No-bake baking with Emma

Emma and I have so much fun baking together. Emma has always loved to help me in the kitchen, though until recently, her helping usually meant that everything took at least twice as long and that the clean up was a monumentous task. Now Emma is actually honest-to-goodness helpful! One of our favorite things to "no-bake bake" are these chocolate balls. They are a staple in any Swedish home with children so why not in ours as well? Emma rolled the balls in the sugar all by herself - she's very patient when she wants to be. Don't you think she did a fabulous job?

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or a couple of drops of vanilla extract)

2-3 tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

2-3 tbsp cold coffee (optional)

Pearl sugar (a Swedish phenomenon that can be found in some American grocery stores) or coconut

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Mix in cocoa powder. Add oatmeal and coffee, if desired. Stir until well blended. Shape mixture into little balls and roll them in pearl sugar or coconut. Let stand in refrigerator until firm.

ENJOY!