Highfield Hall Cooks!

Hot Squash Scones!

Thursday afternoon my youngest cooks arrived raring to go. Drop-offs were quick and easy and we got right to work making Butternut Squash Scones. I had premeasured most of the ingredients, but the little ones had no trouble following my lead when it came time to cut the butter and brown sugar into their dough.

They weren't afraid to get their hands dirty (although they did spend a lot of time washing their hands between steps), and they expressed great interest in feeling, smelling, and tasting the ingredients as they were added to the bowls.

We mixed, stirred, kneaded, cut, egg-washed, and sugar-sprinkled our scones.

 

And while they baked we drew flour pictures on the prep table, colored in our recipe books, and tasted some delicious vanilla cream cheese butter.

Another successful day in the kitchen, and they left Highfield Hall filled with the aroma of warm nutmeg. What could be better?

Tots n’ Pans Debut!

Think three-, four-, and five-year olds can't hold their own in the kitchen? Think again! In fact, these kids are extremely focused and follow directions like champs. Our menu was the same as the Kid Café class—German Oven Pancakes and Chocolate Banana Smoothies, but our starting set-up is a little different for this age group. I measure out the majority of ingredients beforehand and equip each station with a mixing bowl, a spoon, a rubber spatula, a butter knife (that's as sharp as we get in this class), a cutting board, small bowls of pre-measured ingredients, and large bowls of ingredients that don't necessarily need measuring. The result is a wonderful sensory experience with a variety of colors, textures, and aromas.

First we mixed the pancakes, which were a tremendous success!

Then each child cut up his or her own fruit.

And finally, everything was mixed together in a bowl.

We ate some of our masterpieces and wrapped some to go.

Proving once again, that cooking is, indeed, child's play. I can't wait for next week!