Baking with kids is a fun way to enjoy time bonding in the kitchen while imparting essential culinary wisdom. These six recipes are perfect for beginning bakers to learn the most useful skills. These dishes are easy enough to produce delicious results, guaranteed!
Delicious Homemade Brownies
This recipe will make some of the most delicious fudge-like brownies, and the steps involved will help your kids learn some basic baking skills. Weighing the chocolate by ounce rather than using a pre-packaged amount will help them learn how to use a kitchen scale, what “tare” means, and more. The parchment paper addition in the bottom of the pan is also a lesson in non-stick options. Finally, the combination of cooking over the stovetop and using a stand mixer introduces kids to various kitchen tools that will come in handy for future recipes.
Easy Apple Pie
Apple pie is a classic dessert. If your kids can learn to bake a good one, they’ll always have a dish to offer at potlucks. Using refrigerated pie crusts makes this recipe simple enough for younger kids or those who are impatient. Practice knife safety while cutting the apples, discuss the sugar and liquid content of fruits, and explore how to use egg whites on a pastry. If you’re feeling ambitious, have your kids help make homemade pie crust instead of store-bought. They’ll learn about the difference between chilled and room temperature butter, how to knead properly, and how to estimate sizes.
Basic Dutch Oven Bread
Homemade bread is one baking staple that can elevate any meal. This Dutch oven bread is simple to make and doesn’t require any kneading, making it perfect for small hands. Take the opportunity to teach your kids how yeast works and why we leave the bread to rise for several hours before baking. They’ll practice measuring ingredients and using other indicators (touch, sight, etc.) to determine the exact amount of an ingredient to use. This recipe is also an excellent introduction to the importance of salt in all recipes, even those that don’t taste “salty.” Let them experiment with adding cheese and herbs to the dough for more interesting loaves.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies
Most likely a favorite around your house already, chocolate chip cookies are easy to make and offer the opportunity to explore several variations in the recipe that can help kids learn some baking and ingredient basics. This recipe uses only brown sugar, while many others use a combination of white and brown sugars. Have your kids make a small batch of each and notice what’s different about the finished cookies. This recipe also uses melted butter rather than softened butter. That makes it a good time to discuss the different roles those forms play in recipes. Scooping out uniform cookies is also an essential baking skill (as is licking the bowl!).
Cranberry Nut Bread
This recipe is a delicious way to introduce baking sweetbreads to your kids. Anything from banana bread to pumpkin loaf will use similar techniques. This recipe can help kids learn about the difference between baking soda and baking powder (and even how to substitute one for the other in a pinch!), how to zest an orange, and the importance of choosing how finely to chop added nuts, seeds, and fruit. You can also use this recipe to introduce special cooking tools like a food processor, juicer, and zester.
Lemon Poke Cake
Kids love cake. Help them learn the basics themselves with this delicious lemon poke cake. They’ll get familiar with a simple cake base, and they’ll also learn about glaze and icing. Using a box cake mix isn’t cheating. So many recipes are made simpler by using shortcuts, and box cake mixes taste delicious. You can talk about which ingredients are included in the box. Make sure you focus on helping your kids learn to follow the directions, including choosing the appropriate pans and cooking times. They’ll have fun poking holes for the glaze when the cake has finished cooking. Use the time to discuss creating coordinating flavors for cakes and frosting.
These recipes are family favorites that your kids will love to help create!
