Teaching Baking Skills - Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight
Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 5:00AM
Do you need a dessert recipe that will feed a crowd?
My daughter and I found one on Pinterest (I had her search my Just Desserts board), and it's also a great recipe for teaching the very basics of baking. I've been giving her different baking assignments this school year. (She made her dad's birthday cake and it was simple and delicious!)
Some advantages of baking with your children:
- They learn to PLAN a grocery list and shop for the items.
- They learn about math and measurement.
- They use basic kitchen tools and learn the "terminology" of baking.
- The sense of accomplishment when they have a beautiful creation is priceless.
- They learn the gift of hospitality and sharing.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight is fairly simple to make, not too "icky sweet", and definitely one we will be making again. (This recipe comes from Taste of Home, one of my favorite magazines and recipes sites, by the way.)
The ingredients are simple. I made sure my daughter made the list and helped me shop for them. Baking starts with planning.
- 1 tube (16-1/2 ounces) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
- 3 cups cold 2% milk
- 1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
- Chopped nuts and chocolate curls, optional
*Make sure you set out the whipped topping and cream cheese ahead of time so they soften. The cookie dough needs to be left out for 10 minutes before you start, too.
Step 1: Press cookie dough into a 9x13 ungreased baking pan (Anna used a spatula to do this - she figured out the dough didn't stick that way - she also asked me why the pan was called a 9x13 - good question!) and bake at 350 for 14-16 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. (I invested in a good wire racks from Williams Sonoma years ago. Best. Purchase.Ever.) Make sure to cool completely or else the next step will get messy.
Step 2: Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, then fold in 1 3/4 cup whipped topping. (While doing this I'm teaching Anna what FOLD means in baking, and she's learning how to use the Kitchen Aid mixer. This is Home Economics!) Oh, and did you know these tips for handling cream cheese? Awesome.
Math comes in here, too. We had a 16 oz. container of whipped topping but only needed 12 oz., so that was 3/4 of the container to be used.
Spread this over the crust.
Step 3: Whisk milk and pudding mixes in a large bowl. (I taught Anna how to whisk properly... it's a skill!) Spread over cream cheese layer. I also have a set of stainless steel mixing bowls that get used daily... another great investment for your kitchen.
Step 4: Spread the pudding on top of the cream cheese layer.
Step 5: Spread the remaining whipped topping and top with chopped nuts and chocolate curls (optional).
The sense of accomplishment that came from making this was wonderful. We took it to friends' house who had invited us for dinner. At dessert time Anna was proud of her accomplishment and received many compliments.
What's your favorite dessert to feed a crowd? Leave me a link, and I'll pin it to my board!
Linking today with Kids in the Kitchen.
Reader Comments (3)
Does that ever look amazing! Great idea to use the cookie dough already made...makes it so much quicker :D
Oh, my flippin' gracious sakes, that looks delicious!!
Ohhhh, Ben will probably like this recipe even better for his birthday cake. I'm not so traditional when it comes to birthdays...although Daddy is! We'll see. I'm going to have Ben pick between this and the poke cake!