Ingredients
snickerdoodle cookie mix
butter
egg
Jell-O powder
Source: Prince Pinky Girl recipe blog.
I had been wanting to make these Jell-O Cookies with my grandchildren for awhile, but the timing never worked out — until Mother’s Day weekend. So, that’s what we made for Mother’s Day.
It worked out better than I could have imagined. Three-Year-Old-E knows colors, knows how to count to a number above 10, and loves to help cook. The recipe is incredibly simple since it uses a mix as the base. I divided the dough into the four bowls. I tore open the Jell-O packet and let them pour the Jell-O powder into the three separate bowls. For each portion of dough, I gave them the bowl, the corresponding Jell-O powder, and a tablespoon measuring spoon. I told them to count out three scoops of the Jell-O into the bowl with the dough. When I realized the tablespoon scoops were a little low, I just added the instruction “and one more small scoop.” They loved the formality of measuring and adding ingredients on their own. They mixed the batter until tired and then I finished up. One-Year-Old-A loved sitting on my lap and watching everything with an eagle eye, taking mental notes for future use.
Rolling the dough into balls was just like rolling playdough balls. They couldn’t have been happier.
Tips:
* The recipe instructs to use red, blue, yellow, and green Jell-O. In hindsight, that was probably because those are the brightest colors (besides yellow). I substituted orange for green because who likes green Jell-O? But, the orange is not really bright enough when diluted by pale cookie dough (yellow is just intensified cookie dough color). In the future, I might adjust the portion of Jell-O powder and divide the cookie dough in half and just have red and blue cookies. There is plenty of Jello-O powder to do this.
* If cooking with a young child, probably go ahead and melt the butter (as instructed) instead of just allowing to counter soften like I did.
* The instructions advise to watch carefully and take out of the oven as soon as “bottoms are just barely golden and tops firm to touch.” Yes. Err on undercooking if you want a soft chewy cookie. Cooking even a minute or two longer makes a crisp harder cookie.
When they presented their cookies to their Mom, she was, of course, delighted. In her admiration of the many-eyed cookies, she said, “Oh, are these ones monsters?” Three-Year-Old-E immediately honestly and with a somewhat confused affect replied, “no.” Their Mom flawlessly adjusted course and praised their beauty.
I can’t help but think of them as cherubim cookies from the Hebrew Bible description in Ezekiel 10:12! And somehow, they are happy joyful all-seeing cherubim and this is how I will forever visualize these angelic beings from now on.
* * * * *
On an honest note, I am struggling today. It is the day after the elementary school massacre involving two assault-style rifles in Uvalde, Texas. Today, the body count continues to rise. Also, last evening, there was a road range incident in which one car occupant shot the occupant of the other car at the corner around from my Daughter’s house within an hour of Daughter with Grandchildren and Son-in-Law each driving by the spot. We do not live in a particularly problem area.
I am despondent. Getting angry seems to do nothing. Pleading with legislators seems to do nothing. Voting seems to do nothing. Protesting seems to do nothing. I cannot find hope. I don’t want to be an angry bitter sad person fighting the urge to try and sequester my family away to protect them from these horrors and keep them alive. But, I am finding it hard to feel loving towards our society and joyful in life, still today, still after a night’s sleep.
Roaming and Connecting 