Cooking with Kids: Little hands are a great help with these baking recipes

Vanilla stars - perfect for junior chefs!

There are lots of nice reasons to get children into the kitchen, to help with dinner, or to bake a cake, or a tray of biscuits. Firstly, they usually really enjoy it, but there is also ample research to say it helps to foster enjoyment in food later in life. Also children generally eat more of something if they prepare it themselves. This is equally true of cake as it is of something savoury.

I often bake with my niece and nephews, and they love it, they are all assigned jobs, breaking up the chocolate bars by banging them on the side of the table is one of the favourites. But recently I suggested we bake some brown bread, and their enthusiasm was not what it usually is. I realised it was not the baking with me that they loved so much but the baking of the cake. It made me realise that I needed to make the bread tasks accessible and fun to them, but also to add something to make the recipe a little more appealing. We ended up making a batch of cheesy brown scones and that went down much better. They loved cutting out their individual scones and sprinkling some cheese on each one.

Some children will love to help no matter the outcome, others, like my niece and nephews, will need a little more coaxing. The two recipes here will hopefully entice all ages.

Vanilla Stars

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

An ideal recipe for beginner chefs - and a way to introduce them to dough and cutters!

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 8 mins

Total Time

 38 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 200g butter

• 190g caster sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

• 400g of plain flour

Method

1. Line a large flat baking tray with parchment, an adult can cut it to size for you. Also ask an adult to turn on the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Weight and measure all of your ingredients so they are all ready to go. You can put the vanilla in with the egg in a cup and give the egg a stir with a fork, so the yolk is broken up.

3. You will need a mixer for the next bit so ask an adult for some help. Beat the butter and sugar until they are turning pale and fluffy. You can either use the mixer on low or use a wooden spoon to add in the egg, vanilla and flour. It should form a smooth dough. If it is very sticky you can pop it into the fridge for about a half an hour for firm up.

4. Sprinkle flour onto a clean work surface and with a rolling pin roll out some of the dough to about 5 mm thick, then cut out your stars. You might need a flat spatula or butter knife to gently remove the stars from the counter onto the prepared baking tray.

5. Bake for about 8 minutes until turning golden. When they have cooled enough so you can lift them up gently place them onto a wire rack to let them cool completely.

Cheesy Brown Scones

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

A salty, savoury take on a baking classic - a good bit of messy play in the process!

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 45 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 200g brown wholemeal flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp black pepper

• 50g butter – cut into small cubes by an adult

• 150mls milk

• 50g grated Cheddar cheese

Method

1. Line a large flat baking tray with parchment, an adult can cut it to size for you. Also ask an adult to turn the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Weight and measure all of your ingredients so they are all ready to go.

3. Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl, then sieve it into another big bowl.

4. Stir in the salt and pepper – this will add some flavour to your scones.

5. Add the butter into the bowl and mash it into the flour mixture with a fork. You can also use your hands to rub the butter into the flour. You should do this until it looks like rough breadcrumbs.

6. Pour in the milk and use the fork again to combine it with the mixture. Use your hands to squish it together.

7. Sprinkle some flour onto a clean kitchen counter. Tip the scone mixture onto it and pat it to about an inch in height. Sprinkle the cheese on top and pat it in lightly.

8. Cut out your circles and put them onto your prepared baking tray, you can add a little more cheese if you like. Get an adult to put the scones into the oven to bake for about 15 minutes. They should look nice and golden and be baked right through.

9. When they have cooled enough so you can pick them up easily, place them onto a wire rack to let the air flow under them as they cool completely.

10. As parents we are encouraged to do messy play with babies and toddlers to help develop their sensory perception. You do not need to buy extra stuff to do this, lots of different foods can be used. For example, you can boil spaghetti and when it is still warm toss one half in a spoon of beetroot powder (or red food colouring) and toss the other half with turmeric. Once cool allow your child to squish and mess. Another handy ingredient for messy play is the leftover water from chickpeas. It can be whisked up to make a foam that children can spread around a table or on a mat.1