Today was a major occasion in our house: T cooked for the first time! Last night I made orange cupcakes and this evening, after his dinner, T helped me to glaze and decorate them (M photographed), and then we each ate one! It was THE BEST! I can't wait to have his help more often. It felt so right to share cooking with him and he loved it. I never expected to be able to cook with my 20-month old, but T has been imitating cooking (stirring, moving pots around, etc) for months and so we thought we'd give him a try. I picked an easy first job. Having done the cupcakes the night before, the actual "cooking" today was short, only had jobs he could help with, and there was no waiting for baking or cooling. It was an overwhelming success (as you can see in the photos below)!!!

The only thing that wasn't perfect is that I used a recipe for the cupcakes I'd never used before and there was only enough batter for half the number of cupcakes they said there would be. Unsurprisingly, the cakes were pretty dense. I expect some ingredients were missing or the amounts were off or both. Even so, I don't think I've ever enjoyed a cupcake more. But with that downside in mind, I have inserted another pretty easy recipe for orange cupcakes (with the glaze and sprinkles we used) below to inspire anyone else who'd like to start cooking with their wee one!

Rainbow Cupcakes - J and Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book
Makes 12 cupcakes

Cakes:
1 ¼ cups flour
1 ¼ t baking powder
¼ t salt
4 T butter, softened
1 cup sugar
¾ t vanilla
Zest from one navel orange
1 egg
½ cup + 2 T milk

Glaze and topping:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 T orange juice
Rainbow sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put muffin papers in 12 muffin cups or 24 mini muffin cups.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter for 30 seconds. Add sugar, vanilla, and orange zest, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat for one full minute. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beating on low after each addition just until combined. Don’t forget to scrap the sides of your bowl. Dust out the flour mixture bowl to make the glaze in.

Risotto with Broccoli Rabe & Red Pepper Ingredients Cont.

M

Fill each muffin cup half way. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cupcakes have puffed and bounce back when you lightly touch the top with your finger. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then cool completely on a cooling rack.

Here's where T began to help:
Right before you’re ready to glaze, mix the powdered sugar with the orange juice until it’s a nice drizzling consistency. Use a spoon to drizzle glaze onto each cupcake. Do this on a plate or wax paper to catch drips. Shake a generous coating of sprinkles onto each cupcake.

Glazing the tops




















Sprinkles!!!!!!














T's cupcakes!