Baked With Love

We're not big candy eaters in this house, but boy do we love our baked goods! And if we can incorporate some candy into it, that works for us. After the candy corn topped Halloween Snickerdoodles comes the smorgasbord of holiday yumminess; cookies, candies and breads, oh my!

Lately, I've been stopping by the dollar store to pick up their seasonal cookie cutters. There are about six in a pack and they're kinda fun. I now have a regular set, Halloween set and a Christmas set. For Halloween, the girls and I made cookies with store bought dough, cookie cutters and frosting. While it seemed like more trouble than it was worth, at the time, I know the girls had a blast and want to do it again. And since they've found the Christmas cookie cutters, they're quite eager to try them out.

As my girls get older, I find myself looking for new ways to keep us all entertained and the cookie making seems to be a hit. They love getting creative and are so proud of the final result. They usually get a store bought cookie after lunch, but they'll pick one that they've made over anything else and I think it's the cutest thing, watching them reminisce about making them. "Look Mommy, I made a cookie. It's my pumpkin cookie! I used orange frosting and sprinkles!"

Since holiday baking is upon us, I think this is the first year that I'm going to let my girls get involved in the process. Already, my oldest gets giddy, and brings a stool into the kitchen, when I pull out the mixer. So, yeah, it may take us three times as long to make a loaf of bread, but think of how much sweeter it'll taste knowing how much extra love went into the batter. And by that, I mean fingers, but hey, guess that means that loaf is ours. :o)