Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice.....

It was quite uncanny that mon petit poppet chose to make these Sugar and Spice biscuits for our weekly baking jaunt as she has been far from "all things nice" the last few weeks! Now before you howl in horror at me over the "butter wouldn't melt in her mouth" cherub of a child, let me announce that the Mr. Terrible Two's has arrived in this humble abode and has refused to leave as unwanted guests tend to.

She is still so incredibly loving, creative, chilled out, funny and full of life ...she's just testing the waters....often! Patience has become a whole new level of virtue and consistency and following through has become the order of the day. Oh how I long for those swaddled in muslin days where she'd smile up at me from the confines of her cot....even just for a few hours.

But then I find myself wondering. Would I be concerned if my gorgeous little wisp of a creature was docile, demure and always obliging. If she never challenged the way things work, rebelled against the norms and asserted her individuality and independence. And after a moment of hesitation I'd have to resolutely answer, no! Girls were once raised to be sugar and spice and all things nice and then were promptly trampled on by their masculine peers and further down the track, husbands and colleagues.

Although I don't want my girl to be a tear-about crazy child and I'm far from letting her get away with blue murder, I do want to foster in her some sense of power, encourage her ability to affect change, to negotiate , make choices and to (when appropriate) say, "No". I want her to be free and individual, independent and strong. Oh but balancing this rickety old see saw ain't gonna be easy!

So here's to you my honey bee....sugar and spice and all things nice (well most of the time) in my eyes. May you change the world!.....

And me, well I'm packing Mr.Terrible Two's bags and sending him on his way with a handful of these bikkies. On your bike....and don't come back!

Sugar and Spice Biscuits

125g butter

1 half a teaspoon vanilla

1 third of a cup of raw sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons of wheatgerm

1 cup wholemeal plain flour

2 tablespoons, wholemeal self raising flour

1 third of a cup raw sugar, extra

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy, add sugar, beat well. Add egg, beat only until combined, stit in wheatgerm. Stir in sifted flours. Roll mixture into small balls, toss in combined extra suagr and cinnamon. Place on lightly greased oven trays, press down lightly with a fork. Bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes; cool on wire rack. Make sabout 35.