Baking with Kids
This article first appeared on Food24
Who doesn’t have a happy memory of baking with their mom’s or grans evoked by the mouth-watering smell of vanilla or freshly baked bread. My personal baking journey started on Sunday afternoons, a time of extreme boredom in our house growing up and marked by endless nature programmes on TV. My dad loved a good lemon meringue pie for tea and that was what I set out to perfect. My mom dug out all her family recipes and we tried a few until we found the perfect one.
Recipe for creating these memories with your kids:
- Start with an age appropriate recipe eg. for toddlers choose a “no bake” recipe so they don’t have to use the oven
- Choose a recipe that is mostly flop-proof so if they make a measuring mistake they will still have something delicious to eat afterwards, and the sense of achievement that goes with that
- Make sure you have all the ingredients you need before you start to avoid frustation
- Create a teaching moment, whether it is the reason oil and water don’t mix, where our eggs come from or the fractions of measuring cups
- Let them be creative, let all that natural inspiration come out in decorating cupcakes
- Let them make a mess. Let them knead the dough, lick the bowl and generally touch and feel. It is a great sensory experience for kids with sensory issues, and a great stress reliever. See our tips below for easy clean up
- Encourage an adventurous palate
- Talk to them while you are busy. Kids open up more easily when they are distracted with an activity.
- Above all have fun with your kids, laugh at your flops, and enjoy your products
Tips for easy clean up
- Aprons! To protect clothes
- Place large pieces of greaseproof paper or paper towel down on the counter before you begin, at the end just gather it all up and throw it out
- Use dishwasher safe bowls and utensils and toss the lot on the machine when you are done
- Clean as you go – if you see a large blob of icing on the floor clean it up before it gets walked into the carpet in the lounge
- Never, ever let them use the edible glitter unattended!