Nursery-school cooking project

[Fat Guy]

Lactose intolerance and dairy allergy are two different things. Dairy allergy has to do with casein and such, I think. In any event, I'm just following the rules here, because I'm good.

What's a good shortbread recipe?

[Catew]

Do you know the story of Stone Soup? With a hotplate/burner, you could make "stone soup" with the kids, and read the story to them too. I'm sure they would love it and remember it.

A version of the story

Article about a similar project

[maggiethecat]

Lactose intolerance and dairy allergy are two different things. Dairy allergy has to do with casein and such, I think. In any event, I'm just following the rules here, because I'm good.

What's a good shortbread recipe?

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Well, why question the Cookie Goddess, even tho she wants you to cut them out in doggie Scottie style and tie a tartan bow around each cookie/doggie neck.

Um, actually, pretty cute and classy. I bet kids would love a doggie cookie cutter (or a cat cutter) and a length of ribbon. Martha rules.

Recipe here.

Edited November 7, 2008 by maggiethecat (log)

[Fat Guy]

A recipe like that might work if I decide to go the route of preparing the dough in advance, however if the kids are going to get hands-on then I think it would work better to have the fewest possible ingredients and a dough that can be mixed without a KitchenAid-type mixer. Is that just impossible for shortbread, or is there a variant of shortbread recipe that can be manipulated by hand, with a spoon or perhaps with a non-electric hand mixer?

[CaliPoutine]

A recipe like that might work if I decide to go the route of preparing the dough in advance, however if the kids are going to get hands-on then I think it would work better to have the fewest possible ingredients and a dough that can be mixed without a KitchenAid-type mixer. Is that just impossible for shortbread, or is there a variant of shortbread recipe that can be manipulated by hand, with a spoon or perhaps with a non-electric hand mixer?

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The shortbread recipe I use is pretty stiff( Ina Garten), I cant imagine making it in a bowl with a spoon. But I guess if you're using margarine, its not as stiff.

[snowangel]

A recipe like that might work if I decide to go the route of preparing the dough in advance, however if the kids are going to get hands-on then I think it would work better to have the fewest possible ingredients and a dough that can be mixed without a KitchenAid-type mixer. Is that just impossible for shortbread, or is there a variant of shortbread recipe that can be manipulated by hand, with a spoon or perhaps with a non-electric hand mixer?

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Do it like our grandmothers and their grandmothers. Elbow grease! Consider it an upper body workout.

[KarenDW]

why no mixer? FWIW, my mom made her shortbread with a wooden spoon and no mixer, up until she was about 65

if you have electricity, a deep electric skillet with a cover can be converted into an oven for "baking". We made upside-down cake at a seniors' residence demo earlier this year. This method works best for items which do not require top browning (i.e., white cookies, upside-down cakes, some canapes). Perhaps strategically placed tinfoil on the lid would help, though.

Royal icing... doesn't meringue powder contain (pasturized, dehydrated) egg whites?

I like the Stone Soup idea. And the kids can "cut" up items w/ plastic knives.

[sandercohan]

Do you know the story of Stone Soup?  With a hotplate/burner, you could make "stone soup" with the kids, and read the story to them too.  I'm sure they would love it and remember it.

A version of the story

Article about a similar project

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This is what I was going to suggest! I have very fond memories of doing this exact exercise in nursery school....thirty years ago.

s

[pax]

My kids used to make bread in kindy...I'd let them put the yeast in water, watch it get all foamy, then kneed it up with some plain old flour. Since most kids just want to play with it, and don't really care too much about the results, they could knead the stuff until it was rock hard and then shape it and decorate it anyway they choose. Take them home, bake them off, and deliver hockey pucks the next morning.

Or, do it with salt dough and call them holiday ornaments.

[rooftop1000]

My kids used to make bread in kindy...I'd let them put the yeast in water, watch it get all foamy, then kneed it up with some plain old flour. Since most kids just want to play with it, and don't really care too much about the results, they could knead the stuff until it was rock hard and then shape it and decorate it anyway they choose. Take them home, bake them off, and deliver hockey pucks the next morning.

Or, do it with salt dough and call them holiday ornaments.

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Thats it ....they could make Turkeys by tracing their hands..remember the thumb is the turkey head?....

cookie or bread dough

tracey

[maggiethecat]

A recipe like that might work if I decide to go the route of preparing the dough in advance, however if the kids are going to get hands-on then I think it would work better to have the fewest possible ingredients and a dough that can be mixed without a KitchenAid-type mixer. Is that just impossible for shortbread, or is there a variant of shortbread recipe that can be manipulated by hand, with a spoon or perhaps with a non-electric hand mixer?

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I use a hand mixer. Make sure the marg is soft and Bob's Your Uncle.

[Cleo]

I have a 2 year old son who cannot have milk products. It is not an allergy, per se, but a great sensitivity and he needs to be kept off anything with dairy in it, or the results just ain't pretty.

As someone said upthread, this is not lactose intolerance. My son drinks rice milk and eats soy yogurt, and lactose has nothing to do with it. The buzzwords on labels that I look for and shy away from are milk (obviously), whey, casein, butter, cheese and cheese products. Particularly when it comes to kids, cheese is a big thing -- think Pepperidge Farm Goldfish -- they have a million flavors and, with the exception of the pretzel ones, they are all cheese flavored! And my son doesn't particularly like pretzels.

Anyway, I have a few suggestions:

If you want to make something from a mix, these Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes are pretty good. I realize that it is not your goal to use a mix, but since I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old, I can honestly say that the kids in your son's class won't care. They are just happy to be involved in making something...anything.

Some sources for recipes that might help you find something:

This Go Dairy Free website has many, many recipes that are obviously dairy free and the ones that are vegan are noted as well. When people say "dairy free" that does not always mean "egg free", so it might make it easier to have a vegan notation. My son can eat eggs with no problems. I have made some of the muffins and they are fine.

This Dairy Free Cookbook also has a few recipes that look like they would fit all the criteria.

Hope that helps and let us know what you decide.

[Syrah]

Assuming that coconut is okay, anzac biscuits (cookies) seem like a perfect solution. You can substitute margarine for the butter (pretty sure that's what they would have done when they first started making them). If you can't get golden syrup, molasses would be fine.

It's a simple process of melting the wet ingredients, adding the dry to it and then cooking the dropped batter.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/15770/chewy+anzac+biscuits

[kitchenmage]

How about a couple kinds of dip w/precut vegetables?

...or crackers...

...tiny tortillas and a bar of fillings for make your own wraps...

...i second pita, as well.

[Chris Amirault]

Bring a double recipe of good bread dough. Let the three-year-olds "knead" it. Thank them and take the "kneaded" dough into the kitchen, where you throw it away and replace it with your dough, which you bake.

[kitchenmage]

Bring a double recipe of good bread dough. Let the three-year-olds "knead" it. Thank them and take the "kneaded" dough into the kitchen, where you throw it away and replace it with your dough, which you bake.

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Chris, you're my kind of devious!

[Fat Guy]

We ended up doing shortbread cookies.

I experimented with a few recipes at home and found this ratio to be satisfactory:

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup margarine

2 cups all-purpose flour

Although you're supposed to cream together the sugar and margarine with mixer, we did it with bare hands and it worked fine. Then added the flour to incorporate. We gave the kids balls of dough on small squares of parchment and let them press the dough flat by hand. We then offered a selection of cookie cutters and helped with that. Topped with sprinkles and baked in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350 (you pull them when they get brown around the edges).

These cookies were surprisingly edible, and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun. Etiquette doesn't permit me to post photos of the kids but here are a couple of the cookies: