Christmas baking with kids

Easy chocolate chip cookie mix!

Christmas is a busy and expensive time. Like I said in the last post, there is nothing better than a (good) homemade Christmas present. When you have kids, there are many presents to buy, not just for them but for their teachers, daycare staff and friends.
My son loves to get involved in anything I am doing and cooking is no exception. Its always messy, pretty hectic and fingers crossed what we cook works out!
These cookies are really easy, in-fact I would say "no-fail". They are also the sort of cookie you can adapt and add what ever you want.

Really easy to make - Chocolate chip cookies 

I bought chocolate buttons instead of chips because they were the cheapest at the time, in hindsight next time I would go for the chocolate chips as they look better. We did try crushing them up with a rolling pin but doing this with a nearly 4 year old boy - wasn't that successful!
Another tip is to make the cookies small, just a teaspoon full is all you really need. You will probably have to bake a few batches but they don't take long at all.

A great gift for daycare or kindy friends or even the teachers! 

Now for the credits, the recipe came from "Allyson Gofton, BAKE". The only change I made was adding real vanilla paste. You could add dried fruit, spices, nuts or white chocolate - really anything would work! It seems a really forgiving recipe meaning if you get the exact amounts a little wrong, it really shouldn't make a huge difference. If you have baked with kids you will know what I mean!    
I plan to wrap them in cellophane with a ribbon and a hand stamped swing tag with either a name or Merry Xmas. I saw on Facebook that "OFFICE MAX" has the entire alphabet for about $30. I am going to hunt them down.   

The book 

    

Allysons Goffton toll house cookies

What you need 

175 grams butter
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2¼ cups flour (I used self raising and NO BP - worked fine) 
1 tsp baking powder

2 cups chocolate chips

How to make 

Beat the butter and sugars together until light and creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
Sift the flour and baking powder evenly over the creamed mixture. Sprinkle over the chocolate chips and fold together.
Place heaped tablespoonfuls of mixture onto a greased baking tray, leaving room for the biscuits to spread.
Bake at 180ºC for 20 minutes or until the biscuits are beginning to lightly brown and are firm to the touch. Transfer to a cake rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Happy Baking 

Vanessa