Baking with my Grandson

My 2-1/2 year old grandson, Aidan, loves to "help" in the kitchen! His favorite recipe is cupcakes! I had him all day Sunday while his older brother and mom and dad were out, so part of our day we spent baking. Of course, the first on the list was a batch of chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles...everything from the box and the can! Who cares, he thinks I am a genius who creates wonderful things and allows him hold on to the hand mixer with me! Next up was a beer bread that is a Robin Miller recipe from The Food Network. Aidan's favorite part of that was mixing the dry ingredients first and then watching me add the foamy beer to those ingredients. But no drinking was allowed!

After that I made a fragrant and delicious French Onion soup which we were going to have for supper. He said his eyes were stinging so he lost interest in what I was doing!

When supper came around however, we were able to coax him into trying some of the soup broth . Lo and behold he loved it and wanted a bowl of his own. You just never know with kids.

Of course, after that we celebrated with those great cupcakes that he couldn't wait to get his hands on!! He eyed them all through supper!

Now here's the recipe for the cupcakes: Open the box of mix and dump it in the bowl....add the ingredients the box calls for...bake according to box directions...remove from oven and cool. Open can of frosting and frost the cupcakes...add some sprinkles!! So easy a(n) (almost) 3-year old can do it!

But I am including the beer bread recipe which is very tasty and a great side with a bowl of soup!

Quick Fix Beer Bread
Serves: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
Cooking spray
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces lager beer
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center. Pour in beer and olive oil and mix until just blended. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake 45 minutes, until golden brown.