A Cookie Afternoon

I had the opportunity to stand outside in the rain this morning with both Glady and Johann. We were covered by an umbrella, and Johann was safely wrapped up in the sling and my coat, with only his head showing. I relish the chances I get to spend time with my children like that, undistracted by the outside pressures of the business or house or even other people. I find that each one of them, and combinations thereof, are so different that there are endless surprises in exploring them.
Glady with Johann and I is much more mature and happy to figure out what her little brother wants and is thinking. Like me, she is fascinated with watching him discover his world. Today, it was the sound of rain on the umbrella, cars passing on the road, and thunder. You could see the mind working behind bright eyes as he cuddled with me and turned his head this way and that to see and hear everything.
Later in the morning, after Phil had gone to his show, Juliet and Pippa and I made cookies together. Julie mixed, Pippa “spilled” ingredients into the bowl, and when they were done we sat at the table and had mugs of milk and light, crispy-chewy oatmeal cookies. MMMMMM!
Watching those two together is interesting. They don’t quite move on the same plane. Juliet is a little more sophisticated than Pippa, and they tend to fight when it is just the two of them. As now, when Pippa is running screaming from their room because Juliet wanted her to conform to her rules of the school game they were playing. I think Pippa will be a leader, and once she learns how to be a team player things will be a little smoother, but she absolutely hates to give in and bend her will to someone else’s rules. Life with her growing up is going to get more interesting with every year, I think.

Pippa and Juliet Cookies

2 c Rolled oats
1/2 c All-purpose flour
1/2 c Whole-wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c tahini (I suppose you could use creamy peanut butter)
4 tbsp butter, softened
2/3 c sugar
2/3 c brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper (cookies will be very delicate). Mix dry ingredients, then in separate bowl cream butter and tahini, then added sugars until well blended. Add in egg and vanilla, then stir in dry mix. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Careful removing them from the oven, the paper will slide off the sheet unless you hold it, too. (Yes, this is experience talking!) After a minute or two, you can take them off the paper onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.