Baking With Kids: Simple Yet Delicious Cookie Recipes You Can Easily Make at Home

Baking with kids can be messy, but nothing is more exciting for them than kneading and pounding on the dough as they use their sense of touch to mould and mash it into shape. As a parent, it’s always exciting to see our kids get enthusiastic when using their rolling pin to flatten the dough and then scoop and pour batter into baking pans!

But looking beyond the mess, letting your kids help in grown-up activities like baking teaches them more than baking itself. Counting and measuring the ingredients sharpens their mathematical ability; it teaches them about structure, that rules have a reason, and that they’ll get a tasty reward if they follow directions.

Most importantly, baking allows both parent and child to communicate, collaborate, and work towards the same goal: delicious treats that smell just as good as they taste!

3 Easy Baking Recipes for Kids

Some baking recipes are hard to follow. So, we’ve picked those that are simple and with ingredients you can easily find in your pantry.

1. Rainbow Jello Cookies

Let your eyes and taste buds feast on these colourful jello cookies!

Ingredients:

• 4 small boxes of jello mix, assorted colours
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• ⅔ cup softened butter
• 1 ¼ cup sugar, divided
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Food colouring

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C or 400 F. Place a sheet of parchment paper on two baking sheets. Set aside.
2. Combine the butter and one cup of sugar in a mixing bowl. Cream together until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well each time.
4. Add the vanilla and mix.
5. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well-combined.
6. Divide the dough into four portions (one colour of jello for each portion).
7. Add 1 ½ tablespoon of jello mix to each portion.
8. Add 3 to 4 drops of food colouring of the same colour to each portion. For example, if you used a yellow jello mix, then the food colouring must also be yellow. Mix until the colour is even.
9. Roll the dough into one-inch balls and roll it into the remaining ¼ sugar. Place it on the baking sheets.
10. Flatten the dough with a glass.
11. Put in the oven and bake until the bottom is golden brown

2. Dalgona Cookies

These popular South Korean cookies were a common street food staple sold by the elderly in the ‘60s. The traditional way to play with dalgona cookies is if you manage to cut out the shape drawn on the cookie without breaking it, you get another dalgona for free!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 to 3 pinches baking soda

Instructions:

1. Put the sugar in a stainless steel ladle and hold it over low heat.
2. When the sugar begins to melt around the edges, use chopsticks to stir it.
3. Continue stirring. Control the heat by raising the ladle a little when the mixture begins to smoke. Mix until the sugar is melted completely.
4. Once the melted sugar has cooled off a bit, add the baking soda. Stir vigorously. Move it away from the heat so the bottom won’t burn.
5. When the mixture becomes frothy and has turned a light caramel colour, pour the mixture on parchment paper. Use a silicone spatula to scrape the mixture off the ladle.
6. Let the mixture cool for a few seconds before pressing it down to your desired thickness using a lightly oiled measuring cup.
7. Use dough cutters to stamp a shape, taking care not to press all the way through.

3. Sugar Cookies

Another recipe that uses different quirky shapes is this old-fashioned sugar cookie recipe. For this one, you’ll need:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 C or 350 F. Put parchment paper on a baking sheet.
2. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
4. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Slowly add it to the wet ingredients and mix.
5. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.
6. Roll out the dough to ¼” thickness.
7. Cut out shapes like dinosaurs or unicorns and place them on the baking sheet.
8. Bake until the edges are golden.
9. Let the cookies cool before frosting.

Share Precious Moments With Your Child Through Baking

Yes, baking with kids is a messy affair. But when you and your child work together to achieve a goal – in this case, a delicious cookie – the experience becomes extra special.

At Dough Parlour, we understand how important it is to share moments of bonding with your child in the safest possible way. That’s why all our products are made only from all-natural ingredients, including our food-grade rolling pins and cookie cutters!

If you want to know more about our products, get in touch with us or visit our website.