Super Easy Plastic Bag Cookies Made with My 2nd-Grade Niece During Spring Break
I looked after my 2nd-grade niece during the day yesterday and today.
Elementary school has been on spring break since last week.
Unfortunately, it rained both days, so there wasn't much we could do, and I was at a loss.
If I'm struggling like this even on a rare occasion, how do parents in the world usually spend their days off?
I have nothing but respect for them.
Today, she brought her own playing cards and coloring books, so we did those, worked on some workbooks, and watched videos.
I also had her teach me some music and dances that seem to be popular on short-form videos.
I was surprised at how out of touch I am with trends, not even having heard of the songs that are buzzing.
Since we still had time left over, we decided to make cookies as a souvenir for her mom and dad, who were working hard today.
It's a recipe I love because it's super easy and creates very little cleanup.
I often make them quickly for myself, too.
Usually, I just roll them into a cylinder and cut them with a knife.
That way, the only thing to wash is the knife.
Today, my niece said she wanted to use cookie cutters, so we did that for the first time in a while.
Ingredients
80g cake flour
20g potato starch (if you don't have any, you can use 100g of cake flour instead) (using potato starch makes them more crumbly)
40g sugar
A pinch of salt (the amount you can pinch with two fingers)
37g olive oil
Steps
Put all the ingredients into a plastic bag and mix them inside the bag.
Form it into a single lump and chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
When chilling, either shape it into a cylinder and cut it with a knife, or roll it out with a rolling pin and use cookie cutters.
Bake in an oven at 170°C for 15 to 20 minutes.
What's great about this recipe is that the ingredients are things I already have at home.
Sweets that require butter or heavy cream are delicious, of course, but I don't keep those in stock.
If I need them, I have to go out and buy them.
When I'm making them for myself, I often end up thinking that if I have to go out to buy ingredients anyway, I might as well just buy some sweets for 200 or 300 yen and go home.
Sometimes I just want something sweet even though going out is a hassle.
Besides, I'd definitely have leftovers I wouldn't use up, which would be a waste.
In that regard, I always have olive oil, and it's not something I have to worry about expiring quickly.
Well, I suppose it does oxidize a little.
My niece's mom is a good cook.
But she said she doesn't like baking.
I like baking.
But I don't like cooking meals.
I felt happy that I could give my niece an experience through something I can do without much effort.
Today was my 52nd day of daily posting.