It’s February break here in northern VT, and though our kids are homeschooled we’re taking the week off to spend some time as a family. It also happens to be my birthday week, and it’s a BIG one! While my kids have been busy in the kitchen (they helped make an amazing birthday cake including raspberry coulis) I have been busy getting in a fight with a snowbank…and loosing. (Diagnosis: strained patellar tendon, very irritable knee cap from old injuries, and pain!) I’m feeling lucky that it’s not more serious, but at the moment it doesn’t feel great, so standing in the kitchen for long periods of time hasn’t been happening…until today!
My wonderful husband helped get out all of the ingredients for me, all of the tools we would need, and then we set to work. (He’s currently doing all my baking dishes, he’s a keeper!) We chose cookies as it’s a slightly quicker recipe to make then some others so I wouldn’t have to be upright for too long. We went back to our new cookie book (https://www.thevanillabeanblog.com/100-cookies) and chose Neapolitan Cookies! Yup, that’s right. The classic ice cream flavor turned into a cookie!
My oldest wasn’t feeling baking this morning, which is fine! She wanted to curl up in a patch of sun and read (apparently she’s part cat?) and was not into being disturbed. No worries, that’s why we’ve got 2 kids! The little one was all in, and since I’m considerably slower and less mobile then usual she really had to take the lead. She was up to the task!
We read through the recipe together, starting with the list of ingredients, all the way through the directions. This is a great tip even if you’re not baking with kids. It helps to get a handle on what you’re expected to do in what order so you’re not just throwing things in a mixer and hoping it turns out the way you want. For kids I find reading through the ingredients and pointing out the ingredients on the counter is even more hopeful. Not only is it a verbal direction, but a visual as well. It helps it stick in their brains…and mine!
Once we were sure we were ready she started measuring (yes she dumped flour all over, no it was not a big deal), mixing, and pulverizing! (She was very excited about using the food processor to pulverize the freeze dried strawberries…she’s a button pusher that one!) These cookies required a little extra work because once the dough is together you have to divide it into 3rds (excellent fraction work for kids) and then flavor the dough pieces. Once that’s done you mush little bits of each flavor dough together to form one cookie. While we were playing with the dough (yes, it’s playing…if you’re not having fun then neither are the kids) our youngest sweetly said to me “this is like play dough I can eat!” She was having a blast. Her sweet little face was just beaming.
We finished up the rolling and playing, got them in the oven, and they look beautiful! We’ll give them a taste later and report on our Instagram and Facebook pages so be sure to check it out! If they taste half as good as they look they’re for sure a keeper! (If we get really ambitious we might make some of that yummy no churn ice cream, also from this awesome book, you should really get yourself a copy, and make some cookie sandwiches tomorrow. You just never know what we’ll get up to so stick around!)
100 days of baking with kids 