Baking with the Kids

Keeping your kids busy with a fun activity at home. 

Baking is the perfect activity to keep kids busy this summer. Experts say it's a creative activity that helps with stress management. It seems everyone is spending more time in the kitchen, with 46% of Americans baking more since the pandemic started. 

Here’s how you can make baking fun, exciting and mess-free for all age groups. 

Fun recipe ideas 

Introducing new recipes helps keep baking interesting to your kids. These are some fun recipes you can probably make with ingredients you have at home: 

·Did you have to cancel your usual family trip? Recreate one of your favorite summer traditions by making oven-baked s'mores. 

·Brownies are everyone’s favorite. Make this classic fun and exciting with a new twist, like peanut butter and jelly blondies. 

·Are you hesitant about going to the local ice cream shop because of social distancing? You can easily make your own ice cream at home, or create a cool treat with some ice cream tacos and add toppings of your choice. 

·Baking with your kids is an opportunity to talk about healthy eating. You can make these apple oatmeal cookies for a healthy treat, or replace apples with any fruit of your choice. 

Safety tips 

Baking is an opportunity to teach kids about not only cooking skills and healthy eating, but also basic safety rules. You can make baking safer by keeping your food prep surface away from electric appliances. 

Keep some paper towels handy in case of spills and limit the use of knives and other sharp objects if possible. 

Make sure your kids know that the oven is hot and that they shouldn't touch it. 

Making baking a mess-free experience 

Some parents avoid baking because the cleaning that inevitably follows isn’t fun. It’s actually an activity you can use to teach your kids about organization with these simple rules: 

·Go over the recipe and get all the ingredients out. 

·Prepare all your ingredients in measuring cups (Parenting tip: let your child measure           the ingredients and multiply or divide the quantities for a fun math exercise). 

· Pick simple recipes with a few ingredients to reduce the mess. 

·Get aprons for your kids. They'll love wearing an apron, and you'll have less laundry             to do. 

·Give each kid a task to focus on, whether it’s preparing ingredients, mixing or                      cleaning. 

Arts and crafts meet baking 

Decorating cakes, cookies or cupcakes is a great way to encourage your kids' creativity! 

Older kids can decorate their baking creations with a piping bag. You can use store-bought icing or frosting, or make your own with butter, sugar, milk and gel food coloring. 

Here are some easier decorating ideas to explore with younger kids: 

·Use small fruits, like berries. 

·Chop pieces of larger fruits into fun shapes. 

·Use candy, marshmallows, chocolate chips or breakfast cereal to decorate cakes. 

·Don't forget the sprinkles. 

·Use cookie cutters to cut store-bought fondant into different shapes. 

As you bake more often, you might find that it’s time to replace your old oven. Newer ovens are more energy-efficient and make baking a breeze with features like precise temperature control, warming drawers, self-cleaning, preset and multiple modes. Queen City Audio Video & Appliances has a huge selection of ranges and ovens!