged...and ummmm, I'm not going to say this was the best part of the activity, but it was certainly interesting.   Here's what we learned:

* Doritos in very small amounts, for instance, one decorative shard on top of the cookie...was nice-ish. It added a touch of salty to the sweet.

* Crushing the Doritos into chip powder and completely dousing the cookie throughout with it....bad.  

* Any cereal you use becomes stale once it is cooked.  Stale to the point of being inedible.  Don't use cereal.

* Skittles are fun, but they get quite hard if you decorate the tops of the cookies.  Try and put them in the middle of the dough.

* Popcorn has a very off texture.  Not pleasant.

* If your Rollos are on the outside of the cookie, prepare for them to melt ALL OVER THE PLACE!

* Chocolate covered pretzels were quite nice as were all the candy bars.

And lastly we provided prizes for all the winners.  Luckily they were all winners one way or another.  My Youngest, had the best tasting cookies.  My Oldest...the best use of ingredients...which is a nice way to say...well, anyway, it really was a lot of fun for everyone involved! 

Thanks for reading!

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Heather