School started a couple weeks ago, and we kicked off the academic year with a back to school dinner! I made the cutest easy apple cookies to serve too!
The beginning of school is not my favorite time of year; summer is my season. But this year felt worthy of celebration because it’s Carmendy’s first experience EVER with school. She’s never been to daycare or any preschool. And now she goes to full-day preschool at an elementary school five days a week. It’s a huge change, and I was really worried about how she’d handle it. I wanted the start of school to be exciting and special for her, so a back to school dinner celebration had to happen (even though I’d much rather celebrate the end of school).
We had a back-to-school party when Owen started preschool two years ago and it was so fun to plan. This time, I kept things a little more simple but everything still looked darling! The menu was all about pleasing the kids: macaroni and cheese, dinosaur-shaped nuggets, brownies and cookies. I also put together baskets of goodies for the children with juice boxes, granola bars, goldfish crackers and apple-shaped cookies (scroll down for the easy apple cookie how-to).
I set-up a kids table for our children and their cousins, and Owen and Carmendy decorated it themselves. They made place mats and name cards. They even taped together a garland of construction paper strips. I think I’m raising little party planners and I couldn’t be more proud.
Check out all the details from the back to school dinner in the photos below:
I found an old chalkboard for a backdrop and I carefully wrote the alphabet using my best cursive handwriting. The treat baskets looked perfect for a picnic, which I lined with yellow and navy blue plaid cloth napkins from Target.
I made holders for the silverware out of lined loose leaf paper, that I simply cut and glued into pockets. A toy school bus, ceramic crayon decorations from the Target dollar zone, and a jar of pencils completed the display of decorations.
I also made the easiest banner ever with flashcards, pencils, baker’s twine and mini yellow clothespins.
By now, I’m sure you’re wondering how I made the apple cookies. 😉
Easy Apple Cookies How-To for Back To School Dinner
They were ridiculously easy! I dyed store-bought sugar cookie dough red. Then I rolled the dough into balls and set them on the baking sheet. Next, I dipped the bottom of a glass in sugar and then pressed each dough ball into a flat circle with the glass.
I took a knife and pushed the dough in to make an apple shape. Then I stuck a pretzel stick into the dough to make the apple stem. I sprinkled half the cookies with red sugar. To finish, I baked the cookies according to the package directions. They turned out so cute!
I love that these cookies can be made without rolling out dough or using a cookie cutter. In the words of my idol Ina Garten, “how easy is that?”
