Let’s not deny it; baking with kids can be stressful. We may have the image of happy faces patiently helping you decorate cupcakes but in reality it usually ends up with frustration all around & floury hand prints on your bum! But here at Baking with Granny we don’t just provide you with recipe inspiration to get you baking with your wee ones, we also have the experience & know-how to not only make it bearable but also fun. So here are our top tips for baking with kids.
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Read the recipe first!
This should go for any time you’re baking, really. Knowing what the next step of the recipe is in advance will make the entire process a lot less stressful & predictable. So read your recipe, then read it again before even starting. It is also a good way to suss out what recipes are age-appropriate and which are better left for after bedtime!
Measure out the ingredients.
Surely it’s not just The Boys who are a nightmare when it comes to getting ingredients measured? Where possible, measure your ingredients before even mentioning to the kids your plans for baking. Life is much less stressful when you’re simply pouring flour from one bowl to another and you’re not trying to get the correct number of grams whilst the milk is simultaneously being measured out by your wee one…onto the floor…
Pick your recipe wisely.
In other words, keep it simple & age appropriate. It’s no fun when things go wrong so try to be sensible with abilities. Something such as Melted Snowman biscuits is a nice easy recipe for kids to get involved with and they’re lots of fun to decorate too. And if you’re really not feeling the idea of getting eggshells on your ceiling, you could always opt for doing the baking yourself and just letting the kids lose on the decorating – they’ll love it either way!
Don’t expect GBBO results.
We’re all for encouraging greatness from kids but lets not expect them to be single handed-ly whipping up macarons just yet. Or look at it this way, it’s more about the experience than it is about the final result. Sure, there might be some bogey’s in the batter which would make Mary Berry wince at the thought. But look at that floury, sticky smile – that’s what baking with kids is all about!
Do you have any of your own tops tips for baking with kids?
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I confess to inwardly groaning whenever my kids brought up the idea of baking something. Great tips! #TopTipsTuesdays
I confess to often doing baking after bedtime as to avoid the mess & stress at times! ;)
Great tips Amy! I’m not really a fan of baking myself but do want the kids to enjoy it so try to make an effort. I just hate the mess!! xx #TopTipsTuesdays
The mess drives me mad too, especially as I like to clean as we go but J always has other ideas! But I try to remember that at the end of the day the counters can be wiped & the clothes can be washed! And sometimes it’s worth it just to have him entertained for a little while!
Some really great tips! I enjoy the odd bit of baking but the thought of the mess certainly puts me off. Especially when asking kids to ‘help’. I’ll certainly have things pre-measured next time. #TopTipsTuesdays
Kids asking to ‘help’ never quite ends up as helpful as they think! Pre-measuring things definitely helps cut down the opportunities to ‘help’ ;)
These are great tips! I am looking forward to being able to bake with my little one, but I think perhaps I won’t be so eager when it actually comes round to it! Will definitely bare these in mind then! #TopTipsTuesdays
Thanks, Emma. It was always something I looked forward to doing with The Boys having done it with Granny growing up too.
Great tips. My oldest daughter is 11 and see loves baking, if there is a birthday or someone is coming over I can’t get her out of the kitchen. Thankfully now she is learning to clean a bit too #TopTipsTuesday
J is always asking who birthday is next as he must make them a cake! And I long for the days when he can clean up after himself too ;)
This is really great I find baking with the kids stressful but the other day when the kids wanted to make gingerbread men I made the dough on my own then let the kids roll it out cut it and decorate it was so much better they had ate most of them before we finished decorating but there was hardly any mess