Background:
It was a really rainy day and I was babysitting my older grandsons both of whom had colds – and so I planned ahead – and before I left my home, I measured out all the ingredients for these divine easy cookies into plastic baggies, and planned a lovely cooking day for the little ones without having to make a stop at the market to buy a single thing – so no dragging the kids through the wet and puddles ( irresistable to little boys regardless of their colds) or rushing through the marketing. As soon as I picked them up from school and they heard they were going to make cookies, there was great excitement. Both Jack and Jonah pushed their little chairs up to the kitchen counter and the fun was on! Enjoy – this is really easy and quick when cooking with kids.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of sugar
I cup of butter
2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
1 tsp of Almond Extract
2.5 cups of All Purpose Flour
Pinch of Salt
Strawberry Jam – as needed ( about 1 cup)
Directions:
1. Mix the sugar and butter together until smooth and add the extracts. I let the little ones put the butter into the mixer, and turn it on, keeping fingers OUT! I also let them pour the sugar in. Generally I put half the butter into one cup and half into another and do the same with the sugar and flour – so that each child does something to contribute to each action.
2. Add the flour slowly so that it blends well. Same approach as above dividing the job into two!
3. Then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or so. Again I created TWO balls so that each child had his own and could learn to wrap the package himself. We couldn’t wait a whole hour – so after about 30 minutes I heated the oven to 325 degrees and we started to prepare the balls.
4. Cover a cookie pan with foil and then make each piece of dough into a ball. Have each child put their thumb on each of their cookie balls, and teach them how to do a gentle depression. When all the cookies are lined up ( you may need two pans) get out the strawberry jam.
6. Again give each child his own strawberry jam and two teaspoons each. Teach them how to dip the one spoon into the jam, then scrape it off with the other spoon right into the little depression on each cookie. Depending on the dexterity of the child this will take a little time – but it is good learning!
7. Place the cookies in the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until they have reached the consistency or golden color of your liking. Frankly – we couldn’t wait for more than 30 minutes and ate them HOT from the oven with a glass of cold milk. YUM YUM YUM!
