Creativity 521 #70 - Cookies and Kisses

So the hubby turned a year older last week and just when I was racking my brains trying to think of a birthday present, I decided it was the perfect time to do something that I've long wanted to do with the kids - Bake cookies! Well, he may not be a cookie fan (in fact, he doesn't like any type of pastry except for croissants) but I reckon he would be touched by our efforts to make him something with our hands instead of just of buying it.

In this week's Creativity 521, it's all about Cookies and Kisses for Daddy!

Now, we used a very simple recipe adapted from BBC Good Food and if we can do it, I tell you, anyone can too! Yes, you should know by now I'm not really cut out to be a baker.

Ingredients:

• 225g self raising flour
• 90g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 125g unsalted butter
• 210g HERSHEY'S Chocolate Chips

The first thing would be to measure all the ingredients which was something really fun for the kids to do! It's also a great opportunity to teach Angel about her math and ask questions like "How many more grams do you need?" and "Is this more or less than what we need?"

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C. Place butter and sugar in a bowl and mix well.

2. Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix again.

This was the first time that the girls tried techniques like mixing, stirring and sieving together and I loved that they learnt to work as a team and help each other out in the process.

3. Sieve in flour and salt to mix and combine well.

Needless to say, the girls were very fascinated by this and thought it was lots of fun to see the white 'snow'!

4. Mix the chocolate chips together and roll balls of mixture to about 2cm by 2cm. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and be careful not to put them too close together.

The two of them were thrilled to get their fingers wet and sticky and even though the little one couldn't get nice looking balls and splattered the mixture all around, at least she tried her best! Angel did a really fine job at it though!

5. Place in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat until all cookies are cooked. The mixture makes about 40-50 cookies.

Voila! In just a short time (obviously not including the time I used to clean and wash up), we were all done! Yum yum yum! For a first try, I think they did a wonderful job and the cookies turned out better and more delicious than we had expected! Woohoo!

We bought a glass cookie jar and in our efforts to personalise it, we thought why not add in some love and kisses for the Daddy too? So, we grabbed some lipstick and lip glosses and each left a 'kiss' on the card. Then we drew some pink hearts and added a short note for the birthday boy.

Lastly, stick the card onto a hard backing, poke a hole at the top and use a elastic string to tie it around the jar. Ta-dah! Here's our little gift to wish Daddy a happy 36th birthday!

Thank you, Papi, for all that you have done for us in the past year! We wish you more years of good health, love and joy! P.S. Please eat the cookies, or at least a few of them, and if you can't finish, we are always happy to help!

For more DIY tutorials and craft inspiration, visit my gallery here.

******

<a href="http://www.ahappymum.com/search/label/Creativity%20521"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EX56ybBys_uFPO8joDh7taC-eGCDhEvV14VTnVAcG7hB_0T3xhE8IcJplBwvkpOO0hpTncN_C5k9aD86K8-eVSzN9SjTz1hh7W5hblULqvYNkeW8oqr4KLZ7xPD1O7iu80wLAHea3kT3/s150/Creativity%2520521%2520button.jpg" alt="new button" width="125" height="125" /></a>

To fellow bloggers who have a fun craft session, DIY tip or creative idea to share, come join in the party! Highlight and press Ctrl + C to copy my button above, include it in your post/sidebar and add your link below. I will be hosting Creativity 521 on the 5th and 21st of every month, do hop over for more inspiration. Remember: The sky's the limit when it comes to creativity!