Snow Day Bake Day

A snow days stops everything, including school and work. Even though kids now have X-Boxes and Wii they can still become bored. For parents there's only so much telecommuting they can do too. A day off is a great way to reconnect especially over baking. It's a good time to try new recipes and put in some holiday cookie baking as well.

Your baking pantry should  already have flour (brown or whole wheat is preferred however you can use white) sugar or honey and various extras. If you're making your annual batch for Christmas, also have confectioner's sugar and extra butter or margarine for icing along with sprinkles, natural dyes, nuts  , raisins and chocolate chips. Of course of the kids (and you ) want easy and instant gratification then buy the logs of cookie dough. These slice and bakes are easy to make and decorate. They're also fun to eat and you can make a ton of them without sweating. A snow day  also a great time to make cupcakes and cakes,perfect rewards for shoveling the driveway.

A snow day can also mean a bread day. One of the easiest to make is a simple French or Italian bread. Unlike regular white bread , it just requires yeast ,flour water and a pinch of salt, Of course a homemade sandwich loaf won't go amiss either , This is made with butter and honey to give it volume and texture. Fresh bread is a great accompaniment to  any soup or stew and makes excellent toast for breakfast.Batter breads are another easy and fun choice with good results.Try a banana bread or walnut loaf to bring around smiles.Another fun option is making pizza. Kids will love making it especially when they can get creative with toppings.

A snow day means the family will be together. To combat those snowy day blahs, try baking. The process is always fun and the results are always tasty.