Half-Baked

One of my favorite childhood memories is baking with my mom.  It's always been a source of comfort to her to bake things, and I've always enjoyed the chance to help.

We got out all the ingredients to make daddy's favorite cookies!

Although Grace can't help me bake the way I helped my mom, we still give her the chance to bake with us!

This weekend is the annual bazaar and bake sale, which benefits our church, and we always sign up to bake cookies.  Last year, Grace and I baked our cookies at mom's house, and Grace was the special sprinkle helper.

Grace entertained daddy while mommy mixed the dough.

This year, daddy joined in the action, and the three of us took over the kitchen on Thursday night.  Kyle found some Christmas music on Spotify, and we set Grace up in her booster seat with a chef's hat.  Kyle wanted to make his favorite, Funfetti with icing, and I wanted to make my specialty, chocolate chip. So, we opted for both!

Helping mommy stir!

We started with Funfetti, and I got out all the ingredients and set them on Grace's tray so she could see what we needed to get going.  Since the Funfetti are a cake-mix cookie, they only required one egg and some butter.  Once we had everything gathered, it was time to start the real fun!

This one is my favorite!  She couldn't wait until we baked them!

I put all the ingredients in my awesome Kitchenaid stand mixer that we got for a wedding present.  It's still one of my favorite gifts ever!  After the dough was mixed, I put the bowl on Grace's tray and let her help me stir a little. Then she helped me flatten the cookies on the cookie sheet.  And of course, we all tried a little cookie dough!

Tasting the cookie dough is the best part!

We kept a close eye on the cookies while they baked, and then let them cool before icing them.  I added the green icing and Kyle and Grace added the sprinkles together.  She giggled as the two decorated the cookies, and Kyle helped her enjoy one of the first cookies they finished too!

Time to add sprinkles!

Daddy added his own special sprinkle. . . 

After finishing the Funfetti cookies, Kyle gave Grace a bath, and I mixed up some chocolate chip cookies.  We put Grace back in her chair for a chance to watch as we finished up.  Then after Grace went to bed, Kyle and I packaged them together for the bake sale.  We ended up with 17 bags of 1/2 dozen cookies, and we were excited to bring them to the bake sale today.  Even better, they were almost all gone by the end of the day, and I'm sure the rest will be sold at tomorrow's event.

Grace was the official cookie taste-tester!

Sometimes, it's really hard for me not to be able to pass along some of my favorite childhood memories to Grace. But I feel blessed to be able to make new memories with Grace. With that beautiful smile and giggle, I know these will be memories I will remember forever.

MLH