Cookie Recipes for Cooking with Children

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Below are three excellent cookie recipes to make with children. They are well-tested by my granddaughter, Bella. She loves them.

[typography font=”Amaranth” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]Melt Away Cookies[/typography]

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

½ cup corn starch

½ cup powdered sugar

¾ cup (1½cubes) butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. Combine flour, corn starch and powdered sugar in medium bowl – set aside.
  3. Beat butter in large bowl with mixer at medium speed until creamy and smooth.
  4. Add flour mixture and vanilla; beat until well blended.
  5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until easy to handle.
  6. Shape dough into 1-inch balls.
  7. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets; flatten slightly with floured fork.
  8. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
  9. Remove from baking tin and cool completely on wire rack..
  10. Store in a tightly covered container.

Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cook Time:  10 to 12 minutes
Chill Time:  30 minutes
Yield:  3 dozen cookies

 

[typography font=”Amaranthl” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]Quick Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies[/typography]

Quick Oatmeal Cookies

These are wonderful, quick cookies. It is one of the first things my children learned to “cook.” You can add more or less oats. I have found that the weather makes a difference on the consistency. It is very important not to boil them for longer than a minute.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

½ cup Nestle Quik©

½ cup milk

1 cube butter

2 cups uncooked oatmeal

1 cup nuts, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

  1. Mix sugar, Nestle Quik, milk and butter in a sauce pan – boil for one minute (no longer than 1 minute)
  2. Remove from the heat and add the oatmeal, nuts and vanilla
  3. Drop on waxed paper – let cool

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

 

[typography font=”Amaranth” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]Lemon Shortbread Cookies     [/typography]

Lemon-Shortbread-Cookies-2

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

1 pound (4 cubes) unsalted butter, softened

1½ cups granulated sugar

1½ cups powdered sugar, sifted

4 tablespoons lemon juice (~3 lemons)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350º F.
  2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper – set aside.
  3. Sift flour – set aside.
  4. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
  5. Add lemon juice, vanilla, and salt – beat until well combined.
  6. Stir in flour – 1 cup at a time.
  7. Scoop a heaping tablespoon for each cookie onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
  8. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until very light brown around the edges.
  9. Allow cookies to cool on cooling rack.

Yield:  5 1/2 dozen cookies

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Family Fun – Baking Cookies with Children

Share your love of cooking with your children – and grandchildren.  Baking cookies with children is a great way to create memories that will last a lifetime.

More and more people are discovering the joy of baking cookies with children. It is not only fun, it is one of the best ways to start teaching your children how to cook – for several reasons:

  1. Cookies are sweet, portable (good for lunches), and easy to make.
  2. Everyone loves the end result – who can resist warm cookies from the oven?
  3. You get to spend time with your children.
  4. You are teaching them a skill that will last a lifetime.
  5. Everyone has a good time.

The cooking-making process can be very flexible. If you are a very busy mom or dad who thinks this is a great idea, but has limited time, try making the cookies in stages.

  1. Set out all the ingredients and tools you will need – placing them in the right order.
  2. Prepare the dough.
  3. Bake the cookies

These three steps can be done hours apart.  For example, set out everything whenever you have a chance during the day; make the dough in the evening; and bake the cookies the next morning.

Divide up the responsibilities.

  • Include all the children in the organization process.
  • Older children can read the recipe and do the measuring and mixing.
  • Smaller children can pour the measured ingredients into the bowl and stir gently to begin the mixing process of the dry ingredients while the butter, sugar and eggs are being creamed together.
  • When the dough is ready, children of any age can roll the dough into balls and flatten it with a fork.

When baking cookies with children, there are enough things to do and plenty of fun for everyone.  The keys to success are patience and remembering that having fun is the goal – not a perfect, tidy process.

Cooking hint:  Add a little corn starch to the dry ingredient mix (replace a little of the flour).  It gives the cookies a finer texture and a more tender crumb than cookies made with just flour.  You can also use whole wheat flour for most cookie recipes, if you prefer.

Watch for three cookie recipes that are perfect for cooking with children.

 

Cookie Baking Secrets

You may shy away from baking cookies from scratch because you think it is too complicated or that it takes too much time. You may even tell yourself that it is just not worth it. I am here to tell you that none of that is true. There are some simple cookie baking secrets that will make it easy and fun.

Cookie baking is a great family project.  PLUS – homemade cookies can be much healthier for your family than store-bought cookies that are overly processed and filled with additives.

Once you get the hang of it, you will wonder why you haven’t always baked cookies! There are some basic best practices that you need to follow and success will be guaranteed.

  1. Find well-tested recipes that appeal to your family’s taste and matched to your skill level.
  2. Purchase quality, fresh ingredients.
  3. Measure carefully – be exact (a little extra flour can be a huge problem).
  4. Follow the directions, step-by-step – no shortcuts or improvisation.

If you do those four things, the result will be delicious cookies that will please every member of your family, including you!

Cookies literally come in all shapes and sizes and are made with a wide variety of ingredients – chocolate being the favorite, of course; but there are recipes that call for granola, zucchini, oatmeal, pumpkin, etc.

There are great cookie recipes everywhere, but I would suggest you ask your mom, your grandmother, your favorite aunt, and the best cook you know for their favorite cookie recipes (and, of course, check back here regularly – LOL).  Also be on the lookout for the no-bake recipes, which are fast and extremely easy to prepare.  To get started check out my cookbook:  DESSERT – 60 Scrumptious Recipes, which has some wonderful cookie recipes for you to try.

One of the fringe benefits of baking cookies is enjoying the wonderful aroma that fills the kitchen as they bake. For most people wonderful childhood memories rise to the surface . . . and then there is the delightful experience of the first bite of a warm cookie fresh from the oven.

Start baking today and enjoy every minute of it.

Nancy’s Cooking Blog

Children tasting silhouette[typography font=”Amaranth” size=”30″ size_format=”px” color=”#c72424″]WELCOME[/typography]

. . . to my cooking blog –  the perfect place to share cooking ideas, tips and recipes.

I am Nancy 🙂 and my hope is that men and women everywhere who love to cook will share their favorite recipes in any category. I also encourage everyone to share cooking tips that have made you a better cook over the years!

My love of cooking began when I was very young. My mother let me “mess around in the kitchen” and make a mess is exactly what I did. My wild concoctions of sugar, flour and spices tasted awful, but opened the door for my creative attitude about cooking which has stayed with me throughout my life. I did finally learn to follow a recipe and cooking became one of my passions.

For those of you who are new to the world of cooking, send us your stories – all the triumphs and disasters. We can all relate!

Experienced cooks and newbies alike, I urge to all to be creative cooks. Don’t be afraid to try new things with old recipes and different combinations of foods that do not typically go together.  Then . . . share with us what you discover – the good, the not-so-good that you have to throw out, and the amazing!

My goal is to compile recipes from every country – starting with the U.S. –  and share them with the world in very special cookbooks – giving credit and kudos to every contributor.

Please, follow us and make your first contribution TODAY!

 

Eat Well – Be Well – Live Well

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