Baking with Kids

Blake has ALWAYS loved baking with me. Now, Liam is starting to crawl up on the stool and watch me cook. When I'm having a particular lazy day but want to do something with the boys, we bake. Its good fun for everyone. And now that I have my cake stand, I like to fill it with goodies.

Growing up, my mom use to always set baskets on our counter. In them, she kept apples, oranges and treats wrapped in plastic wrap almost at all times. That way we could have an after school snack or quickly throw something in our lunch box before school. Somehow, growing up, you never think about the little things your parents do for you, especially mom. (Because my dad made me a lot of grilled cheese, hot dogs, and ramen noodles only because he had to feed me. lol)  Now that I'm a mom my relationship with my mother has really taken off. I feel more connected with her because I know just how much she loves me now.

I remember having a moment in Montana. Blake was a newborn. I was all alone, no help, no parents. I was rocking Blake late at night, just praying he would go to sleep. Then he cooed and gave me a smile. (Possibly gas smile, yes, don't steal my moment.) And I was filled with this overwhelming feeling of love and awe. Awe that this little guy is mine. I am responsible for him. I MADE life. Then, I thought of my mother, and how she must've felt these same feelings. She had to have vowed in her head at her moment with me too, that she would always love and protect me as I have done several times with my boys.

That is what baking reminds me of. My mom. Strange how it brings me to those moments right? How I appreciate the little things she did for us way back when, now that I try to do the little things as well for my kids. So, on to the point of this blog post. We made mini brownies yesterday. No, not homemade because like my mom, we like the boxed stuff. Also, every time I try to make brownies from scratch it turns our pretty horrible. So as boring as this post is, this is how we made our bite sized brownies. :) Here is to hoping the boys remember these little moments with me as I remember my moments with my mother, fondly.

You will need:
1 box of brownie mix
Water
Oil or Apple sauce
Eggs
Whipped Supreme frosting (vanilla)
Sprinkles
Sandwich bag 
Mini Muffin pan

Just in case my list of thing you will need wasn't self explanatory. Make your brownies according to boxed directions. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill your muffins tins with batter. Bake for about 13 minutes. This will make 2 batches of mini muffins. Once your mini brownies are cooled, put frosting in a sandwich bag towards the corner, snip the corner with scissors. Just dot the tops of the brownies with frosting, and sprinkle the tops with sprinkles.

That would be the kids favorite part.

If you want a cake stand or even a punch bowl I suggest the one that I have. :) It can be used as either a cake stand or a punch bowl. I love it. I've been wanting on forever and my in-laws bought me this one for Christmas. 

Cake Stand/ Punch Bowl from Sears- Click Here!