Unique and easy homemade snacks

photo by eljay

Homemade snacks can be a challenge. You might not have time to bake cookies, breads or muffins. You can offer snacks with minimal prep work, such as fresh fruits and raw vegetables, string cheese, yogurt or cream cheese on raisin toast, but these get boring if you use them too often. The following recipes can be made quickly and so will work well when you want to have something a little different for after school or on weekends. They’ll help you avoid packaged snacks, and the last three can be made ahead.

Apple Toast

1 tablespoon butter
4 slices bread
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
cinnamon, to taste
brown or white sugar, to taste

Set oven to broil. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place apple slices on buttered side of bread. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Place bread on a baking sheet. Place in oven until toasted. — Ellise, South Carolina

Fruit Burritos

4 fresh strawberries
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1 fresh peach
4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4 6-inch flour tortillas
1 banana
4 tablespoons vanilla yogurt

Wash fresh strawberries, blueberries and the peach; peel peach, halve and remove pit. For each burrito, spread 1 tablespoon peanut butter evenly on a flour tortilla. Onto each tortilla place in a line along the center of 1/4 sliced banana, 1 sliced fresh strawberry, 1/4 thinly sliced peach and about 1 tablespoon blueberries. Drizzle 1 tablespoon vanilla yogurt over the fruit. Carefully fold one side of tortilla over the fruit, tucking the edge under the fruit. Roll the folded and tucked portion of the burrito toward the other side; the peanut butter will help hold it together. — Joy B., Tennessee

Mix and Match Cereal Snack

3 cups cereal: Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, corn flakes, Golden Grahams, Trix, Wheaties
1 cup nuts: almonds, mixed nuts, peanuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts
1 cup fruit: banana chips, dates, chopped currants, dried apricots, dried fruit mix, flaked coconut, raisins, dried pineapple
1 cup treats: butterscotch chips, M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, chocolate chips, mini-marshmallows, peanut butter chips, vanilla milk chips, animal crackers, teddy grahams, Goldfish crackers

Choose one from each category or a combination of more than one. Mix well in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container. Serve inside an ice cream cone or plastic baggie. — Lori, Illinois

Cinnamon Graham Popcorn

10 cups popped popcorn
1-1/2 cups golden raisins
2 cups graham cracker cereal
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped dried dates
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 250 F. Combine the popcorn, raisins, cereal, marshmallows and dates in a large roasting pan. Stir well. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and blend well. Shake onto the popcorn mixture and stir to combine well. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container. — Kim, Florida

Toasted Pecans

1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 pound pecans
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 250 F. In a large bowl, beat egg white with water until frothy. Stir in pecans and mix to coat evenly. Combine sugar, cinnamon and salt and stir into pecan mixture. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container. — Hannah, Ohio