baking together

Dear William,
My dearest little preschool boy, I love our afternoons together and our Fridays too. Spending time with you in the kitchen is one of my most favorite things to do. I love your willingness to help, your desire to create and the way you hop right up on and sit on top of the counter.

 On Thursday you wanted to make cookies, but we were out of brown sugar so you settled for vanilla pudding instead. You're always so sweet and so willing to compromise. That night I picked up some brown sugar and on Friday, we made cookies.

 You love scooping, measuring and pouring. You're really great at cracking eggs. It scares you to hold the hand mixer. You had a look of terror on your face while creaming together the butter and sugars on low and kept saying, "mama mama, stop!". It made us laugh and laugh. You wanted my hand on top of yours to guide it while it mixed and I didn't mind one bit.

You scooped the cookies and heaped them in rows on the pan. You set the timer and  we waited and watched together while they baked. I love the way you scooped and smooshed the dough, molding it with your fingers into just the right shape.

The cookies turned out delicious. I loved their shape -  not perfectly round but big and fluffy; perfect. We both ate some and toasted our glasses of milk to afternoon cookie baking. I love these little adventures with you. I learn from you every day, my sweet boy. I love your sense of adventure and seeing your little servants heart in your desire to help me with everything. I'm such a lucky lady to get to spend these days with you.

I've been using this same old recipe since forever ago when Holly made these cookies for me. It's fool proof and fail proof -- works every time. The cookies are soft and chewy and delicious.

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (3.5 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. in a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.