Cookie Time

Today we decorated Easter cookies. I don't know why I think a 2 year old would know the difference between these and any other cookies, but it seemed like so much fun anyway. Mary got to watch from the highchair and Emma graciously shared her own cookie with Mary since mean old Mama was not giving her any. I had made the dough the other day and stuck it in the refridgerator until the girls' nap time today. Jim helped roll out and cut out 40 some cookies in the shapes of bunnies, eggs, tulip, and butterflies. I made the frosting and divided it into three different bowls and colored one yellow and the other purple, leaving the third one white. I stuck the frosting into Ziploc bags, flattened out all of the air, and refridgerated them until it was time to snip the little corners and use them as pastry bags. After a family walk around the neighborhood, since the thermometer was topping a sultry 45, Emma got to get messy. She was very excited, although I must inform you that she is not at all selective when it comes to decorating. So she has to put frosting and every type and color of sprinkle available on each cookie. As she squirted piles of frosting on a cookie, Jim would take it and smooth it to a fine layer, dumping the remainder of the pile onto other cookies. At one point, Emma decided art was hunger inducing, and without missing a beat she picked up the cookie she was decorating and ate it without blinking. Chipmunk mouth covered in random frosting and sprinkles, she looked at me and said, "mmmmmmmmmmm!!!". Decorating was pretty much over for her at that point. The focus changed and brought clarity to the countertop full of frosted goodies. She was nice enough to share with Mary, who really didn't need the frosting, either. But it was difficult to persuade her that the entire 3 dozen or so cookies were not on the menu for dinner tonight. We left off with that and I have a couple of dozen cookies to frost myself after they go to sleep. I think I may have to hide them in the freezer if I want them to last until Sunday Brunch. I'll be lucky if I don't eat them all tonight - just to save Emma all of that work....