Cookie Dough making time

So, today is cookie dough making time. It's best for the dough to be made in advance so that the heat from little hands and big hands don't make it all hot and runny, so since we are to be making Christmas Cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve we must have the dough ready. That, and we need to make sure the dough is even fit to make cookies with.

We brought Annabelle back over to our house and started our cookie dough making. This was a recipe I had gotten off the internet claiming we would never use another recipe in our life-time, so I was up for the challenge. It has a half-pound of pure butter in it so it certainly should be scrumptious as it clogs our veins. But most cookie recipes call for at least 1/2 cup of shortening so that shouldn't be a real big problem. It's just that it's pure butter. Then again, they say pure butter is better for us than all that other stuff, right.

We pulled out all the goodies that were to go into the cookies, along with the old 1980's version (Oops, I can't believe I thought it was a 1980's mixer, it was really bought in the late 1960's, around 1969/1970 because Santa brought it to me for Christmas not long after we moved into the house two of my grandbabies were born while living there. Anyway, it was prior to 1971-72, so moving the time frame around a bit I know it was somewhere between 1969-1972, but most likely the earlier dates. It was the time when Avocado Green and Harvest Gold were just coming into style in kitchen wares and after all-white appliances Avocado Green looked very trendy and appealing to me, and I had to have that color instead of white. Huh, what was I thinking; now I would chose the trusty old white, hands down in appliances as well as bathroom fixtures, etc., but then I am getting a little off track here with dating this thing, just trying to be accurate as I can. And I know, this whole interjection would have driving my English teachers completely bonkers and me, too, were I trying to be so grammatically, properly worded, etc. correct, but I'm NOT!) of the trusty old Kitchen Aid heavy duty mixer than hasn't seen use for sometime since the big kids left home. I could tell it was really excited about once again being used for cake or cookie making, despite the brush-burning smell I encountered when I tried to use it on low speed. But it kept chugging along. The old Kitchen Aid had prepared many, many, many cakes, breads, cookies, etc. for two prior children during the years since it had come to live at my house. It continued to be faithful through that batch cookies for a sweet little girl's contribution to Santa on Christmas Eve.

I had not let the butter set out long enough, so I did have a little problem getting it to mix with the sugar in short time, but we worked through that. We came to the eggs. Somehow eggs just attract trouble with us. Annabelle wanted to crack the eggs herself and without my help. She saw me try to crack them on the table. That didn't work because it was a a flimsy work table I had set up so she could help without a lot of trouble. Then she wanted to crack them on the side of the dish. I wasn't quite quick enough. She cracked it and opened it with her little fingers before I could stop her, then a few bits of eggshell flew into the broken egg. At least most of it hit the bowl this time. There was a small amount of egg white that got on the floor and possibly my pants, but there's no time for cleaning that up when you've got an octopus working with you, so I left it on the floor for the moment. The second egg went without much trouble.

She helped with measure and mix telling me from time to time that I had her fork. The spoon was Grandmomma's. The fork was hers. Or the 1 cup measurer was mine and the 1/4 one was hers. She tried to keep me straight. She was giving the job of pouring the flavorings into the sugar/butter mixture and the salt, baking powder and baking soda into the flour mixture then stirring that with her fork.

Next she was given the task of using her 1/4 cup measurer to add the flour to the sugar/butter mixture. But, not before we had a taste test. Of the plain flour. She decided she needed test-taste a spoon, and I mean a soup spoon-sized serving, of plain flour, no sugar added. She had no problem with eating plain flour. I know of no real health problem from kids or anyone for that matter eating plain, plain flour. But, Granddaddy had a major problem with it. So much so that while he was discipling her for it, he failed to get the absolutely cutest picture of the whole cookie-dough making time!

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I just can't tolerate eating after anyone, and little kids are especially included in that. However, lately I've come to the conclusion that it's going to be cooked and those germs will be cooked out in the end, besides her hands had been thoroughly cleaned right down to her nails being scrubbed, 100% clean. That's another story.

Anyway, this was to be a funtime for her to make cookies and just enjoy herself, so I sat back and let her do it. It was a little harder for Granddaddy. I told Annabelle's Mommy that Granddaddy never could have stood staying home with them because he constantly finds something to tell them they cannot do. I say, if it isn't harmful to one of them or me, let it be a fairly good learning time, so I don't care if the flour gets dropped on the floor with the egg white or if a spoonful of flour goes into their mouth. Just don't miss getting the cute pictures for goodness sakes.

Then when she finally got down to business adding the 1/4 cup amounts of flour into the butter/sugar/eggs, she accidently turned loose of the measuring cup and down it flew into the batter. Luckily I was there and cut the mixer off before it did any damage to the mixer, but we got a picture. Now that was cute.

I had bought her a little pink apron and chef's hat which I forgot to put on her until we had done a lot of work on the cookie dough, but I did get it on her at last and she looked cute until she decided she had enough of that silly apron and hat. "Apron off! Hat off!" So be it.

We finished our cookie dough and she wanted to lick the big, big spatula. Mommy lets her. So I let her, too. Granddaddy was a bit put out because he thought she should just have had a little of it and not the whole spatula. I'm pretty good at cleaning a beater so there wasn't that much left, but she worked on it the best she could. I put the rest of the dough into another bowl, cleaned the mixer bowl out really good and then gave the rest to Granddaddy, who complained again. Later I looked over and there was Granddaddy fighting with Annabelle trying to keep her from licking his bowl. Those two! Really. Oh, and earlier he had even dared fuss at her for trying to sneak a little sample from the top side of the bowl!

Later I looked down and there was a Hansel and Gretel stream of flour from the table to the refrigerator. Don't know what she was looking for there. Also, the camera had flour on it and Granddaddy's chair arm also was covered. But she's really a pretty neat little cook.

After eating out (we had to let the dough set in the refrigerator at least two hours before rolling it out. Got to harden that butter again, you know) we came back and I sneaked a small ball of it from outside and rolled it out into a nice sized star and a couple of small hearts so we could sample. This was a new recipe you know, so I had to make sure it was going to work. I put it on parchment paper and cooked it in the toaster oven at 400 for about 5 minutes. It was perfect. At least for me. Not too brown, but just right on the bottom and top,both.

This may be a keeper recipe. We'll see after we use it on Wednesday for Santa's cookies. It's much easier to work with than our usual store-bought stuff.

Now, do I dare try this with the three little grandsons when we see them on Christmas Eve. I'm thinking, "Let's not be too stupid and do it from scratch with six little hands going at it, but maybe make the dough up in advance and take it and let them help roll them out and cut them." Or just forget the whole thing? I'll run it by their Mommy before we mess up her house too much.

And the cookies had a delightful taste, if I didn't already say that. We may do it all over again another day. Just not Christmas Eve. Not from scratch.

Since Granddaddy was sound asleep with The Little Princess while I was writing this up, the pictures didn't get downloaded from the camera. Maybe another day when I've nothing else to do. And maybe the pumpkin pie ones will go on someday, too.

Somebody's awake right now waiting for me to go 'pay' with them, so off I go.