This Fall the Jackson County 4-H offered a 4-H Healthy Cookie Exchange during the month of December.  4-H Age youth and a parent/adult were invited to participate.  This program was held on Mondays for three weeks in the evenings from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Extension Office.  The criteria for this program was for each person to bring a dozen healthy cookies already baked to exchange along with the recipe to give out.  While they were at the Extension Office each child/adult were given a healthy recipe along with the ingredients at a work station. The 4-H Agent and Extension Program Assistant lead the group in making a healthy cookie recipe step by step.  Due to lack of ovens the participates took home the cookie batter to bake; however as with any great 4-H Demonstration samples had been pre-baked to sample.  

The objectives of this program was for the participates to (1) make holiday gift giving easier (2) to share holiday cheer which includes healthy but yummy recipes. (3)Learn to reduce sugar and cut the fat. (4) add heathy ingredients. (5) to make new friends. Three youth and their parents participated in this program.  While the attendance may have been better to have the program in the month of November, all the adults agreed that they learned something about the youth that they didn't know before. Everyone enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and one adult even commented that ,"she had never baked cookies before"!  We learn in Extension never to assume.  Everyones has a different story to tell. Learning how to bake is a life skill that believe it or not not everyone knows how to do, but everyone can be taught!!