Toddler Tuesdays - Sugar Cookies!

Welcome to Toddler Tuesday! Today I wanted to share a project my toddler and I shared last week. We baked and then decorated sugar cookies... just because.

I know what you are thinking... aren't sugar cookies for the holidays? These simple and fun to make little treats can fill up a good chunk of a morning or afternoon. My toddler has been pretty squirrely lately, so keeping him in constructive projects has been my way to deal with that. I grabbed a big assortment of cookie cutters, a recipe and off we went.

I made up the dough during his nap time the previous day. It was a new recipe for me since I was trying to make a low-pro version for the kids. This recipe came from the Cook For Love blog for PKU diets. It used many different ingredients in place of the usual flour. Next time I will have my son help with all the measurement and mixing. This time I didn't want any added distractions. I chilled the dough overnight and froze half of it to be used later. Maybe for a spur of the moment activity?

I think this was the first batch of cookies where my son learned how to press and wiggle a little before lifting the cookie cutter. He was so excited to make his own shapes. We used the Easter cookie cutters here.

There was quite an assortment of shapes! Figuring out how to fit in all the shapes he wanted on the first roll was a challenge. We laid all the cutters out first before pressing down.

After rolling and cutting most of the dough out together, I gave him his own pile of dough to roll. He took this very seriously. I just adore the rolling pin from Curious Chef.


Decorating was a big hit! I made a simple butter cream icing (butter, milk, vanilla & powdered sugar) and modified the recipe by adding rice milk instead of milk. Among other things, my kids can't have the dairy. I divided the frosting and then colored it. Some black went into a piping bag for writing and I gave my son a mess of butter knives for spreading. He opted to monopolize the red frosting.

Messy? Yes. But very fun. I put down wax paper and next time might even put down an old sheet underneath us. The frosting color I used was pretty staining. Oh, well. It was worth it.

So, what kind of toddler fun have you been up to? Be sure to stop by Minnesota Mama's blog and link up on her Linky. Anything toddler related is welcome.