Let the Kids Cook - Rugelach

How many times have you read this suggestion as a great way to spend time and bond with your kids:  cook together.

How many times does it turn from a great idea to an argument over who gets to measure the sugar, split milk, dough all over the kitchen, and you looking for the wine (and not because it's called for in the recipe)?

That's why I'm not going to tell you to cook with your kids. I'm going to tell you to let the kids cook by themselves.

Kids need the experience of being in the kitchen and learning to cook. My mother had me scrambling eggs and making spaghetti since I was a kid. (Although I think I was a teenager before I was allowed the privilege of cooking the rice for dinner.)  Just like they need to learn to clean their room, fold their laundry and budget their money, kids need to learn how to feed themselves.  I get my little folks in the kitchen because as much as I love them, I really do want them one day to be independent beings who can boil water and make themselves some toast. I'm kinda proud that they can do a little bit more than that already.

At BookExpo America, I found HandStand Kids Cookbook Company. Each one of the colorful, easy-to-read cookbooks contains international recipes from Italy, Mexico, or China, and the Baking Around the World book includes recipes from various countries. And since my kids, like their mother, love anything baked, we tried out a sample of this last book.

Each recipe in the cookbooks has illustrations showing the ingredients and tools that are needed and is  marked by a 1-4 cupcake key to indicate how much involvement is needed from the parent.  My clan, ranging in age from 8 to 14 years old chose the recipe for Raspberry Rugelach (a 3-cupcake recipe).

My oldest lead the project and my youngest could read along and participate with everyone else.  And since they are their mother's children, they made their own substitutions in the recipe to their own taste and what we had on hand (see the note on the filling.) I sat back and let them try it out themselves. And by the time my coffee had brewed, there was a delicious plate of hot rugelach ready for tasting.

The filling: strawberry jelly, chopped Hershey bar as substitute for chocolate chips

Roll out the dough and cut in wedges using a pizza cutter.

Add filling and roll up each wedge.

Wash with eggs.

Enjoy!

Try these out at your house and then check their website at www.handstandkids.com for more information on how to order your own.  When you order by Sept. 1, be sure to use the special coupon code for 20% off, especially for Just Piddlin’ readers: HSK20.