The holidays are upon us. I love baking with my kids during the holidays. Nothing better than to huddle together in the kitchen. Time to put our aprons on and bake! Are you (and your kids) with me!?
Baking with kids is not only fun, but also educational. The sensory stimulation – kneading, rolling out, shaping dough – is very satisfying for kids. And, when using a simple recipe, they get involved in the whole process from mixing ingredients until taking the baking tray out of the oven. I just love the expression of joy on their faces when they bite into their own baked goods!
If you haven’t baked often with your kids, here are a few tips for a successful and enjoyable afternoon of baking with your kids:
Tips for baking with kids
plan ahead
By planning ahead of time and knowing the recipes you are going to bake together, you can focus more on your kids and help them out instead of having to plow through the recipe while you are in the midst of baking.
Set out what you need ahead of time (ingredients and equipment). Kids (depending on their age) are quickly distracted so I usually do this on my own. So once they join me, we can immediately start baking.
explain the whole process
I make the mistake sometimes of just starting without explaining them the whole process; what is it we are going to do exactly? Simply by going through the recipe with them, they will feel more involved and will know the different steps it takes to make the recipe (and hopefully keep them focussed).
give them age appropriate tasks
1.
If your kids are still young, only include them in the fun stuff and have them play (in the kitchen) the rest of the time while you do the rest. Their attention span is still short so only give them a few memorable tasks (like kneading, mixing, cookie cutting). This way they will still feel they are part of the baking process, but won’t get exhausted. That’s what I did when my kids were little. Now they are more committed to it and they can actually bake certain recipes all on their own.
2.
When my kids were little I did all the cutting. I thought it was too dangerous for them. I gave them easier jobs like mixing, kneading and peeling. Now that they are older and I taught them how to handle a knife, I let them do some cutting as well.
3.
Make sure they are not doing things that are too hard. They will get frustrated and quit. My oldest Jack knows how to use a rolling pin.
Cooper can too, but most of the time I will still help him out. When he doesn’t get his dough as flat as his brother’s he gets mad. So we roll it out together and everybody remains happy!
4.
Depending on your kids age, a great part of baking is measuring ingredients (either by using a scale or measuring cups). This makes baking with your kids also educational!
5.
When they can read, they can try to follow the recipe and bake on their own. Jack likes to be ‘in charge’; he reads the recipe and tells us what to do. He still prefers to bake together though instead of on his own.
He also has been asking me lately about good flavor combinations and comes up with variations to my recipes (a foodie in the make?). Cooper though, who is 6, just wants to make (and eat a lot of) brownie cookies!
make sure you have enough time
Baking with kids takes more time than doing it on your own. When pressed for time I often try to rush things, the kids can’t keep up and it becomes a disaster. When I know I have all afternoon, I am more patient; I take the time to explain everything to them, read through the recipe with them, I help and teach them certain things and we all have the best time.
let the kids pick a recipe
To get kids even more involved, pick out a recipe together. I have noticed that the more they feel in charge, the more dedicated they are. We have made gingerbread cookies in April just because that was what they picked out to bake! But their all time favorite are these chocolate chip cookies:
let them lick the bowl!
It’s the best part of baking!
Special occasion or not, we love baking together in this household. It is a great way to spend an afternoon (or morning) together. We always have fun and I am sure you will too!
Let me know how you do. Have my tips been useful? Are you still struggling? Leave a comment and I will answer your question. Tag pictures of your baking afternoon with your kids @familicious.kitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #familicious.kitchen and #bakingwithkids. Sharing is caring!
And this is a great informative blogpost about why kids should help out in the kitchen (so not only baking but also preparing a meal).
Looking for baking inspiration? My kids love to bake brownie cookies, apple pie, carrot cake muffins, pancakes and french toast with me. Or let them make their own cereal like these homemade cocoa puffs.
Not only do I post family friendly, wholesome, quick & easy recipes I also write informational blog posts, like this one. The 2 main ingredients are always family and food. Got you curious? You can check them all out here.
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