Fun Times with Toddlers

Yum Yum
We've been baking in the Fletcher family.
Friends of mine are taking some of these as a special delivery to someone special who lives far away. We had fun cutting out shapes and decorating all the sugary goodness.
I especially liked the way some of my flowers turned out.
I made the first batch of cookies on Wednesday. But, I had leftover icing.
Why waste perfectly good icing when you can just make more cookies to decorate?!
Today we made another batch.
My kiddos are all a little bit sick. I think it's mostly allergies. But, we just lounged, made cookies, and wore our pajamas into the afternoon. Along with baking, I was serenaded. Listen to this lovely sound! I'm sure it will make you smile as much as it did me.



And, in case you want some yummy cookies for yourself (which are SUPER easy to make), here's our recipe:

1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg. Mix until well blended. Sift together salt, baking powder, and flour. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Add the vanilla. Dough will form a ball when pressed together. Chill in the refrigerator until slightly firm. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. (I use powdered sugar to keep my surfaces dusted. It makes the dough less gummy than using flour.) Cut in your desired shapes and bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. (We prefer about 8 minutes so our cookies stay soft.)

I use an icing that hardens. It's made with meringue powder, which can be found in the cake decorating section at Wal-Mart (or at many craft stores).