Every now and then all the stars align and I find myself in the middle of a perfect parenting moment. One of those cup filling parenting moments that makes all the crying, whining, hair pulling moments survivable. Yesterday, with the baby asleep, no preschool to rush off to, and an empty hour to fill, Adelaide and I made memories together. And while the stars were so obviously in our favor, we also made cookies – Dark Chocolate Sesame Cookies that were good in a hundred different ways.
The cookies were delicious. Even better than the Dark Chocolate Sesame Cookies though was the conversation that went down as we were making them.
Have you talked to a four year old recently? It’s wild. It’s inexplicable. It’s silly, so very silly. It’s also perfect and I want to remember every word.
As we scooped balls of chocolate dough and rolled them in toasted sesame seeds, I fielded questions about whether or not God gets His hair cut, who I think she should marry next year when she’s all grown up, and some tricky questions (given the tenuous grasp I have of physics and such) about how gravity works. She wanted to know how sesame seeds grow (I have no idea!), where exactly heaven is located and if you have to float, fly, or climb to get there, and why some people have curly hair.
I can’t answer most of her questions, but that’s not really the point. We made cookies together and while we scooped and stirred, she talked and I listened. That’s the point of course. And in between her silly questions and wide eyed wonder, we licked chocolate off our sticky fingers and giggled. It was really fun, which was another valid point. We also made a terrible mess, which is entirely beside the point.
Thanks to our cookie making session, I know that Hannah and Audrey are Ada’s favorite friends from church and school. I know that her favorite color used to be pink, but “Rainbow” is her new favorite color. She prefers crayons to colored pencils, but markers beat all. And she doesn’t really like circle time at preschool because you have to be really quiet, which is apparently not her forte.
We also had, what turned out to be a pretty serious discussion on hair styles. She thinks “pigtails” should be renamed because it’s her favorite way to wear her hair but she resents the reference to pigs. She proposed unicorn or pony tails as more appropriate alternatives. I tried to explain that a “pony tail” is just one tail whereas “pig tails” refer to a two tail hairstyle, but then she wanted to know why pig tails are in the double because pigs only have one tail on the farm. Ponies and Unicorns, she explained, can actually have two tails because they have hair in the front and in the back . . . hmm, well, she’s right you know. So, it’s unicorn tails from now on, spread the word.
But about those cookies, those delicious perfect Dark Chocolate Sesame Cookies. They are fudgy on the inside with a crispy layer on the outside. The toasted sesame seeds add a flavorful crunch and the addition of tahini, sesame seed butter, adds a slightly nutty flavor to the dark chocolate. They are simple to make, but they taste so unique that they seem a little bit fancy . . . or so says Adelaide.
Adelaide also wants you to know, with my full support, that once this cookie dough has been refrigerated as it must necessarily be, it is very, very tasty. You may not actually get 24 cookies like the recipe says you will, consider yourself warned. (Oh, and beware raw eggs of course).
Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
So here’s to cookies and four year olds – may you have the pleasure of enjoying both sometime soon!
Dark Chocolate Sesame Cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
PassTheKnife says
I concur, children make my heart so full. What a lovely afternoon you had!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
It was lovely! I just ventured over to see your little one washing leeks for vichyssoise – I love it! How wonderful!
Kimberly/TheLittlePlantation says
The cookie had me at hello! Stunning!
4-year-old are just wonderfully amazing. Mine takes me to dino world after we turn back the clock 64 million years. Motherhood simply rocks.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Thanks Kimberly! No one around here has ventured into the world of dinosaurs yet, but I’m looking forward to it!
Robin says
Ada is so awesome! I feel like I know her even better now, too. Rainbow color is great and I love the unicorn tail idea. Thanks for sharing. Your time alone together is a rare blessing, I’m sure, but what a blessing!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Time alone together is rare, but such a treat when it happens! You and your sweet ones are pretty awesome too!
Aimee @ Simple Bites says
Love this, Allison. What a sweetie she is! I believe our kids would have so much fun baking together. 😉
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Our kids baking together? Epic fun!
Lyndsey says
I recently had the same conversation with my four year old about how horrible the name Pig Tails sounds! I was insisting on pig tails for ballet class when she said, “well, I don’t mind my hair up, but Pig Tails just sounds so so ugly! A princess would never want pigs in her hair!”
We settled on Rose Buds … it doesn’t make much sense, but I got the hair I wanted for ballet class, and she felt a little more like a princess. I’m sure she would agree completely with Unicorn Tails!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Rose Buds – I love it! I’ll have to see if Ada likes that one. 4 is the most fun age!
Brenda says
Great cookies seem to inspire good conversations, especially with 4 year olds!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
I totally agree!
Kristina @ Love & Zest says
This is totally precious Allison!!
somethewiser@gmail.com says
Thank you Kristina – she totally melts my heart!
Ordinary Blogger (Rivki Locker) says
What a lovely, wholesome recipe. Love your conversations with your daughter! Sometimes the best conversations happen when kids are immersed in cooking or a craft. Everything seems to come out when they are relaxed.
Karen says
These cookies are the next thing on my list to make! they look amazing. I have made the tahini cookies from “Jerusalem, A Cookbook,” and love them, but adding chocolate is brilliant! What a great combination. And with a 7 and 3 year old I absolutely appreciate how you write about baking and chatting with your daughter. I’ve just discovered your blog, but can’t wait to explore on here more. 🙂
Sabrina says
These cookies sound magnificent! I had a chocolate tahini cake before, so I know I love the flavor combo!