My girls at play

Today when I went into Sadie's room after her nap, she was talking up a storm. It was really cute. I went and grabbed the camera. This is what we discussed when I returned to her room:

Earlier this week Eliza asked me to build her a castle. I made her a fort with the couch cushions and a blanket. She climbed into it and then started asking me if I wanted a "hammermer" (hamburger). I said, "yes," and she replied. "Coming right up." She turned around and cooked. I have NO IDEA where she learned to say, "Coming right up!" She just absorbs everything!

Baking Tip of the Day

This afternoon Eliza wanted to "cook cookies for Peepa (aka Grandpa) and Meema (aka Grammy and Grandma) and Papi (aka other Grandpa). She also suggested we make cookies for Daddy "cause Daddy likes cookies."

Because I want to encourage her sharing nature, we got started. I get very tired of the whole process by the end of a batch of cookies so I have learned to only make a half batch at a time. I was too far into the baking process to stop when I realized that I was out of vanilla extract. So I thought, "Maybe it won't be that noticeable that there is a little 1/2 tsp of vanilla missing." When the dough was mixed, I tasted it to be sure. I was optimistic before. That little half teaspoon of vanilla goes a long way for flavor and it was obviously missing. So, I turned to the internet for substitution ideas. It turns out that all I needed was to shave a vanilla bean and add that. Well, for all the bad luck, I am out of vanilla beans too. I finally found a site where someone said that in a pinch you can substitute maple syrup for vanilla extract. Well, I am in a pinch so the Hungry Jack went in.

The results: Yummy. I can tell the flavor of the cookies is better with vanilla than maple syrup but I am glad I added it. The syrup was better than none at all. So here is my baking tip of the day... try maple syrup in your cookies. You may be pleasantly surprised. I am glad I could help.