A Cow, a Bee, and Some Really Good Cookies

I kept a rainbow promise to my youngest son today, with the help of a fun story by Meredith Hooper. The promise was that he could help me make a batch of cookies, and making cookies is exactly what Hooper's story is about.

Like, Marjorie Priceman's How to Make an Apple Pie and See The Word, Hooper's A Cow, a Bee, a Cookie, and Me, traces the ingredients back to their sources. But, instead of focusing on the geographical origin of the ingredients, it follows the process of refining the ingredients, to make them baking ready.

So, when a young boy asks his grandmother what they need for their cookies, she begins with a cow grazing on grass in a field.

The specific amounts, and mixing instructions are spelled out page by page (though there is a complete recipe at the back of the book), so we were able to make the cookies right along with the boy, and his grandmother.

We (because the girls joined in too) needed:

• A cow for 1/2 cup of butter


• Sugar cane for 2/3 cups of "shiny white sugar"


• Bees for 2 tablespoons of honey


• A chicken for an egg (but only the yoke)



• Tree bark, from a special tree, for 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.


• And, wheat for 1 and 3/4 cups of flour (I snuck in 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder, as a substitute, for the self-rising flour called for in the final recipe)

The children loved the story, and the cookies were delicious too, but I'll let you in on a little secret...

...we almost never bake up an entire batch of cookies at once. Since we like to make goodies often, we keep the batches small, and freeze the dough we don't use, for another time. That way, we can enjoy a variety of goodie related activities, without overdosing on sweets. And, as a bonus, should unexpected company arrive, we almost always have cookies in the freezer - mixed, and waiting to be baked.

It's great to be a homeschooler.