“Mom, chocolate is always a better idea,” my daughter calls over her shoulder as she pulls the can of cocoa powder from the back of my pantry.
“Wait. I thought that you wanted to make a gingerbread house?” I say this in a delicate tone, knowing that any intonation in my voice can tip the conversation towards an all-or-nothing scenario. I am currently dealing with a tween fueled by pure sugar and a combination of Christmas delight and expectation. I can sense that a meltdown may be imminent.
Chocolate Wins
The day before, in preparation for the next Cooking with Rea and Dad episode, I ventured out in holiday traffic to score a few gingerbread house-making kits. I figured that these would require minimal effort or clean-up. At the time, my daughter thought this would be a great idea. Today, the winds have changed. She takes one look at the boxed kits and decides that though they require minimal clean-up, they also produce very little fun.
So, chocolate, and fun, win this one. More specifically, a Chocolate Pound Cake from Calling All Kids: From the Folks Who Brought You Calling All Cooks wins. This cookbook, handed down from my mother years ago, contains simple recipes to entice parents and kids to spend more time together in the kitchen.
And I must agree with her chocolate is always a better idea. Enjoy the video. And visit the link above for the Calling All Kids cookbook with the full recipe.
