Tips for Baking with the Kids. Win a Free Baking Book!

Everyone, it seems, is in the kitchen baking now that the holiday season is upon us.
What a perfect opportunity to get your children involved. Baking can be such a positive experience for children if you make it fun and easy. Moreover, it’s a tremendous opportunity to spend quality time bonding with your children. The key is to let children experiment. It is more important to help your child develop a love for baking than it is to have an edible result. While baking involves precise measurements and cooking times, let your kids play with utensils such as wooden spoons, measuring cups, and rolling pins and ingredients like flour, sugar and butter, without any expectations. Let them make their own batters, which may not be batters at all but rather some frightful mix of ingredients. Try and choose recipes that are not overly complicated. Look for limited ingredients and instructions that are simplified. Give your kids some space to roll out dough and cut their own shapes with cookie cutters. You can always find a way to involve your child in what you are doing. Ask them to stir for you or pour in an ingredient. Or simply let them use their imaginations. We used to call it yucky soup. My mom would give us a bowl with milk or water in it and empty the contents of her spice rack for us to add to the liquid. We would sit side by side with her and make our own concoctions while she made the real meal and we never were the wiser. She would always commend us on our amazing and delicious “recipes”. For the more artistic kids I recommend being creative and assembling sprinkles in varying colors and different frostings to which your kids can add food coloring. Supply pre-made cupcake bases in chocolate and vanilla and popsicle sticks to spread he frosting. Try and find edible cake toppers and sugars in your supermarket or you can always go online and order from the many companies that offer edible sugars. You would be amazed how serious kids get when decorating cupcakes. If you feel that you want have a more traditional learning experience, you certainly can practice math with your measuring cups and measuring spoons. These kinesthetic exercises are great for the older kids and regardless of age, your kids will be proud when they see their hard work result in wonderful desserts fresh out of the oven! As always, it is important to be diligent in the kitchen with an oven that is in use. Make sure to supervise your children at all times and teach them that the oven is off limits. Baked treats make wonderful holiday gifts and as a child I would look forward to the weeks before Christmas when my mom and I would start our cookie baking that we would put in tins for all our relatives. We would make a couple varieties a weekend and then freeze them by the dozen. My job would be to pack the tins and try and imagine which combination would please each recipient. Over the years friends and family would drop hints as to their favorites and then anxiously await their tins in the hopes we remembered. I know that these homemade gifts are more memorable than a store bought gift. This year with the economy such as it is, these cookie tins are an even better idea for my wallet. Your kids can make the cookies with you and then have fun packing, wrapping and writing cards to accompany them. Have fun and remember anything goes!

What baked treats will you and your children be making for the holidays? Answer in the comment field below by Wednesday, December 24th. One participant will be drawn to receive a copy of my new book,  Crumbs Bake Shop in a Box.

Join me for a live chat, Friday at noon ET to discuss holiday treat ideas you can make with your kids. The chat will take place in Parenting.gather.com.