Sunday, December 13, 2009

The Sweet Smell of Christmas...Christmas Book Activity: Day 13



It took me three tries to successfully make gingerbread cookies this week.
Baking with kids can be oh-so distracting.



But I wasn't about to admit defeat.

Good thing, too, because on the third try, we not only made tasty cookies...



...but we also made new friends...



...turning our other two failed attempts into means to a very happy (and yummy) end.



Our book today was The Sweet Smell of Christmas.

It's a scratch & sniff book.

The "reading" went something like this:
I read a line and then five children ages seven to two lined up for their turn to sniff the page...sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff. Then I read another line...

Each time, the children offered up their critique, "ooh, that is yummy," "that one smells like a band-aid," "that smells like pine," "hot chocolate, my favorite!!!"

The children were delighted by this book.
And the combination of varying degrees of sniffing abilities and varying degrees of stuffy noses made it delightful for us parents as well.

If you'd like the sweet smell of Christmas to fill your kitchen, try out this recipe.
I promise, it really is easy.

Gingerbread Dough Recipe:

Combine:
8 cups of flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves

Set aside.

In another bowl beat:
2 1/4 cups shortening
with
2 cups sugar

Then add
2 eggs
1 cup molasses
2/3 cup light corn syrup

Finally add flour mixture to sugar mixture.
Add the last bit by hand if necessary.

Refrigerate for firmness or roll out the dough and cut-out immediately.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 375 for 10-20 minutes.

Voila.

The shortbread cookies in the photo above are easier still and the recipe (consisting of only three ingredients) can be found at The Damsel's Old School blog.

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