Cooking With Kids

I wrote this a few years ago, when my children were very young. But I'd be lying if I said things were totally different around here now.

Cooking with kids is a tradition that goes back to the beginning of time, and it's a great way for families to spend time together. With that in mind, I'd like to share the following recipe, so that you, too, can experience the joy of making cookies the way it's done at our house.

Spencer Family Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups oatmeal

1 package milk chocolate chips

How to make cookies, Spencer family style:

           Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Ask Danny to get two cubes of butter out of the refrigerator.Tell Ben to find the mixing bowl. (Hint: look in dishwasher.)  Wash mixing bowl. Tell Joseph to find beater. Ask Hannah and Danny to help Joseph find beater. Tell Joseph to look for beater in his toy box and under his bed. Wash beater.

Put one cube of butter into the mixing bowl. Ask Danny where the other cube is. Take cube of butter away from baby, who has eaten most of it. Decide that cookies will be "reduced fat." Beat butter until smooth. Measure one cup brown sugar. Tell Ben and Joseph to get their fingers out of the brown sugar bag. Measure one cup white sugar. Tell Ben and Joseph to get their heads out of the white sugar bag. Add sugars to butter and beat until creamy.

Ask Hannah to get two eggs out of the refrigerator. Tell Danny to go get the cat to lick up the egg Hannah dropped on the floor. Tell Hannah  to get another egg. Discover that there are no more eggs. Decide that cookies will be "low cholesterol."  Add egg and vanilla to creamed mixture. Explain to Ben that although vanilla extract looks like root beer, it is not for drinking. Tell him to stop whining and get him a drink to take the taste out of his mouth. Tell Danny to stop eating the creamed ingredients.

Measure one cup peanut butter and add to creamed ingredients. Settle argument about who will lick the measuring cup clean. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Explain to Joseph that although baking soda looks like powdered sugar, it does not taste like it. Tell him to stop crying and get him a drink to take the taste out of his mouth. Tell Danny to stop eating the creamed ingredients.

Take peanut butter jar away from Elisabeth.  Attempt to clean peanut butter off of Elisabeth's chest and legs with a wet dishtowel. Give up and start running bath water. Undress Elisabeth and put her in the tub.

Go back to kitchen. Ask who spilled the flour mixture all over the floor. Listen to denials. Look for broom and dustpan. Search garage, basement, backyard and kids' rooms. Give up on broom and push flour into a pile with your feet.

Re-measure dry ingredients and combine. Go see what that splash was. Take fully-clothed baby out of tub. From the bathroom, yell at Danny to stop picking at the creamed ingredients. Take off the baby's wet clothes and wrap him in a towel.

With baby in one arm, add dry ingredients to mixing bowl. Settle argument about who gets to turn on mixer. Let Joseph turn on mixer. Explain to Joseph that when you turn it up too high, flour flies all over your face. Wipe flour off Joseph's face. Wipe flour off your face. Measure oatmeal and add to bowl.

Put down baby and run to turn off bath water.  Mop up bathroom floor. Go back to kitchen to find wet naked baby is playing in the pile of flour on the floor. Explain to kids that it is not nice to call your baby brother a powdered donut, even if he looks like one. Get Elisabeth out of tub. Put baby in tub. Yell at Danny to stop eating the cookie dough.

Get baby out of tub, dress him and put him to bed. Wipe everybody's face and hands. Find broom (it's in the van). Clean up kitchen floor. Put Elisabeth's clothes, Adam's clothes, and nearly all the towels and dishcloths in the house into the washing machine. Look into almost empty mixing bowl. Turn off oven. Put cookie sheet away. Pick up chocolate chips.

Set timer for 10 minutes. Go into your bedroom and shut the door. Lie down and open bag of chocolate chips. Enjoy.