I'm not much of a baker, but when my little girl opted for a cookie-decorating party for her 7th birthday, I couldn't really make any excuses. Lola, my little princess, is a lover of sweets. She, like most kids I assume, prefers cakes and candies to pasta or meat (I have a hard time relating if I'm being honest). But I could hardly imagine doing a steak grilling party for a 1st grader. So armed with grand plans I started piecing together decorations and accompaniments, icings and a variety of glittery sugar and sprinkles. I found child-sized aprons and chefs' hats, turned up the Christmas music and decorated the house to get us in the holiday spirit.But I still didn't really tackle the cookies. I planned for two weeks, and still no cookie recipe. So rather than stress - like most moms do - about being Susie Homemaker and scratch-baking all the cookies, I opted for refrigerated dough. I know, I know, I have a cooking column. But, when it was all said and done, the experience was much more important than how much flour I managed to spill or how thin I rolled the dough. In my defense my pal Caitlin and I did make hot cocoa from scratch. And the house still smelled of sugary deliciousness (even though Betty Crocker wasn't in attendance).
cookie chefs hard at work
I guess my message is that you don't have to sweat over your sweets to have them be a hit. The time and care you put into the prep is sometimes just as important as the recipe. Here are some fun ideas for your pre-made dough. But if you really, really want to go that extra mile I've also included a recipe for yummy homemade cookies that I've referred to since high school Home Ec class. Happy baking!
- For snickerdoodles, simple roll premade sugar cookie dough in a cinnamon sugar mixture before baking
- Oatmeal thumbprints - my brother's fave - allow your kids to get involved. Have them press into the center of 2 inch cookies and add a teaspoon of strawberry jam
- Hershey Kisses are a great topper for peanut butter cookies - just add them to the cookies with 2 minutes left of bake time!
Ms. Ferne's Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 c margarine
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 c chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350º. Measure out margarine, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Cream with a mixer until light and fluffy. Sift dry ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and combine to make a soft dough. Add chips. Drop cookies by rounded teaspoonful about 2" apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until slightly browned.