Guest Blogger - Cookies for Santa

I'm happy to introduce my first guest blogger on 'Karen Cooks', my granddaughter, Kayla.

Kayla is very excited for Santa's upcoming visit. She'll be leaving cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve on a special plate.

Kayla used Carol's Italian Cookies recipe from Bunny's Warm Oven. Here we go!
Hi, my name is Kayla. I'm two-and-one-half years old. We're going to make cookies for Santa!

There's a lot of things you have to do when you make cookies. Gramma took the butter out of the refrigerator so it would get a little bit soft, so the first thing you should do is poke your finger right through the foil and make a big hole in the butter. It's a fun thing to do.

Next, get out all the stuff you need to make cookies... baking powder, vanilla, flour, sugar...

... and don't forget the eggs. Eggs are fun to crack.

First you put the butter and shortening in a bowl and melt it. We used the microwave.Add some sugar. Now crack the eggs and add them to the sugar one at a time. Beat them in good.

If you need help with the electric mixer, it's best to ask Gramma to help. Grammas like to help.

Put some flour, baking powder and salt on waxed paper.

There are 5 teaspoons of baking powder in this recipe. Baking powder is what will make these cookies poof up when you bake them!

Add a little bit of the flour mixture at a time to the eggs and beat until it's all mixed up.

I have to tell you how important it is to taste the batter as you go along...

... you want to make sure it's good enough for Santa!

After the flour is all mixed in, roll the dough into little balls.

Oops!

This dough is hard for me to roll into little balls, so I'm letting Gramma finish it.
Mommy and I got to lick the beaters!

Yummy! These are the cookies after we baked them in the oven.

We still have to decorate them, but it's best to taste these... remember, these cookies are for Santa!
After the cookies are cool, mix up some powdered sugar and milk. Dip the cookies in it.

Then put some sprinkles on top.We're going to freeze the cookies and on Christmas Eve, I'm going to put some on a plate for Santa.

This is my dog, Wrigley.

Wrigley likes it when I cook. He licks up everything that falls on the floor.

Wrigley is a good dog.

Merry Christmas everybody!