Junior Baking Made Easy

Kids and baking cookies go together like  well  cookies and milk. Yet some recipes can be overwhelming for the young bakers, especially if you're letting them go solo.Go with the simplest.  It'll make for a fun  and not fretful time in the kitchen.

The easiest, and least worrisome are the no bake recipes.One of the most fun and the most candylike is the recipe for cow patties (horrible name but a tasty bite). It's adding butter, sugar, and milk,along with milk and cocoa powder in a four quart sauce pan. It;'s boiled for a minute and then taken off the stove.  Peanut butter and vanilla are then added , finishing with the oats. The  "dough" is then dropping by heaping teaspoons on wax paper lined baking sheets. You can add red and green cherry halves for a festive holiday look.If you feel that the kids can't handle a burner then think about Rice Krispie cookies. Heat up the butter and marshmallows in the microwave for  three minutes on high. Stir and then microwave again. Stir a second time to make sure marshmallows are completely melted. Then add six cup of the cereal,. Mix until all the rice puffs are coated. Pour mixture on a 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan coated with cooking spray. Use the cooking spray on the spatula and spray liberally on the cookie cutters.Decorate with icing, chocolate chips, silver dragees or anything that catches the kids' eyes. You can also make a Rice Krispie  house too, using all sorts of candies and cookies to decorate it.

Older kids such as the nine to twelve age range can have fun with simple sugar cookies. Try a drop recipe instead of a rolled , put in the fridge dough. It's a mix of flour, baking soda, salt and butter along with  one egg and vanilla extract. Sprinkle on holiday sprinkles before popping into an oven.Peanut blossoms are another fun holiday cooking and can be varied with both milk and dark chocolate  kisses. The dough is a peanut butter one, sweetened with light brown sugar. Continuing in that vein, have the young bakers trying their hand at peanut butter cookies. For even more deliciousness  dip the ends in either milk or dark chocolate and then blitz with red and green sprinkles.Chocolate chip cookies are everyone's favorite and the homemade ones are the best. A simple recipe is one that contains all the stuff that makes these snaps a decades old classic. It's an alchemy mix of flour , butter eggs, brown sugar (it has to be BROWN sugar, white just won't work) and of course chocolate chip or chunks. Dark chocolate is the best.

Encourage young bakers with simple recipes. They'll enjoy making and baking them. Let these future pastry chefs go wild with flour and sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Chelsea's Hip Bakeries

Chelsea is now one of New York City's hottest and hippest neighborhood. This is where you cool restaurants and shops along with the celebs and stars that shop there. The area also boasts a wide array of bakeries as well. Two of the most famous is Billy's and Blossoms.. These provide both tourists and locals with a wide array of cakes, cookies, and that still trendy treat, the cupcakes.

Billy's Bakery located on Ninth Ave , between 21st and 22nd Street, It also has locations in again the still popular Tribeca as well as The Plaza Food Hall near midtown. The bakery supposed was started by two friends however there is also the understory that the bakery was started by the famed Magnolia's bakery's workers who stole that bakery's most famous recipes. Whatever is the real story, the cakes and cookies are heavenly . Their mini cheesecakes are packed with flavor. The chocolate one is full of dense rich, crumbs while the texture is super creamy. The cakes all have a homemade from the Fifties taste and look. The cookie sandwiches. filled with homemade butter cream are to die for and a local favorite.

A few doors down is Blossom, a bakery with a twist. All their products are made without butter , eggs and milk. It's a division of the famed Blossom Vegan Restaurant (which is right across the street from the bakery)Unlike Billy';s they offer savory treats such as the Breton version of the croissant Koiugn Amann- a fine feat to pull off because regular ones are laced with butter.Their cakes are varied, as are their cupcakes. The vanilla ones are the best,It's a dense old fashioned cake made with a buttery blob of icing on top. The chocolate ones are intense and really don't need the frosting. However the best is Blossom's biscotti. These are not the traditional cylinder shaped ones but large spread out almond cookies that resemble oatmeal cookies. These are a mix of almond and crunch  = sheer perfect in every  bite.

Whether you love in trendy Chelsea or just visiting stop by either Billy's or Blossom for a cupcake and a coffee. Both have different world views and recipes yet a common thread  to make the best baked goods. Their goal has been met . Go to either or both for a satisfying bite of sweetness.

Pears The Perfect Winter Fruit

If you think you can't get any decent fruit during the colder months ,think again. There are plenty of different kind of harvests to be found. Of course there's the citrus fruit being shipped in from Florida and California. There's also that winter classic- the pear. It's been around for millenniums , enjoyed from everyone from ancient kings to modern day techies . It's even been mentioned in the popular carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas". After all it's not a rosebush the partridge sits on.

Pears have been around since ancient times, even garnering a mention in literature of the day. They were cultivated throughout the ancient world where the Chines and Romans were the biggest consumers. It's a member of the Maloideae family a sub genus of the Rosacae the genus that apples derive from. in fact apple and pear blossoms resemble each other in color and number of petals. The word pear come from the west Germanic pyra and first the Vulgar Latin . Any Anglo Saxon place name with Perry refers to an area where pears were grown . Perry also refers to pear wine as well.

Pears are not only the perfect low calorie snack. they're the perfect curative as well. Eat them to lower blood pressure or to relieve arthritis. They're also beneficial in preventing colon cancer and gout. A simple pear is only 96 calories and loaded with Vitamin C. Add a few to your weekly winter diet to stave off colds and flus. The best way to eat them is just fresh although you can have the ones packed in syrup for a dessert or snack too.

Don't fret about the lack of fruit that comes with winter. There is always the pear and this is the season to get stock up on them. Have them for a quick snack at work or when your holiday shopping.