Last week was all about creativity. For Pies, Cakes, Cookies and More the kids created their own winter wonderland with food. Thinking outside the box was encouraged and celebrated, but this week's class was all about following directions. First they started with a cookie tasting. They rated four different kinds of cookies. Then the SproutChefs were divided into four groups and given the recipes to make cookie dough. Each group consisted of at least one upper class-man to guide the younger chefs in the recipe process. Together they mixed the ingredients to make a cookie batter. Each SproutChef got a cookie sheet to put three dollops of each cookie dough on. They should have come home with twelve unbaked cookies, three dollops of four different kinds of cookies, to bake in their own ovens. All cookies should be baked for approximately 10 -12 minutes at 350 degrees.
The idea for this lesson, besides having to follow specific directions, is to work together as a mixed-age community. The younger children learn from the older ones and the older children learn by teaching the young ones.
The cookie recipes are below:
White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
Shortening for greasing the pans
1 package (18.25 oz.) dark chocolate fudge food cake mix
1/3 cup water
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1cup white chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease two cookie sheets.
Place the cake mix, water, melted butter, egg and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend until well mixed. The cookie dough will be thick.
Stir in the chips until well distributed.
Drop teaspoons of the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake the cookies until they have set but are still a little soft in the center 10 -12 minutes.
Remove with a spatula.
Orange Spice Cookies
Ingredients:
Shortening for greasing the pans
1 package (18.25 oz.) plain spice cake
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease two cookie sheets.
Place the cake mix, oil, orange marmalade, egg and ginger in a bowl and mix together until smooth. The cookie dough will be thick.
Drop teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
Bake the cookies 10-12 minutes.
Remove with a metal spatula.
Optional ice with canned cream cheese icing
Classic Spritz Cookies
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 half sticks of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
I teaspoons vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl mix flour and baking powder.
In another bowl mix butter and sugar with mixer until fluffy.
Add egg, milk and vanilla
Gradually add flour mixture until dough is smooth.
Fill the cookie press with dough and fit with desired disc.
Press the cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Lemon Cake Mix Cookies
Ingredients for cake:
• 1 pkg. lemon cake mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Ingredients for glaze:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
Baking Instructions
1 Mix cake mix, oil, eggs, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice together. Dough will be very stiff.
2 Drop dough on ungreased cookie sheet.
3 Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.
4 While cookies are baking, make glaze: mix powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and lemon zest together in small bowl.
5 Let cookies cool for 1 minute, then top with glaze.
The Cooking with Chef Lisa class made noodle bowls with Chinese ramen noodles last week. They learned how Marco Polo took the noodle recipe back to Italy to turn Chinese noodles into pasta. They made pasta dough and pasta sauce from the following recipes:
Pasta Dough
Ingredients:
3 eggs beaten
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Mix all ingredients until combined, but not smooth.
Then kneed until smooth.
With a rolling pin roll the dough until it is flat enough to run through the pasta machine.
Boil in salted water for 8-10 min.
Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
1 lb of ground beef
1 clove garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
Salt, pepper and parmesan cheese to taste
Directions:
Combine ground beef, onion, garlic, and green pepper in a large saucepan. Cook and stir until meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain grease.
Stir canned tomatoes into the meat mixture. Season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Serve over pasta and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.