President's Day Cookies

We read the legend of Washington and The Cherry Tree today, from The Children's Book of Virtues edited by William J. Bennett.

Then, the little ones helped me bake some cherry thumbprint cookies, of a sort.

I had promised them earlier in the day, they could make a batch of cake mix cookies, so we started with that, using a cherry chip cake mix, in honor of President Washington.

E, poured in the cake mix, and counted as we removed three tablespoons. I measured out 1/3 cup of oil, and C added it to the cake mix. Their big sister cracked two eggs for them, and we all took turns mixing.


The girls rolled the dough into balls...


...punched down the centers, with their thumbs...


...and helped to spoon in a little cherry pie filling, into each thumbprint.


Then, we baked the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 11 minutes - longer than normal for these kind of cookies, in order to cook the dough under the pie filling.


Even so, these are cookies, that need to be eaten with a fork, because the pie filling eventually soaks through the centers, making them a little messy.


In fact, I had written them off as a flop, and wasn't planning on posting about them. But, after a taste test, the children, and the Man of the House, declared them too tasty not to share. So, there you have it...


It's great to be a homeschooler.