Best Ever Eggless Egg-free Sugar Cookie Recipe for Kids with Egg Allergies

Life is Good: we're making cookies!

Tomorrow, we are celebrating our newly minted five-year old's birthday! After sweating and fretting about making the "every green super hero" cupcakes that he requested, I am happy to report that I "suggested" that since we are making pizzas at his party (his idea!), that we should have "pizzas" on his cupcakes, too. True to his personality, he smiled and said, "That's a SPLENDID idea, mommy!"

So we are baking cookies shaped like slices of pizza today. And using our tried & true, eggless sugar cookie recipe that my mom created for us. 

Elsie's Sugar Cookies
Quantity depends on the cookie cutter you use. Plan on 30.

Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable or Canola oil
1 cup butter, partially softened (still maintains shape)
4-4 1/2 cups flour (Start with 4 cups and add more if you need to. I use all-purpose.)
2 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar
2 T. vanilla (I use Madagascar)
1 t. arrowroot (this is the egg replacement)

Directions:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together.
2. Then, add the wet ingredients and mix.
NOTE: A Kitchenaid mixer works best for this recipe, but in a pinch, you can use a spoon. If you use a spoon, you may find that you need a little more "binder" for this recipe. Add a spoonful of milk until the dough sticks together, but is still stiff.
3. Cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
4. After one hour in the fridge, roll dough flat with a rolling pin and then use cutters to make shapes.
5. Bake small cookies at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

This recipe has opened up a whole new world for us! It is our "go to" cookie recipe.
I keep a recipe in our freezer in a roll wrapped (in waxed paper and then in foil) so that I can cut off a few cookies when we need a treat in a pinch. glazing them with a powdered sugar "frosting" is simple, but my kiddos like them even without frosting! Enjoy!

Felt Pizza Pennant Banner Bunting Garland

Life is Good: we have five years worth of good times to celebrate!

Our Little Kid turned FIVE YEARS OLD yesterday! SO...

Today's office: party prep for the weekend.

BEST Eggless, Egg free, Light and Fluffy Doughnut Donut Recipe

Life is Good: we finally have a good eggless doughnut recipe!

I have tried so many times to convert doughnut recipes to be eggless for our kids. This egg allergy is always a challenge and doughnut recipes have been a pain. Every time I try to make doughnuts, they end up being really dense and cake-like. Now, nobody is crying or complaining about that. However, I have longed to give my family a true, light, melt-in-your-mouth EGG FREE doughnut.

This past week, our Big Kid and Little Kid went to Vacation Bible School (VBS) and so, as usual, I was charged with the task of recreating any of the week's snacks that my kids could not eat (because they contained eggs, nuts, or other of their food allergies). The theme was "Surf Shack" so, of course, there was a powdered doughnut decorated like life preservers. ACK!

I have determined that cake and cookie decorating (and now, doughnut decorating) are God's way of keeping me humble! ; ) Martha Stewart need not be afraid of me taking her job!

Like I said, I have struggled to find the right recipe that is not a dense cake shaped like a doughnut. This week, I finally found the right recipe from sweetestkitchen.com. Thank you!!!

I adjusted the recipe to be eggless as well as the nutmeg and vanilla amounts. I've made the recipe three times already and everyone of all ages were satisfied. Sift some powdered sugar on them or roll them in cinnamon & sugar--either way, yum! These honestly taste very similar to the mini doughnuts that you get at the MN State Fair or out of food trucks and at carnivals around here. On second thought, I may need to lose this recipe unless I want to buy all new pants in the next size up.

Ingredients:

In a separate bowl, combine & mix thoroughly:

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 quick dashes of ground nutmeg

1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a separate bowl, mix together:

1/4 cup applesauce 

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Then, add:

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a separate bowl, cream together with a hand mixer:

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini doughnut pan with spray oil.

2. In a bowl, mix together the baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and flour with a spoon.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together applesauce & baking soda mixture with milk and vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar with a hand mixer until fluffy.

5. Add half of the wet ingredients to the creamed mixture, being sure not to use the hand mixture too much so that your doughnut batter doesn't become tough. Too much use of the hand mixture can make baked goods end up tough and not light & fluffy.

6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.

7. Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the creamed mixture.

8. Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.

9. Spoon the batter into a ziplock bag, zip it and then cut the very tiny corner out of the bag.

10. Push on the ziplock bag to pipe the batter into the doughnut pan. ONLY fill the circles halfway. TRUST ME. Do not fill the circles all the way full unless you are in the mood to clean oozed out, burnt doughnut batter off of the bottom of your oven. I'm speaking for a friend, of course.

11. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and spring back when you lightly touch them.

12. Let the doughnuts cool in the pan completely. Then, tap the pan on the counter to release them from the pan. This is the tricky part. I tried several different ways including trying to gently pop them out using forks, knives, spoons, etc and often, they were breaking apart. Tapping the pan on the counter was the best way to keep the doughnuts intact. 

13. To coat the doughnuts with cinnamon & sugar (our favorite), I melted two teaspoons of butter in the microwave in a small bowl. Then, I mixed 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon and 2 Tablespoons of sugar together in another small bowl. 

12. Lightly tap each doughnut in the melted butter, just enough to make them "wet" but not soggy. Then, roll them in the cinnamon & sugar mixture. Another option is to put the cinnamon & sugar mixture in a big baggie and then put the buttered doughnuts in the bag, ziplock and then shake the mixture around the doughnuts.

13. Try not to eat all of them.

14. This recipe makes approximately 36 mini doughnuts, which appears to be enough for one small human at our house. 

15. I got my pan from Michael's with a coupon. This one from amazon.com is similar.

Art projects for kids ages 2 and up

Coming soon!

Inspirational Thornton Wilder Quote

Life is Good: and inspiring

I am a keeper of things. I guess that's a nice way of saying pack rat or hoarder? Gasp! 

Truly, I am a sentimental sap.

I've started trying to separate feelings from "things" in the last few years and am proud to say that I now take photos of the lesser special of the specialist things (i.e. every scribble my children ever scribbles) and then throw them in the (she whispers) trash. 

But, this, I hung on to and kept it in a drawer as a reminder. 

On its own, it is a great reminder to be grateful and aware. Good inspiration, indeed.

And then there is the back side. 

Precious words from a sweet friend. I love the quote on the front, but when I turned it over, I felt a warm hug from a friend all the way in South Minneapolis (or quite possibly at their cabin up North this weekend!). 

We all need to feel loved and special once in a while, right? Don't we all need to hear that we're liked, loved, beloved, cherished, treasured? Okay, that's probably just me! I have ALWAYS needed to know how people feel about me. ALWAYS! Ever since I can remember. On a daily basis! And I've aways needed to tell people how I feel about them. But, oh gosh, that is another post! ha!

This little note was more than a hug from a friend. It was a reminder to spread that love. So I will text a few wonderful people I know, I will attempt to call a few wonderful people this week, and I will put writing one hand-written note to one person on my (infinite) to-do list. I challenge you to do the same. There's so much hurt in the world right now. But peace begins with you and me. It sounds sappy, but it's true. So let's show each other some love and let it grow out from us in waves. 

And, for you, my dear Michelle, it's no cliche. I cherish your friendship, too. (See you Monday!) 

And if you're reading this, I cherish you, too. I love getting your emails and comments to let me know that you like a quote I found or laughed at my blathering. And that somebody besides my mom reads this blog once in a while. Ha! (BTW, Mom, I cherish & treasure you more than those words can ever express.)

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." (Thornton Wilder) And I treasure you. I do. YOU are a treasure. 

The Last Day of 2nd Grade

Life is Good: and speeding along

If you want to get a bit teary, walk your Big Kid to his last day of 2nd grade and then, when you get home, sort through the pile of junk that he pulled out of his backpack right before you walked out the door this morning. You will find a file of letters that his teacher had each student write to each other over the past year. You will get confirmation that your child is a great friend, good at sports, is helpful and funny, and has a great "laff" among other lovely things. You will feel happy that your child is liked by his classmates, you will giggle at some of the darling comments ("I don't have a pet. It's torchur."), and you will breathe a sigh of relief that moving your child to a new school in a new area of the city worked out really well. And he's really okay. It's really okay. It all worked out. Really. Then, you will say lots of praises to God, a prayer of gratitude, and your eyes will get a bit wet. 

And then, your four-year old Little Kid will walk into the room wearing a platinum blonde (lady's) wig that you wore for Halloween one year before kids (now a dress up bin castoff) and declare that he is a "hairy dog" and you will laugh all the way from your belly while you say another prayer of thanks.

These kids keep growing, life keeps speeding by. Luckily, we have these incredible moments of letter writing and costume wearing and well, there's more, but the Littlest One just pulled out every sock, shoe, and blanket he owns out of the drawers so...gotta run! 18-month olds don't have time for sentimentality! Life is zooming...enjoy!

Games for Toddlers

Life is Good: our one-year old is occupied (for the moment)

Holy moly! I forgot how busy a one-year-old can be!
By 8 o'clock this morning, our littlest had read every book, hugged every stuffed animal, built every block we have. He had zoomed and vroomed and crashed every car, boat, and bus.
He had pulled out every single plastic cup we own.
He had climbed the couch no less than one hundred seventeen times.
He had colored with crayons, decorated paper (and himself) with markers, and had two breakfasts and a snack.
He was making our demanding, I mean, "spirited" four-year old look like the definition of patience. And speaking of patience, mine was dissipating.
As I was putting every piece of Tupperware known to man back in a drawer, I remembered a little gem that I had made for the Big Kid and then, the Little Kid when they were about one.

I grabbed the affectionately aforementioned (wink) Tupperware and cut a hole in the lid. The Little Kid was making a puppet and I found some pom poms in one of the craft containers.

This little 5-second DIY project kept our little dude busy for half an hour.

Half. An. Hour.
Bliss!

Happy Friday!