With a blog called “Life With Cheeseburgers,” I think a cheeseburger recipe is well-overdue. It also seems obvious that I should include two of the greatest joys in my life, my nephews!

This isn’t just any cheeseburger recipe; they’re actually completely meat-free and filled instead with (brace yourself)–cookies!! The first time I encountered these “cheeseburgers,” I was probably about four years old. My parents, brother, and I had just finished visiting some family friends from out of state, and were on our way home. The mother of the family we were visiting sent my brother and I off with these little cookies, and 20 years later I haven’t been able to forget about them. So I decided to make them with my nephews, and share the recipe with you! If you have kids in your life, this is THE perfect recipe to make with them–it’s simple and they’ll be enamored with the process.

So what are you waiting for?

Here’s What You Need:

Vanilla Wafers

Keebler Grasshopper Cookies (many recipes will call for thin mints but these taste better!)

Shredded Coconut

Yellow or Orange fruit roll-ups

Icing (Cream cheese, powdered sugar, etc.)

Green gumdrops

Honey or syrup

Sesame Seeds

Red, Yellow, & Green Food Coloring

Two quart-sized sandwich baggies

Here’s what you do!:

Place a layer of the wafer cookies upside down on a plate to make the bottom halves of your “buns.”

Place a grasshopper cookie on top of each “bun” to make your hamburger patties.

Use the green food coloring to make your coconut look like lettuce!

Give your burgers a little “lettuce love” (and give the little one something to chew on!):

Cut your fruit roll-ups into cheesy squares and top the lettuce–or, put the cheese first if you like your pretend-cheese to be pretend-cooked-on-the-burger!! Also make sure the cap is on the tube of food coloring the little one is chewing on!:

Split the icing in half; color half with the red food coloring, and the other with yellow–you now have ketchup and mustard! Cut a teensy, tiny hole in each baggie and put your “ketchup” in one and your “mustard” in the other (use cake decorating tips if you have them!).

Dress your burgers!

Slice your gumdrops up into little “pickles”, and try to convince the three-year-old to put them on the burgers, even though he insists he doesn’t like pickles (but ironically loves green gumdrops)!!

Top your burgers with the Nilla Wafer “buns”:

Brush the tops of your buns with a little maple syrup…

Refuse to stick sesame seeds to the tops of the cheeseburger cookies because “My don’t want to!!!” I mean–stick the sesame seeds on top of YOUR burger buns because your nephew says he doesn’t want them on his.

Enjoy your (Life With) Cheeseburgers!

Yum, yummy, and so much fun–hope you love it too!

Love, Hope, & Prayers,

Justine