Baking buddy

Grace loves to eat so it makes sense that she is very curious about cooking. I love to cook, so I don't mind showing her what is going on in the kitchen. The only thing is that it is difficult to hold her and mix ingredients, stir, and cook on the stove. I have been reminding her about things that are hot and she is good about staying away from the oven. Luckily, the model I have has a door that stays cool to the touch, even though there is cooking going on inside.

The other day I made chocolate chip cookies (yes, from scratch) and she really wanted to be a part of the action. So I pulled one of the chairs from the dining room into the kitchen and set it next to the counter so she could see. They have contraptions made just for this purpose (look online- you can find them) but the chair worked just fine. I am sure this is the way generations of parents have taught their kids to cook. No special product needed!Grace loved sampling the raw cookie dough from the bowl and the mixer! And, the cookies turned out pretty well. I tried something different - I used whole wheat flour for 1/2 of the flour the recipe called for. I learned this trick from a cookbook intended to get kids to eat healthier. Now, there is nothing "healthy" about chocolate chip cookies, but at least they were less bad for you this way.