Although single and without kids, I have an affinity for small children. I can relate to their needs (I require play time, too), I can usually act more goofy than they can (I have scared the occasional child with my zeal for dancing), and I have a fantastic repertoire of silly voices. So it should come as no surprise that given the choice to exercise myself to extreme pain at the gym last Saturday morning or bake cookies with my friends’ two daughters – Chloe, 7, and Becca, 5 – I opted for the latter.

I love baking cookies with kids, especially kids that are not my own, and especially in advance of a holiday – like Valentine’s Day. Their eyes sparkle with the anticipation of sneaking a taste of batter and decorating cookie tops with insane amounts of colored sugar.

I also find that kids love working with holiday-specific cookie cutters. This time of year they have no qualms about dipping into the Christmas cookie cutter collection because there are only so many heart-shaped cookies you can make. And, bless their little munchkin souls, they even forgive you when you realize you can’t make frosting because you forgot to buy powdered sugar. You simply agree to let them have not one but two cookies before lunch (in addition to the giant one you let them set aside for dessert after lunch) and everyone is happy again.

Like most children finding themselves in the kitchen with a grown-up, Chloe and Becca were eager to help prepare the batter for the cookies we set out to make. The recipe: Rodelle’s Rolled Sugar Cookies. In a stroke of brilliance, I let Chloe measure out the flour and sift it into a small bowl while Becca and I set out to cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Each kid needed her own sense of empowerment and this strategy worked like a charm. Of course, I had to let Chloe take a turn with the hand mixer while Becca tried out the sifter. Then, they each took a turn with the hand mixer as we added flour to the wet ingredients. Becca let me know at least four times during this process how much she likes cookie batter. I mean, she really likes it. Can I blame her?

Once we put the dough into the fridge for a brief cooling period, the girls came somewhat unglued with the prospect of checking out my stuff, running around the house dressed in my scarves, and parking themselves on the bathroom counter as they painted their small faces scary pink with my ‘make-up stick’. I did what any smart adult would do: the dishes.

After this interlude of fashion and frolic came to its sad but eventual end, we got to work rolling out dough and cutting cookies. I was clever a second time to avoid possible sibling disquietude by cutting a line down the rolled dough to designate their private dough property. Of course, I then learned again how much Becca loves cookie dough (by now she had managed to casually sneak about a pint of dough into her wee mouth). I also learned what Chloe and Becca love most about Valentine’s Day: the color pink. Not love. Not chocolate. Not even cookies. Pink.

As their little hands plied dough away from the heart-shaped cutters and we talked about how much we loved dough and couldn’t wait to eat a fresh out-of-the-oven cookie, I knew with certainty that Valentine’s Day was just a lovely excuse to spend a morning in the kitchen with little girls who would one day discover their own joy for baking with friends.

I hope your own adventures in baking include small children and their valentine, as well as a great story. Just wondering – how much cookie dough can your kids eat?

Dreaming of cookies,

Carol