The kitchen is one of the last great learning labs left to kids. It is a place where good smells entice, colors vibrate, and hands-on work is encouraged. Take a slow afternoon and add one of these simple recipes for you and your child to make together. You will create a memory that lingers long past the last washed counter or dried dish!
Lizzy's Crazy Cake
I have baked many chocolate cakes in my time--fancy ones with exotic ingredients, lush ones with complicated steps, but none has equal to the ease and simplicity (and downright deliciousness!) of Lizzy's crazy cake. It takes only a few minutes to put together.
What you will need:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups cold water
Putting the cake together is as easy! Place all the dry ingredients in a 9 x 13 pan and stir it all up with clean hands until well mixed. Make three holes in the dry mixture and place the oil in one hole, the vanilla and vinegar in the second hole and the water in the third hole. Stir everything together with a fork or whisk. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until the center springs back after touching it lightly with your finger. Frost with your favorite icing when cool.
Cookie Paint
You can use the following sugar cookie recipe for this glossy and colorful ‘paint,’ or use the recipe on your own favorite sugar cookie dough.
What you will need:
4 egg yolks
4 colors of liquid or paste food coloring
cotton swabs or clean paint brushes
colored sugar crystals or sprinkles (optional)
Place the egg yolks in four separate small bowls. Add several drops of food coloring into one yolk and stir with a fork. Use the same procedure with the remaining yolks, making different colors of paint with the food coloring.
Place cut out cookie dough shapes on a baking sheet. Using the swabs or paint brushes, dip into the paint and spread it thickly over the cookie dough. Sprinkle with sugar crystals if desired and bake as directed.
A Very Special Sugar Cookie
What makes this recipe so special? It is a perfect recipe for kids: easy to make, no fuss, and delicious.
What you will need:
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3/4 cup butter or margarine
can cookie cutter: clean and empty tin can with the top and bottom taken out. File or press down sharp edges
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Next, beat in the eggs, vanilla, and lemon extract. Stir the flour mixture in by thirds until everything ismixed together. For an easier clean-up, dampen a counter or tabletop with a wet cloth and lay out 2 strips of wax paper. Roll out the dough on the wax paper. Cut out the dough with the can cookie cutter and lift carefully with a spatula onto a baking sheet. Paint with the cookie paint then bake at 375 degrees until light brown (around 9 minutes).
Pet Snacks
Make your pet a homemade treat! Both dogs and cats seem to enjoy these snacks.
What you will need:
1/2 cup bran
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup dried milk
1 small can tuna fish in oil
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the tuna (do not drain) and yeast to the dry mixture and stir together with a large spoon or mix the dough with hands. If the dough seems too dry, add a little water; too sticky, add more flour. Roll the dough out to 1/4" thick. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes from the dough, and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
