Snow Day Baking

My mom's neighbor coined a phrase this morning that perfectly describes our current experience: we are "slushed-in"! West St. Paul is usually right on top of things when it comes to plowing, but I guess they decided it wasn't really worth it today. Our alley hasn't even been touched, and that's usually the first to be cleared! So it turned into a nice, quiet day at home, watching the pretty flakes fall... and then melt as they land... turning into messy slop on the roads. Well, at least the trees are beautiful!

One of my new favorite morning activities to do with the boys is baking. I love baked goods, and the boys love getting their hands dirty. Win-win. This morning, we decided on cinnamon-vanilla scones with vanilla glaze. (drooooool...) I gathered the ingredients and utensils on the kitchen table, and we went to town! Max has become quite a good little helper, and Lucian... well... he tries. As Max carefully measured flour into the bowl, Lucian scooped it right back out with a wooden spoon. After Max whisked an egg in a measuring cup, Lucian promptly knocked the cup over, spilling egg all over the table!

I tried to include him as much as I could, but it's a little bit of a wonder our batter turned out at all. I was helping him measure a teaspoon of baking powder, but he got so frustrated that I wouldn't let him do it himself that he flung the teaspoon up in the air, half of the powder landing in our already-measured flour and sugar. I estimated the correct amounts from there and attempted to keep him at arms length until the kneading began. That he was able to do just fine! The boys "smooshed" and "lumped" the dough, and I formed and cut it. We let the scones bake, glazed them, and my oh my were they good!

In case you want to try these yourself, we found the super easy recipe here. The glaze I added was just 1 cup of powdered sugar mixed with a couple tablespoons of milk (keep adding until it's the right consistency) and a splash of vanilla. We drizzled the scones with glaze after they cooled. Honestly, that was the hardest part of the whole process: waiting for the darn things to cool. But patience is a virtue... and they were worth the wait!