Quick and easy treats make a sweet reward
Published 5:30 am Thursday, July 23, 2026
In this house, we have high expectations of ourselves and each other, and that attitude extends to my adventures in motherhood. Recently, when correcting a behavior issue, I told my son that I was disappointed that he failed to follow instructions, and he replied, “I’m sorry I failed, mom”, and it crushed me to hear my darling child say something so sad, but it forced me to see the damage I cause when I expect my six-year-old to not act like one.
When I was his age, I had high expectations placed upon me as well. I heard frequently that little girls are meant to be seen and not heard and should only give their opinions when asked. I was told that lessons should never need to be taught twice, and that everyone makes mistakes… but my parents’ daughters are better than that, and what might be acceptable for other children was simply not for us. Nothing but perfect grades was tolerated, and I spent the entire second half of my junior year grounded because I couldn’t get better than a B+ in geometry, no matter how hard I tried.
For the most part, I met those high expectations, but the result was much more profound than an above 4.0 GPA. It taught me that mistakes are shameful, and that anything less than excellence might as well be failure. Instead of motivating me to work harder, it trained me to run from challenges, to reflexively withdraw my efforts before I get burned like my hand from a hot stove. My parents might have had good intentions, but instead of motivating me to work hard and reject mediocrity, they taught me to be fearful and prevented me from developing the confidence I would need to reach my potential.
When it comes to my son, the penalty for error is far too great for me to tolerate my parenting mistakes. I have one chance to raise a confident, happy human, and I will not fail. So, from now on, in this house, our high expectations will include occasional mistakes and repeated lessons. My son will learn that failure is not shameful as long as you tried your best, that it’s OK to try again if at first you don’t succeed, and that it’s OK to just be a kid.
I made my normal kid some pop tarts as a surprise after a hard swim with his dad. These better-for-you treats are much easier to make than you might think, and there are endless possibilities for fillings.
Ingredients for 8 pies:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter, in small cubes
1 tsp salt
½ cup ice water
1 egg and a splash of water for the egg wash
¼-1/3 cup filling of your choice ***The filling needs to be somewhat dry so it won’t be messy in the finished product. I cooked my jam down until it was very thick.
Directions:
Sift together the flour and salt.
Cut the cold butter into the flour until it is crumbly.
Pour on the ice water and mix until a dough forms.
Flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for a couple hours.
Roll the chilled dough out to 1/8 inch thick and cut into rectangles about 2×4 inches. They don’t have to be perfect!
Drop a scant teaspoon of filling onto half of the rectangles and cover with the rest.
Use a fork to gently seal the edges all the way around and poke holes in the tops of the filled pies.
Gently brush with the egg wash and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until very lightly browned.
Let them cool completely before frosting. My frosting was 1 cup of powdered sugar with a couple of splashes of milk. It makes a thick paste that spreads nicely and doesn’t drip off the edges before it can set. Apply sprinkles immediately so they stick.
