Monday, 19 December 2011

Sugar Cookies & Gingerbread Cookies ~ Winter Workshop # 1 & 2

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Baking together is always nice.. especially baking cookies together in winter times; cold and dark nights and the lovely smell of freshly baked cookies! So rewarding!



Winter Workshop # 1


Sugar Cookies


My first winter baking workshop with my cute little nieces! Baking with kids is great quality time which gives you a lot! Kids are usually very enthusiastic when it comes to baking and they want to do everything by themselves, and it must be a joyous moment for them to eat cookies and stuff they know they have made or participated in making. And it is a nice break for them from the TV, cartoons and PC, allowing them to be productive and creative.
This workshop was held at my sisters house. She prepared the dough for sugar cookies which me and my nieces was going to roll, shape, cut, bake and decorate! We shared a great time together and it was good to eat the cookies afterwards! The recipe of these sugar cookies is very good, I might post it up some other time. For now, enjoy the photos!

When having baking workshop with kids, the goal is not to make the most prettiest and perfect cookies, but rather focus on the unity and the joy it gives.


Cutting out heart shaped cookies..


My youngest niece on 1 1/2 years also wanted to participate.. wonder what she is cooking together or.. maybe apart..


My oldest niece in action.. wanted to do everything her way.. "but this is how we do it at the kinder garden", hehe.. so cute!


She was doing it pretty well.. rolling the dough and cutting all by her self only being 5 years old..


Cutted cookies on baking sheet..


Mmmmmm, freshly baked sugar cookies right out from the oven, nicely raised!


Time for decorating.. icing sugar frosting, shredded coconut and chocolate..


And there you have.. a nice yellow iced heart..


The sugar cookies turned out pretty good in taste!


The stupid foreign bought food colors added so dark color to the icing even though I just had a tiny pinch of them.. was thinking of cute pastel colors, but these will do for now..


Want a bite of this pink heart? <3




Winter Workshop # 2


Gingerbread Cookies


So, as I had promised my niece on the last baking workshop, we had another one this weekend at my home. This time we had decided to give gingerbread cookies a go. Gingerbread cookies with white icing and loads of colorful smarties on! This workshop went good, but I did not have time for icing of the cookies so my niece did this part very well on her own; loads and loads of icing on each cookie and loads of smarties thereupon. She would most probably just lick the icing and eat the smarties letting the remaining cookies for others! My niece had already put all of the iced cookies in her box to take with her home, so I did not get chance to take any photo of the iced colorful cookies. But I have to say that ginger cookies tastes pretty good along with smarties!

I had prepared the gingerbread cookie dough night before, but it was so late that thing was not really going my way. Anyways, I managed to make some sort of dough that looked like gingerbread cookie dough, and it should be a reminder for myself to not do anything late at night when I am really tired, because I loose the focus and things usually go wrong when in hurry. I did not make a lot of dough, it was just enough for about one tray of cookies and the important part was the though of doing something productive and creative together with my niece, having a nice time. So no recipe of these gingerbread cookies.. I do not feel it is worth sharing as it did not work for me, but I guess it is a great recipe if things are going the right way!


Cutted gingerbread cookies..


Do not ask what the toothpicks are doing there .. :s


Nicely cut heart and star shaped cookies!


And almost ready to bake!


Freshly baked gingerbread cookies right from the oven.. without any decoration..


More of these baking workshops? Of course! I can not wait for the next one.. we might make jelly snails.. let us see!

Love you both my cute little sweethearts <3 <3 <3 Hugs and kisses!