Cooking with Kids: Blueberry buns and chocolate chip buns that you can make as a family

Baking buns at home is one of my earliest kitchen memories. It was always a very popular activity as the end result was tasty and it filled the house with delicious smells.

I usually use a wooden spoon after the mixer does the difficult task of making the butter and sugar light and fluffy.

When you are adding the rest of the ingredients you do not want to over mix them as it will make the buns tough once they are baked. Just ensure everything is combined but do not beat the mixture.

The blueberries can stay very hot for a while after the buns come out of the oven, so it is good to leave them stand for a while.

Raspberries work just as well in this recipe. I roughly chop or break the raspberries apart and stir them in just like the blueberries.

Not only are these buns fun to make, and eat, there are lots of ways that baking together as a family can help children to learn and develop skills.

Weighing and measuring are the most obvious, but children also learn how to follow instruction, to at times resolve conflicts, and also how to wait patiently as the buns are baking. I do remember this part taking an agonisingly long time as a child.

Blueberry Buns

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Blueberries are perfect for buns - a deep, fruity flavour that goes well with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Dessert

Cuisine

 European

Ingredients

• 120g of caster sugar

• 100g of soft butter

• 2 eggs

• 160g of natural yogurt

• 240g of self raising flour

• 120g of blueberries

Method

1. Ask an adult to turn your oven to 180 degrees and put 12 paper bun-cases into a cupcake tin.

2. Put the butter and sugar into a mixer and ask an adult to turn it on until the butter and sugar are light and fluffy.

3. Mix the egg with the yogurt and stir this into the butter mixture with a wooden spoon. Make sure that everything is well mixed.

4. Add in the flour and stir it with the wooden spoon until it is combined with the other ingredients. Add the blueberries and stir them in.

5. Scoop the mixture into the waiting paper cases. Ask an adult to put them into the oven. Bake them for twenty minutes until golden and risen and then ask an adult to take them out again.

6. The blueberries will be very hot so make sure you do not bite into a bun until they have completely cooled.

Chocolate chip buns

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Perfect for little bakers - and their kitchen assistants!

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 European

Ingredients

• 150g of soft butter

• 140g of caster sugar

• 3 eggs

• 150g of self raising flour

• 20g of chocolate chips

Method

1. Ask an adult to turn your oven to 180 degrees and put 12 paper bun-cases into a cupcake tin.

2. Put the butter and sugar into a mixer and ask an adult to turn it on until the butter and sugar are light and fluffy.

3. Take the bowl from under the mixer and with a wooden spoon stir the egg and two tablespoons of the flour into the butter mixture making sure to push all the ingredients from the sides of your bowl into the centre so everything gets well mixed.

4. Add in the flour and stir it with the wooden spoon until everything is combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir them in.

5. Scoop the mixture into the waiting paper cases with a dessert spoon. Ask an adult to put them into the oven. Bake the buns for 15 minutes until golden and risen and then ask an adult to take them out again. Leave them to cool before eating them.

Activity: Learning to measure ingredients

There are a few different ways to measure ingredients and you can ask an adult to set up the different bits of equipment so you can practice measuring. You will need a weighing scale, a teaspoon, a tablespoon or else a dessert spoon and some measuring cups and a measuring jug if you have them.

The cups, spoons and the scales are all used to measure dry ingredients like flour and sugar. A weighing scales is best for butter, fruit or chocolate, while a measuring jug is used to measure liquids. Practice pouring the liquid into the jug and placing it flat on a table, so the liquid sits just at the measuring line. Flour can be messy, but it is a nice ingredient to put your hands into. You can practice using a weighing scales and seeing the different settings and learning to use the button to bring the number on the scales back to zero, so you can start to add another ingredient.