Shi and her Cookies

Yesterday being Friday, Rob and Shiloh came over in the morning. As I did my usual padding around behind her while she roamed through our house I realized I haven't written to this blog in quite some time, AND, she is adorable and I really needed to take some pictures and share a recipe or two :). Last week we made snickerdoodles ... and Shi was not happy about her fingers being all sticky with the cinnamon/sugar mix that the dough is rolled in before cooking. She did understand how to take a pinch off of the prepared ones on the cookie sheet. She sampled several :)

Snickerdoodles Ingredients 1 1/2 c Sugar 1/2 c Butter softened 1 tsp Vanilla 2 Eggs 2 3/4 c Flour 1 tsp Cream of tartar 1/2 tsp Baking soda 1/4 tsp Salt 2 tbsp Sugar 2 tsp Cinnamon Preparation Heat oven to 400. In large bowl combine first 4 ingredients; blend well. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Blend well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Combine 2 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon. Roll balls in sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 min or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

This week I made oatmeal cookies and had them ready to cook when they arrived. Although last week was thoroughly enjoyable, I decided that having the dough prepared before she showed up might be easier ... lol. She got on her stool in the kitchen and watched/helped while I added chocolate chips to the tops of the cookies, but her FAVORITE part was using three different spatulas to pick them up and move them around once they were out of the oven on the butcher paper cooling sheet.

My Favorite Oatmeal Cookies Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked) 1 cup raisins or semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional) Preparation Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in oats and, if desired, raisins; mix well. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to butcher paper. Cool completely. Sometimes I do this following dipping part, it makes a very "pretty" cookie. For Shiloh, we prefer just 'plain' ... lol 2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips 3/4 cup chopped nuts Melt chocolate chips according to package directions. Dip half of one cookie in chocolate; gently shake to remove excess. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Place on waxed paper until set. Repeat with remaining cookies. If chocolate thickens, microwave at 15-second intervals until fluid. Store cookies with waxed paper between layers in tightly covered container.

The remainder of the visit was taken up with various inspections of one piece or another of fascinating household paraphernalia ... such as her favorite spot ... Ryan's bedside table :)

Most things she has a word for and she goes from one to the next speaking their word. On Ryan's bedside table is a tiny skateboard, which is called a deck-something ... anyway, I get the biggest kick out of watching Shi, every week, go into his room and take the tiny skateboard off his table, put it on the floor, and step on it. She knows what it is, recognizes it as a skateboard. I'm not sure what word it is that she calls it, it is not yet "skateboard." This particular item she is fascinated with because she does not have a name for it. It is a chain breaker for a bicycle chain and that is too complicated a description for her just yet. She thinks it is something to look through, although it does not have a hollow tube. It is quite heavy, but she carefully picks it up every week and studies it. I am captivated....

And here we are, at the end of the morning, with Shi playing underneath the kitchen table with Pippi while Rob and I are chatting.