Sugar Cookies & Life Lessons

Go Real or Go Home!

The Hubby & I were having our first Christmas together in our new appartment and I wanted it to be perfect. He told me his favourite Christmas cookies were sugar cookies. When I googled a recipe my jaw hit the floor...you want me to put HOW MUCH butter and sugar in there?!? Being the new dietetic intern, I just couldn't imagine all that saturated fat and sugar in something I would make. So I decided I would make it "healthy". Stupid me listened to the food manufacturers when they said you can replace Splenda for sugar and Becel for butter. Ummmm they were wrong. I'm not much of a baker but I have never seen 'dough' do that. It actually crawled up my beaters and started to attack my mixer! Everything about it was wrong! The 'dough' was like pancake batter and when I baked them off - just too see if they would also consume my oven in protest - they turned out like sweet cakey pancakes.

I went out to the store and bought butter and sugar and have never looks back. Sometime you need to break the rules, sometimes you just need to Go Real or Go Home!

Passing it Down

Everytime I bake with my Little Man I remember baking with my mom, standing on the other side of the counter from her watching and adding ingredients. I remember learning important lessons like never measure over the batter because you can't take some things back. I remember being taught to scrape the measuring cup with a knife to make sure the right amount got in...only this year to find out she never actually did that herself (do as I say not as I do?). I rememer - my favourite memory by far - enjoying the fruits of our labour...licking the beaters!

Now, as I bake with my Little Man we always measure over the counter then he dumps it into the bowl. We crack eggs into a cup first and I scoop out lots of eggshells (ever try to teach a 2 year old to crack an egg?!?). We scrape the measuring cups with a knife as some habits are hard to break. Most importantly we always always always share a "beeer" (beater) as he calls them.

Next home reno project (in my dreams) is the kitchen to give us an island so I have room to continue to pass these life lessons down to both my boys in years to come.

It's Worth the Mess

I love cooking and baking with my Little Man. I think I love it because he loves it so much. I love having him standing on a chair beside me as I work in the kitchen. My goal as a mother is to send my boys out into the world as real catches - men who can cook and bake!

I am not a clean baker (I think I have flour in my hair as I write this) but baking with a 2 year old is M.E.S.S.Y.  Messy but worth every egg on the floor, every flour handprint on the wall and most definitely every batter covered face from licking the beater clean.

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If anyone is interested here is the Recipe we used. It survived eggs being scooped off the counter and added back in, many handfulls of creamed butter & sugar missing due to sneaky little hands and many roll outs as two year old do not understand using the dough space efficently when picking where to cut your cookies from.

Terri's Terrific Toddler Tested Sugar Cookies

You will need:
2c white sugar
1.5c butter
1c powdered sugar (aka icing sugar)
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5c all-purpose flour
2tsp baking powder
1 ts salt




1) Cream butter & sugar in large bowl (Watch sneaky little hands they really like to eat butter and sugar). Beat in eggs and vanilla.
2) In seperate bowl combine flour, powdered sugar, baking bowder and salt.
3) Stir in dry ingredients to large bowl of wet ingredients. (Use your hands, its fun!)
4) Divide into quarters, wrap in saran wrap and chill in fridge for 1 hour to overnight. (If baking with a toddler now it might be a good idea to go with the overnight option and go enjoy a glass of wine.)

5) Roll out dough to 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Cut and place 1" apart on cookie sheet.
6) Bake in 400F oven for 6-8minutes. (Look for light browning on edges and remove promptly. Telling your toddler to "Back-up, Back-up, Back-up" can ensure a safe cookie remove for all.)
7) Decorate if desired (or you have it in you and the wine is not calling again) & ENJOY!