Cookies for our new friends

Big sister has made some new Claremont friends.  A couple of months ago, she was invited to a birthday party by a girl in her ballet class.  She went running into the house after class and told her dad, "I got invited!  I got invited!" - she was so excited.  The birthday girl has become her new bff.  The two of them have some similarities in their love of life and swimming.  They lots of happy noise & laughter when they play together.  Bff also has an older sister P who is a lot of fun and the three of them seem to get along really well.  

When our two new friends gave big sister a handmade doll, big sister really wanted to sew something for them in return.  I looked through our craft cupboard and made some alternative suggestions (which I thought were really good) and big sister vetoed all of them ("Nooooo - I want to SEW a DOLL like they did).  So, I had a little talk with her.  Some families can sew.  Some kids know how to sew and have actual needles and thread and fabric and stuff.  But, we're not one of those families.  What we do is bake for people we love.  The next time we saw the friends, we brought them some cookies!

Getting ready to bake (notice how she took the lids off everything - her preferred first step)

Making sure the chocolate chips are "fresh"

My lovely surprise from baby girl while we were baking - no injuries, thankfully

Eating her first chocolate chip cookie!

And, the end product.  We hope they'll be our friends for our winning personalities, our pool, and, of course, the treats.

Chocolate Chip & Heath bar Oatmeal Cookies (makes 3 dozen)

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (can use all regular flour if you want)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2/3 cup sucanat (or packed brown sugar)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped heath bar (can use all chocolate or peanut butter chips if you want)
1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. In a mixing bowl cream the butter. Add the sugars and cream until fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg. Alternately add the milk and flour mixture at a lower speed. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and oats.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the center is still soft and the edges are crisp and the cookies are lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.