Part 2, rolling, cutting and baking. Sounds nice doesn't it? After dinner cookies maybe? Maybe?
The Men in Gingerbread Men never materialized, instead I used some funky fun animal cutters that I got at IKEA. While I was fighting with the dough and repeating under my breath through gritted teeth, "just let it go" the cutters made great toys and led to uses other than cutting. Apparently they were air bound?!
This was a great exercise in patience and I had to enlist my ceramics motto "just let it go". As a potter many vessels never come to fruition. Each is peril prone from conception to end. The clay is too wet, too dry, it gets dropped from wheel to kiln, and kiln to shelf, so if a piece breaks it is good to have a relaxed attitude. Firstly my dough was too cold (my fridge sometimes mysteriously gets turned down... little hands, maybe?) then once it warmed up it was too dry and cracked as I rolled. Once I managed to get cuts made they stuck to the floured parchment paper. In a hurried state to keep the little ones interested I forgot to re-cool the dough before I moved my pristinely cut animals. Lastly freshly baked, a porcupine and snail hit the floor.
Next we have to decorate them. My husband and I are still fighting about Ziplock bags vs Piping bags. Once that is resolved our forestry fellows will be gussied up.
photos by me.
Put the two together and what do you get? Gingerbread Men. In my attempt to do something fun with the babies and possibly distract them from watching Sesame Street .... again (nothing against Sesame Street but we don't have cable so we tend to watch the same DVD's over and over again). I started a 'fun' little project. If all goes well every one can expect home made cookies for Christmas love the babies.
Part one is getting everything ready and making the cookie dough. To make this as simple and kid friendly as could be I prepped and pre-messured all of my ingredients. Not as easy as it sounds. Being the good "little helpers" they are, they wanted to be involved in every step. Here they are grinding my spices for me. The thing about 3 yr olds and maybe is especially true for twins is that the other one wants what the other one has and when it involves bashing a ceramic ball inside an 'egg' this is particularly true. The egg is Jamie Oliver's Flavour Shaker which for moments like these is 'fun' little toy.
With ingredients measured the 'fun' really started. Even the sheep simply named Sheep; helped. After much laugher, some giggles (thanks Sheep) and a few tears, we had dough... It is safely resting in the fridge until part 2, rolling cutting and baking.
photos by me.
