Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Indoor Snowballs Even When You Don't Have Real Snow

Wednesdays with Whitney

Kids love snow. They love to sled in it, make snow angels, and build forts and snowmen with snow. But there are plenty of readers of this blog that don't get any natural snow this time of year. You can still have fun with snow even if they don't get a white soft blanket of the seasonal stuff. Whether it's winter in your neck-of-the-woods or not, kids will have fun playing with fake snow and making a coconut snowball recipe this week.

Fake Indoor Snow
By Be Amazing Insta-Snow Jar

You can help the kids make realistic-looking snow inside the house that feels cold to the touch. The 3 1/2" oz. plastic jar of non-toxic "snow" powder comes with an activity guide and a measuring scoop. You just add water and make up to two gallons of fake snow.  Just mix one teaspoon of Insta-Snow powder with two ounces of room temperature water to produce the best quality snow. We recommended making your snow in smaller quantities to get the best batches. Insta-Snow® powder expands 100 times its original volume. Just a small amount of powder is needed to make an impressive quantity of snow.

Just cover a table or floor with a plastic table cloth (for easy clean up) and pour the fake snow into a large tray. The kids can use measuring cups or sand toys like small shovels and buckets to play with the snow. They can build tiny snowmen or simply let them play with animal figurines in the fake snow.


Coconut Snowballs
 
You Will Need:
1 package (7 ounces) shredded sweetened coconut
1 angel food cake, about 10 ounces
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 3/4 cups milk or heavy cream, divided
Ground cinnamon for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Fill a shallow bowl with one cup of coconut. Let the kids break and pull the cake apart into chunks the size of large marshmallows.

2. Place the confectioner's sugar in a bowl. Add the vanilla and 1/2 cup of milk and stir to combine. Stir in more milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the icing is smooth and moderately runny.

3. Using a fork, pierce a chunck of cake and dip it into the frosting. Hold the chunk above the bowl, and use a spoon to coat any unfrosted surfaces. Don't let it get too soggy. Pat or roll the chunk in the cocount, then place it on waxed paper and sprinkle with cinnamon. Repeat with the other chunks, refilling the blow with coconut as needed. Let the snowballs set for 20 minutes before serving. They are best eaten the day they are made.




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