a day in the life: {in the kitchen with Sam} Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Remember the movie about Julia Child? Julie and Julia? I personally wasn't all that interested in the plot or actors when it came out, but I remember it getting a lot of attention. So I happen to flip it on this week, during my post root canal laziness, and kind of fell in love with Julia Child! Don't worry, I am not going to cook my way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and blog about it. I just loved Julia's passion for food and how she made a name for herself in the world of chefs, starting at the late age of 30! It is very inspiring for a 29 year old woman, who hasn't quite found a passion that sticks. So, between the inspiration of a culinary driven film and wanting to will Fall into the streets of Acworth, I decided to cook up some Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. And I recruited my very best side kick, Sammy. Also keeping in line with Cara's themes at school, which was "shapes", we chose to highlight the circle. When it works, it works.

The Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

The Sous Chef:

No this is not deja vous...Sam likes to wear the same dress...a lot.

First, we mixed up the dry ingredients. This is the step I feel most confident in my 2 year olds assistance. A nice deeeeep bowl + a very smallll whisk = minimal damage.

One thing you learn as you bake more, is most every recipe involving butter and sugar is going to want you to cream these two things together. One thing you learn as a person with OCD, finding the right amount of time to microwave butter and achieve optimal softness can be a challenge.

Sam added the egg to the butter-sugar mix. This was very exciting for her. What was exciting for me was putting the ingredients in their own special, little bowls. It made me feel like I was on a cooking show. After the egg, we blended in the pumpkin. And let me tell you, Mr. pumpkin puree has been welcomed back with open arms! There's something about the smell of pumpkin!

That tiny hand belongs to Sam. Round of applause for the 2 year old who has overcome her fear of the mixer! Lastly we mixed in the dry ingredients. This is where the fun part came. Recipes always sound so optimistic. Like, just roll them up into 1 1/2 inch balls and cover in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. My version would be: good luck rolling dough that seems to be having a love affair with your palm. Also, have fun measuring 1 1/2 inch balls. How about, get them in the size range of a golf ball and doughnut hole and throw into the cinnamon-sugar mix before they turn into hand moisturizer. At least once they swim in there you can shape them up a bit. Sam watched as I attempted three batches of this (and this was after chilling the dough) in amusement. Her only comments were "your hands are messy" and "you need to wash your hands". We did it though! We made balls!