I went for a walk and came home to find them both in the kitchen. They can cook, but they have rarely baked entirely on their own. As I took off my shoes, I heard raised voices and then laughter. Andre walked into the front hall and stage whispered to me, “They’re making chocolate chip cookies. They don’t know that we don’t have chocolate chips.” He cleverly retreated upstairs while I tentatively approached the cooking zone.
“We’re baking!” Their enthusiasm almost bowled me over. My eyes roved over the counter, floor, children.
“Don’t worry!” said my more cautious elder child, “We started with a bowl that was too small and the butter and sugar kind of went everywhere…”
“It made a HUGE mess,” added his brother, gleefully.
“But we’ve mostly cleaned it up. And now we’re using a bigger bowl. But the brown sugar has lumps so we’re smashing them with our fingers.”
“It’s harder than it looks.”
I offered to help and was invited to finish the creaming. “You’re so good at that,” my eldest said wistfully.
“You’ll get it,” I reassured. Hoping that my help would soften the inevitable blow, I broke the news that there were no chocolate chips.
They hesitated, then rallied. “We can add Nutella!” said the 10-year-old. “That’ll taste great!”
“And the Dutch sprinkles!” added the 12-year-old, “We still haven’t used them.”
Disaster averted, they pushed forward. “Wait!” Mr. 10 is suddenly nervous, “is it ok that we’ve had the oven on for a kind of a long time? It’s empty! It’s not like the microwave, right?” I nodded and moved away from them. They were on their own.
His brother started to raz him about the time he turned the microwave on instead of using the timer. As they cracked the eggs, they discussed something that had billions of something. They were laughing again. One of them added a healthy dollop of Nutella. The other suggested more. The open laptop was immediately next to the bowl where they were mixing the batter. They tried, unsuccessfully, to use the beaters to mix in the flour.
I stayed near enough to watch without interfering, keeping my mouth shut and my eyes open.
When the beaters got stuck in the batter, they both left the kitchen in favour of the backyard and the hammock. The batter waited. They returned.
In went the sprinkles. They mixed with their hands because the dough was “too hard”. More laughter. They dragged out the cookie sheets & argued about how big to make the cookies. Then they talked about how much they might spread and how many could go in each row. I managed to say nothing and laugh inwardly.
And now the cookies are baking. They look pretty darn good – and I have a suspicion that the boys might declare them the best cookies ever. They’ll probably be right.
Update #2: 36 hours later, I found some creamed butter and sugar nestled in the leaves of a plant that lives several feet from where the original creaming took place. Luckily, it’s easy to clean
Update #1: The cookies were, in fact, delicious.
Persistence and Pedagogy 
Good for them! I think baking is such a confidence builder. And it’s a great way for people to learn resiliency. I hope these are the best cookies ever!! We’re chopping up Easter chocolate to make Bunny Part cookies at some point this week. 🙂
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That’s a great idea…we have 3 bunnies sitting on our counter!
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Seriously – chocolate in my house does NOT last. I’m impressed that you & Lisa have kids with such restraint!
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They turned out really well & the boys are delighted. And I’m impressed that your Easter chocolate has lasted more than a week!
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Smart mom, letting the kids have their moment. Sometimes, you just have to know when to keep your mouth shut and your eyes open…memories were made and I wonder if you’ll be replicating this recipe for years to come.
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They turned out really well. I’m pretty sure they used up all the chocolate sprinkles, but I’m betting they add Nutella again.
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I loved reading about this wonderful adventure. The way you told it made me feel like I was right there (terrified for the laptop!). Thank you so much for sharing. Please save me a cookie?
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If you want one of these cookies, they’ll have to open the Atlantic Bubble after all; as expected, the kids have declared these “amazing” and will no doubt devour them in the next day or two.
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I was fearful for the laptop as well!
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Very fun to read! Good job, kids! Good job, mom!
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I like how they got creative with the ingredients. Nutella and sprinkles? I’ll be a taste tester! It sounds like they had a fantastic time baking. Kudos to you for allowing them to figure it out.
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You wove a great tale here. I could hear their laughter in the kitchen. I loved their flexibility. No chocolate chips? No problem. I wonder what kind of cookies they’ll make next.
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I LOVE this! My favorite part is when they went out to play…and then came back to finish! That’s hysterical. And you win the Mom Award for not interfering and going crazy over what I’m sure was a very messy kitchen! 🙂
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Oh wow! I’d imagine that they’ll tell this story for a while, and they even have their mother’s post to affirm the truth of their baking adventure. Glad the cookies came out well– they had some great ingredients for sure! Good for you for letting it happen, despite some wondering about what could happen!
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Amanda, what a great story! It’s so hard for me to sit back and let things happen. I can do it, and I do it often, but it’s hard. That said, when they retreated to the back yard and the hammock, I think I’d have started to twitch. This was fun all the way around, and I’m glad to see in the comments that the cookies were amazing!
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This post creates such a beautiful image of the relationship your children have. I love their creativity in the process of cookie making and their laughter. I bet the cookies were amazing!
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Amazing. And your self-control when they went out and came back? Epic level. And yes, the laptop detail was brilliant!
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I loved the initiative and the flexibility your sons showed. (I had to google Dutch sprinkles. Now I want some!) What a treat this was for them and for you.
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This is exactly what I needed to read today. So adorable. I just loved every second of how this story unraveled. And your restraint! You are a saint because I would never have been able to control myself when they went outside. Oh my. My favorite part was “Update #2” Of course, it’s like the cookies that keep on giving. I also love how resourceful and creative your boys are. Such a joyful read!
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