Fall Baking

Alyssa and I have decided last evening that we needed to do some fall baking.  We invited her friends across the street to come over and help us.  Then we planned to make some Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins and some Inside-Out Chocolate Chip Cookies.  We did our basic picking up around the house last evening.

This morning was full of anticipation!  We set out our eggs and butter to bring them to room temperature.  We swept and mopped the kitchen, sanitized the sinks, wiped down the appliances, and tidied up the living room.  Of course, Alyssa was in and out during the preparations, as she also wanted to play outside with her friends and the weather is perfect.  Finally, it's time to bake.

Alyssa went out to let her friends know it was time to begin.  Unfortunately, none of them wanted to come over right then.  They preferred to stay outside and play.

I was pretty disappointed about the possibility of not having a helper, but I gave Alyssa the choice to play or bake.  My girl chose to bake!

She's so much fun in the kitchen.  At five-years-old, she's quite independent and wants to do so many of the tasks.  She's pretty good at mixing dry ingredients on her own, and she even tried to use the hand mixer.  She held it steady and only struggled when the last of the dry ingredients were added to the wet mix, and the batter just got too thick.  She loves to wear her apron and chef hat while she helps in the kitchen.

While we worked, she told me all about the bakery and cafe she would run when she was all grown up.  I told her about the larger ovens and stand mixers she would get to use.  I wouldn't mind having a stand mixer now, as I really give this hand mixer a workout!  When we finish, she practices her displays on a platter and cupcake stand.

As disappointed as we were at first when her friends wouldn't join her, Alyssa was still very eager to share her goodies with them.  We prepared plates with samples for several neighbor families.

We ended the day with a clean kitchen, scents of fall baking filling the house, and lots of tasty treats!

Our recipes:

Inside-Out Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups white baking chips (or peanut butter chips, or mint chips...)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix sugars, butter, shortening, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl.  Stir in flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in baking chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.  Cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet.  Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.


Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place 18 paper liners in muffin pans, or spray each muffin cup with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix in pumpkin puree.  Slowly add flour mixture,mixing well.  Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill muffin cups evenly (about 2/3 full).  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.  Place on a wire rack to cool.
Makes 18 muffins.