"School" Cookies

So, I have a little boy who is preschool age. I try to do one “school” activity with him a day, but sometimes we don’t fit it into the routine. Of course he is at the age that he loves school and will often remind me that we need to fit something in, because it is the highlight of his day.

I also have a busy, defiant toddler.

And a nursing infant.

So, sometimes the first half of the day – the part in which we are supposed to do “school” – gets a little hectic.

No worries. I just change the name of our activity. So, cleaning up the balls that he threw all over the floor now becomes “counting practice” and, voila!, we just got to do school!

But today was a new one. Today, little boy J was begging to make cookies all morning. I kept putting him off, because he was also begging to do school (and the normal, hectic morning was going on). And then, I just decided to combine them.

Yay!

We don’t make cookies often, but our go-to standard is chocolate chip cookies. I was out of chocolate chips, so, having to improvise anyway, I decided to try to make a “healthy” cookie with the kids.

This is what I came up with.

“School” Cookies

Dry ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon (more to taste)

1/3 cup ground flaxseed

Wet ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup raisins

1/3 cup water

1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2.       Shred carrots

3.       Mix together dry ingredients. Set aside.

4.       Mix together butter and egg until well beaten.

5.       Add remaining wet ingredients and mix.

6.       Add dry ingredients and mix.

7.       Drop by spoonfuls on un-greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Makes 4 dozen.

These cookies are very mildly sweet and I felt good about the added nutrition of our fun ingredients. See what additions you can make or change depending on what you have available. It’s all a chemistry experiment anyway. ;)

In all honesty, this is from a different day of chocolate chip cookie making. I can't do everything, okay? ;)

The kids loved the process of scooping, pouring and mixing (developing those motor skills, ya’ know) and mostly loved licking the beaters after the mixing was done. Throw in some counting (how many cups?) and item identification and you got yourself a mini-school lesson right there. You’re welcome.

And when the finished product doesn’t send your children to a sudden sugar crash, then it’s okay that I let them each eat three.

And, hey, my three-year-old even wanted to the dishes (in, you know, his three-year-old way). So, everyone is winning in this equation. ;)

A messy, real kitchen.

More dishes to do!