Lollipop Cookies

 
 Aggie had a friend over today and wanted to make cookies.  I had planned on making sugar cookie dough earlier in the day then let the girls cut-out and decorate, but I didn't get a chance to make the dough and give it time to chill.  Martha must have known I needed something - I like to think Martha and I are on the same wave length -  and sent this recipe for Lollipop Cookies, in the daily cookie e-mail, it was the perfect solution.  The girls were able to make the dough, decorate the cookies and enjoy, all in the 3 hour playdate, which meant Aggie's little friend was able to take some of the cookies home.  A win win situation for all. 

The girls had a great time working together and were pretty co-operative.  I had them take turns measuring out the ingredients and tried to break the measurements down as much as possible.  At four they don't understand the math, but telling them we need one cup of flour and have them measure it out using the 1/4 cup measurer gives everybody lots of opportunity to measure while hearing math concepts.  They spent a lot of time playing with the flour, which is a really important part of cooking for kids this age.   Giving kids the opportunity to play with ingredients and explore the texture, smell and overall feel helps gives them a good understanding of the ingredient and eventually how the ingredient changes and can be used.  With my youngest I often give her something like flour, sugar, cornstarch or beans and let her play with the item while I am working with my older two.  It distracts her giving us an opportunity to work, but is also helping her learn about the item.

The only problem the girls had was when it came time to clean, they both wanted to sweep and had a hard time sharing the task.  Definitely not the worst problem to deal with and I hope my girl will always fight for the opportunity to sweep my kitchen floor.  I know I will never stand in her way.