For many students in America, a new school year is on the horizon. I don’t know about you guys, but the start of a new school year is an exciting time in our home. To make this new beginning special, my children and I love to celebrate by making my back-to-school pencil wafer cookies. Pencil wafer cookies are an easy and fun recipe that is perfect for kids of all ages.
In this post, you will learn the secrets to my wafer cookies recipe and how I incorporate (time in the kitchen with my children) into a homeschool lesson. My Happy Hawks Homeschool crew and I would be thrilled to have you join us.
So, what do you say? Shall we get our aprons on?
Cue the Back-to-School Pencil Wafer Cookies:
This year marks my fifth year of homeschooling. To celebrate the new school year, my homeschool crew and I always make wafer pencil cookies. This is not my original idea (in fact, many of you may have seen it somewhere before). I cannot remember who or where I actually first saw this idea from, but I wanted to pass it on to you all- not as my idea- but as a good idea.
Pencil wafer cookies are a very simple, no baking required, crafty recipe. Perfect for children of all ages to help with. I have found that each of my children look forward to this back-to-school activity. Inadvertently, it has formed a new back to school tradition.
I like to make these back-to-school pencil wafers as they remind me of my late grandmother- who was also a schoolteacher. When I was a young girl, she would often read stories to me, and sometimes as a special treat… she would give me wafer cookies (vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ones to be exact). This sweet memory seems fitting to remember when making these back-to-school treats.
My Back-to-School Pencil Wafer Cookies Recipe:
Back-to-School Pencil Wafer Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Remove the wafers from the wrapper and place on a cutting board.
- Using a sharp knife, neatly cut the top side ends of the wafer at an angle. Your aim is to create a sharp "pencil tip". Each angled cut will be about 2-3 centimeters long and will meet in the middle to form a central point (or tip).
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips in thirty second intervals. Stirring in between and being careful not to burn.
- Once melted, separate half the melted chocolate by placing it in a separate bowl. One bowl of chocolate will stay white- and one bowl will add a drop of food coloring to create "pink" chocolate. The white chocolate is for the tip of the pencil- and the pink chocolate is for the end of the pencil (the eraser).
- Dip the angled part of the pencil in white chocolate and add a mini chocolate chip -to the tip- to act as the pencil lead.
- Flip and dip the end of the wafer into the pink-white chocolate. (Approximately 2-3 centimeters deep.) The pink chocolate acts as the pencil's eraser.
- Allow the white chocolate ends to harden. Once dry- they are ready to be served and enjoyed.
Notes
How I Make My Back-to-School Pencil Wafer Cookies with My Children:
Pencil wafer cookies only require a few storebought ingredients. You will need vanilla/raspberry wafers, white chocolate, pink food coloring, and mini chocolate chips. Alternately, you can use pink melting chocolate to remove one step from the process.
There is nothing to this recipe really. I like to take my stack of vanilla/raspberry wafers and place them on a cutting board. Then, I use a sharp knife to cut two angled slices at the top of the wafer. This creates the pencil point.
After cutting each point, I melt my white chocolate in two separate microwave-safe bowls. One bowl of white chocolate stays white, and the other bowl of white chocolate gets a drop of pink food coloring.
From there, dip the tip (or point) of the wafer pencil into the white chocolate. Flip the wafer up- and dip the flat end of the wafer into the pink chocolate. The pink chocolate acts as the pencil’s eraser. All that is left to do is to add the mini chocolate chip to the angled end of the wafer. The mini chocolate chip serves as the pencil’s lead.
Wa-la-an adorable, edible pencil!
The children all love making these and getting covered in chocolaty stickiness with me. Pencil wafer cookies would also make an adorable gift for a new schoolteacher. Simply place the pencil wafer into a bag (with a ribbon tied around it) and an encouraging note to go with it.
There you have it, an easy recipe to mark an occasion… or a thoughtful back-to-school gift.
A Homeschool Lesson in the Kitchen:
Let the children have a go! While your dining table may be sticky, your heart will be full. For baking with babies is a real treat!
Once the pencil points have been cut, the children choose their wafer pencils and begin the dipping process.
This recipe teaches little ones how to follow directions: “One step dip, another step dunk, and end it with a chip. That’s the pencil wafer dip!”
Frequently Asked Questions About Back-to-School Pencil Wafer Cookies:
1. Do I have to use white chocolate?
You do not have to use white chocolate for the ends of the pencil wafer cookies. Other alternatives could be white buttercream frosting or marshmallow cream. However, the white chocolate is ideal as it melts nicely, spreads easily, and dries perfectly.
2. Do wafer cookies come in other flavors than the standard vanilla?
Yes, wafer cookies come in many different flavors. Flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry are common. Recently, I found raspberry flavored wafers from Publix. My family tried those for this year’s batch of back-to-school pencil wafers and they were a hit. *Probably an even bigger favorite than the standard vanilla.
3. What if my white chocolate is not firming up?
White chocolate can be a bit finicky. Generally, white chocolate will firm up on its own if left at room temperature. However, if it is a particularly humid or hot day, the chocolate can remain a bit sticky. To combat this, you can simply line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place the pencil wafer cookies on the paper, and then place in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. This will help the white chocolate to be firm.
4. How do I store my leftover pencil wafer cookies?
Leftover pencil wafer cookies can be stored at room temperature in a Ziplock bag or an airtight container. However, don’t place the wafer cookies in direct sunlight as the white chocolate may begin to melt. If left out in open air for too long, the wafer cookies will begin to soften due to the humidity. Therefore, keep them sealed tight for best results.
Final Thoughts Until Next Time:
Thank you for joining me and my Happy Hawks Homeschool crew as we made our special back to school pencil wafer cookies. These cookies are delicious to eat, easy to create, and fun to make as a family. Perhaps you might consider making these a new family (back to school) tradition for your own crew?
Homeschooling is not a prerequisite for this project. No, no- any school aged child would enjoy making these fun wafer cookies to celebrate the start of a new school year.
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to my blog and share with those you know who may also enjoy my back-to-school pencil wafer cookies. Also, see my page on homeschooling ideas here for more inspirations and helpful hints.
For two more fun homeschool recipes, see my post here on how to make homemade granola bars… and see my post on how to make soft apple cookies with a golden syrup glaze here.
For more simple ideas and inspirations see my Facebook and Pinterest pages.
I hope to see you all again very soon. Until next time…
~Elizabeth~