Junior Simple Meals Badge Activity
Create a Delicious Dessert
Transform a special-occasion campfire treat into a healthier any-time snack!
Activity Details
Time needed: 15–20 minutes
Materials needed:
- 1 apple
- 2 marshmallows
- 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
- Paring knife
- Cutting board
- Table knife
- Small plate
- Microwave
Setup: You’ve had s’mores, right? If you’re a fan, you have Girl Scouts to thank. No one knows for sure who invented the s'more, but the first published recipe for “some mores" was in a 1927 publication called Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts. Read on to learn how to make a healthier version of the s’more: an apple-more!
Activity: You may want to use this recipe on your next family or troop camping trip; doing the activity counts toward earning your Simple Meals badge. You can also share it with friends and family members! You’ll be making the dessert inside today, but it’s a perfect dessert to enjoy around a campfire in the future.
Here are the steps:
- Ask an adult to be in the room with you the whole time, just in case you need assistance.
- Gather a cutting board, paring knife, apple, peanut butter, marshmallows, and a small plate.
- Slice the apple by taking off the top and bottom with your paring knife. If possible, cut your apple to make four round slices. If your apple is small, you might only be able to cut two slices. Each slice should be thick enough that it doesn’t break apart, but not too thick. Remove any seeds near the core.
- With your table knife, spread peanut butter across each apple slice. (Allergic to peanut butter? Almond butter or other nut butter also works great—or you can just skip this step.)
- If you were outside and around a campfire, you would roast a marshmallow or two on a stick, but because you’re inside, just place one or two marshmallows between the apple slices so they’re sandwiched by the peanut butter.
- Put your apple more on a plate and microwave for 20 seconds or until the marshmallow just melts.
- Let it cool, then enjoy! Got two? Share with your adult
Reflection: While your apple-more is cooling, ask yourself the below questions. You can share your answers with your adult.
- How many regular s’mores do you think you’ve eaten in your life?
- If you had to invent a new and healthier kind of s’more, what would you make it with?
