Kids in the kitchen

We made scones today. Or rather, Jessica and Zoe, my daughters made scones. I stood there and told them what to do - I wasn't allowed to actually touch them.

We started off by reviewing the kitchen rules. These are courtesy of my sister, who has a knack for putting things simply.

Then we put on aprons, collected ingredients and utensils and got to work. We used the "cheat's" recipe with cream and lemonade, because hot little fingers have trouble rubbing butter into flour without melting it. They also get bored very easily, and don't tend to have the staying power needed for rubbing.

The biggest challenge making scones with kids is preventing overhandling of the dough. My high school home economics teacher told me to treat scones as though they were made of GTN. Imagine mixing a bowl of explosives - it gives you a light hand! Given that my kids are girls though, not boys, I didn't think they would understand the concept of things that go bang. I told them instead that they had to be careful not to pop the bubbles in the lemonade. That worked pretty well. Here are some action shots:

Mixing - go gently!

Measuring

Cutting out the scones

 The dough got kneaded fairly unevenly. I was taught to fold it over, turn clockwise a quarter turn, fold it in half again, turn again - seven times, no more. That didn't quite happen but we managed okay. Then we cut them out and put them on the tray, brushed them with milk, and they were ready to cook. I did do the putting in the oven part - at 2 and 4 they're not quite ready for that!

They did everything else themselves, though. And the scones turned out quite well. I have to admit that I don't often have heaps of success with scones - I've never been the sort who can whip up a batch of light fluffy high scones as I hear the creak of the garden gate. It makes me feel a bit of a failure as a housewife. But my daughters did well. And they did it all without any tantrums or fights, too!