Kids in the Kitchen: Week 4 – Pumpkin Deviled Eggs

Last week I told my cooking club kids that we would be making these eggs the following week, and one of the girls was so excited she jumped up and down shouting, “I’m going to wear my favorite outfit!” (This is my kind of girl.) She arrived this week in a darling candy corn shirt and pumpkin tutu to make our final recipe for the semester: pumpkin deviled eggs. Before you get too excited and put your kids in their Halloween best, note that we didn't actually use any pumpkin in these eggs. The pumpkin part comes from the presentation, not the ingredients. 

Ironically, because we can’t technically “cook” anything in cooking club, I boiled all the eggs the night before. Therefore, the first thing the kids did was crack the shell and peel, which was their favorite part! They absolutely loved smashing those eggs on their paper plates. They then sliced the eggs in half, popped the yolks out, and placed the whites into a bowl of water colored orange with food coloring. 

Meanwhile, we put the yolks into the communal bowl and started adding our ingredients. I worked off of my favorite deviled egg recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. The kids took turns adding mayo, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. We then added red and yellow food coloring and mixed everything together to create an orangey filling. 

Unfortunately, due to time limitations, the egg whites didn’t have quite long enough to soak in the dye, so when the kids retrieved them, they had only a faint orangey hue. I think a combination of more dye and more time would have yielded better results.

Once we retrieved the whites from the dye and dabbed the water off with paper towels, the kids scooped the filling into their eggs. We then took our plastic knives and made faint vertical lines in the filling to resemble pumpkin ribs. Finally, I sliced up green onions (about 1/4¼" long) and the kids placed one per egg smack in the middle to stand as the pumpkin stem. 

Pumpkin Deviled Eggs (yields a dozen eggs)

Ingredients:

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• Dash of salt
• Dash of pepper
• Yellow and red food coloring 
• Green onion stems
• Paprika (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. 
2. Remove yolks and place in a medium-size bowl. 
3. Fill a separate bowl with lukewarm water and add 4 drops of yellow coloring and 4 drops of red coloring. Mix with a spoon and add empty egg whites to the dye to soak for approx. 25 min.
4. Mash yolks and add all remaining ingredients to the yolks except onions and paprika.
5. Add 4 drops of yellow coloring and 4 drops of red coloring to yolk mixture and mix well.
6. After whites have finished soaking, remove from bowl and place on a clean surface. Scoop yolk mixture evenly into each egg. 
7. Using a knife, make approx. 4 vertical lines in yolk mixture to resemble pumpkin ribs.
8. Slice green onion stems into about 1/4¼" pieces and place one piece in the center of each egg.
9. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. 

Alas, this recipe concluded the first semester of cooking club. But the good news is that Shepherd asked me to stay on for the next semester. Now, I need to plan my next semester curriculum. I have a Pinterest board full of ideas, but there are so many I am overwhelmed! Which ones are your favorite? Or do you have any other go-to, kid-friendly, no-bake recipes themed for fall or winter? Comment on my pins you like best or post your new ideas below, and I’ll let you know which I pick! 

So long,
    Victoria