Mom’s Talk Q&A: My Kids Are Baking (Mommy) Crazy

Q: My young children love to watch me bake, and are clamoring to participate. Can you recommend some easy, yummy recipes we could make together? 

A: Recently my toddler started “helping” me bake brownies. She takes pride in pouring the already mixed ingredients into the bowl, and to time the half hour the brownies bake we watch “Barney”. When the TV show is over, the brownies are done and the feasting can begin. What’s clear is that with a little help from mom, children of all ages can help by shaping or molding foods with their hands or cookie cutters, selecting, measuring and mixing ingredients and pouring batter. 

Emeril’s Nutty Granola Bars

Here’s a tasty treat from Emeril’s kitchen that takes 40 minutes to prepare. Kids can help measure, stir and press the granola mixture into the baking dish.

Ingredients:

¾ cup honey

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/3 cups slivered almonds (6 ounces)

Coarse salt

1 cup raisins or other dried fruit

1/3 cup creamy almond butter or other nut butter

¼ cup light-brown sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. In a small saucepan, heat ¼ cup honey and butter over low. Cook, stirring, until butter melts.

2. In a large bowl, combine oats, almonds, and pinch of salt. Drizzle honey mixture over oat mixture and stir to combine; wipe saucepan clean. Spread mixture evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely on sheet, 10 minutes. Return to large bowl and add raisins; stir to combine.

3. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish. In saucepan, combine ½ cup honey, almond butter, and brown sugar over medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil and sugar dissolves. Drizzle over oat mixture and stir until combined; transfer to baking dish. With a spatula, firmly press granola into dish. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour; then cut into 16 bars or squares. (Store the mixture in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 5 days.)

258 cal per bar; 11 g fat (2 g sat fat); 6 g protein; 38 g carb; 3 g fiber

10-Minute Shamrock Shortbread

Celebrate St. Patrick’s day by baking up a batch of these butter cookies (recipe courtesy of www.MrFood.com).

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric beater on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 1 to 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.

3. Gradually add the flour and beat 2 minutes, or until well blended. Form dough into 2 balls; cover and chill at least 2 hours.

4. On a lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll 1 ball of dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters or a knife, cut into 3 dozen shamrocks or other shapes. Place shapes 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining ball of dough.

5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy plain or sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkles before baking. You can also frost and decorate the cookies once they’ve cooled.

Kiddie Cooking ConnectionsStressed from the kitchen mess? Check out these classes for your little connoisseur:

Chef Central, Paramus; www.chefcentral.com; (201-576-0100)

Grandma’s Kitchen, Northvale; www.grandmaskitchennj.com, (201-750-2301)

WannaBeeChef, Cresskill; www.wannabeechef.com (201-503-0335)

Whole Foods Market, Edgewater and Paramus; www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores

Taming the Tantrums of a Three-Year-Old

Q: When my three-year-old son doesn’t get his way he throws a screaming fit. Case in point: last week after a few fun-filled hours at a play date, when it was time to leave he had a major meltdown. To make matters worse, unlike me (who was mortified by his behavior), he doesn’t care who sees him act out. What should I do next time?  

A: I hear you. My strong-spirited but normally quite agreeable two-year-old is beginning to display her growing sense of independence. “NO” is her favorite go-to word when she doesn’t want to get dressed, drink her milk or pick up her toys. This new display of “power” can be irksome, but I try to take it in stride, while employing a few tactics that you might find useful. 

The Who Cares Air: Don’t worry about being judged when he acts out. Repeat this mantra from Deepak Chopra: “I am totally independent of the good or bad opinion of others.”  

It’s Just a Phase Should Be Your Phrase: Kids resort to tantrums when they are overwhelmed by their emotions, want to express their independence and can’t yet say, “Mommy, I love you very much, but feel smothered, when you insist on leaving the playground when I am having fun. Yes, I realize that I need a nap, but I really don’t care to have you dictating my schedule for me”. 

The Eyes Have It: When my little one is having a meltdown, I bend down to her level, look her in the eyes and quietly but firmly say, “I can’t understand what you want when you are screaming.” Most of the time, this perfectly reasonable, matter of fact approach works like a charm and she calms down or finds a better way to get her needs met. 

Keep The Routine Clean: Children hate unexpected transitions. So when I’m about to make a change to the routine, I’ll give her advance notice by providing a running commentary of our timing, so there are no surprises, and she has something exciting to look forward to. “We’re leaving in ten minutes, then we’re going to have lunch and then we’re going to play with clay. Yeah!”

Editor’s note: If you have questions related to parenting, raising kids or just generally being a mom, feel free to submit them to the author at estellewriter@aol.com or the editor at erik.wander@patch.com. Your question might just be featured in a future column.