My 2 year old, Liam, and I just discovered a very fun afternoon activity: Baking cookies. With the cold weather, it is hard to find things to do with Liam indoors after his afternoon nap. My predecessor, Kathy Lawn, recently told me that she often bakes and cooks with her son, Tanner, who is Liam’s age. I decided to give it a try.

Our first creation was a batch of chocolate chip cookies. My son had a blast measuring out the flour, sugar and other ingredients. He loved getting his hands all sticky while helping me mix the dough and particularly enjoyed spooning the dough onto the baking tray. When we were done, we walked together to the oven and put the cookies inside. Then, we pulled up two stools and sat in front of the oven window for quite a long time watching his cookies rise.

While a messy activity, it took up at least two hours of our time. When the cookies were done, I let him sample one. Then, Liam learned to share by bringing some over to the neighbors, giving some to our Ayi and eventually giving some to his father when he came home from work. It was adorable to see the look of pride on his face.

All in all it was a nice way to spend a cold winter afternoon. Next week, we will try muffins!

Photo by Allerina at www.flickr.com