I've been meaning to share one of my favorite recipes for ages, but between the tea room, and the garden, and the farm, and kids, and sleep, something has always come up.  Since I'm enjoying a whole lot more time at home than usual lately, and Passover is just around the corner (these aren't baked, and they don't contain leavening, or even flour), it's time to finally share.  But first, a little back story:

My mom used to make no-bake cookies for us to take in our sack lunches when I was a kid.  I loved them. Since she isn’t around to show me how to make them, I went looking online for a recipe.  I assumed it would be a simple matter to find the same recipe, or at least one close enough to satisfy my craving.

You know what happens when you assume.

Every recipe I found had peanut butter in it.  Now I may not have paid attention to cooking time and measurements, but I was sure of one thing:  Mom never contaminated those cookies with peanut butter.  I love peanut butter, but I’ve had no-bake cookies with peanut butter in them, and they don’t hold a candle to the ones that my mom made.

I mentioned to my sister one day that I’d sure like to make some no-bake cookies, but I had no recipe, and no idea how they were made.  She replied “Oh, I know how to make them”.  I may have suggested that she hang up the phone immediately and get busy making some, and while she was at it, write down the directions.

FYI:  These are not like other no-bake cookies.  They will be sticky, and you cannot eat them with any decorum at all.  They are totally worth it.  Also:  Yes, I know exactly what they look like!

Mom’s No-Bake Cookies
4 cups quick oats
7 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 stick margarine or butter
2/3 cup milk
1 2/3 cup sugar
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla

Mix the oatmeal and cocoa in a large bowl and set aside:

Combine margarine (or butter), milk and sugar in a sauce pan and stir constantly over medium heat until it comes to a boil.

When it begins to boil and foam, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
Pour into oatmeal mixture and mix thoroughly.

With a cookie scoop (#50) or a spoon, drop onto waxed paper and allow to cool. This part isn’t strictly necessary. I’ve been known to just start eating with a spoon when no-one’s looking.
Makes about 24 cookies.

Stuck at home with your kids and sick of watching Netflix?  Have a tea party!

We're stuck indoors around here, waiting for the rain to end and the sun to come out.  Maybe you're in the same boat?  Perhaps it's time for a tea party!

My girls love to play dress-up, so it's simply a matter of deciding which dress to wear, pulling out a tablecloth and putting the kettle on.  Maybe your kids aren't so much into frilly dresses.  There's no reason they couldn't put on their favorite superhero costume instead.  Surely superheros like tea parties too?

If you don't happen to have any tea at home, how about hot cocoa, spiced cider or lemonade?

Make some sandwiches (A PB&J or cheese sandwich looks fancy cut into triangles with the crusts removed, and we all know at least kid who won't eat the crusts anyway). 

Let them polish the silverware (even your everyday stainless will shine with a little elbow grease). 

Get out the holiday dishes or even some paper plates left over from a birthday party.  Bake some cookies together, or maybe try your hand at some scones (if you can make biscuits, you can make scones!).

Play some uplifting music--whatever that is to your family.  We're fans of George Strait around here, with a little Neil Diamond thrown in for good measure.

Talk to each other.  Tell them stories about their grandparents, or themselves when they were little, or what you wanted to be when you grew up.

Take pictures!  I'd love it if you'd share a photo of you and your kids having tea on our Facebook Page.