Five simple recipes for baking with the kids

February is ‘Bake For Family Fun’ month so I thought I’d dig out my favourite recipes for baking with the kids to share with you all. You’re welcome! While baking with the children in tow can sometimes be a little stressful (not to mention 37 times more messy than usual), it’s also an activity that the kids seem to really enjoy. Add to that the wintery weather conditions at the moment, and there’s no more excuses left. Whip out the aprons, turn on the scales, slam out the ingredients and let’s get baking!

What are the benefits of baking with kids?

OK, it can be stressful and messy (and generally ends up with a deep clean of the kitchen). But engage fully with the process and there’s maths, English, science and general coordination development happening at the same time!

• Maths – weighing, measuring, calculating
• English – reading the recipe, introducing new words for what you’re doing
• Science – discussing the process, experimenting with ingredients
• Coordination – pinching, mixing, sieving

The list goes on… You’ll love spending time together, doing something as a ‘team’. And you’ll also end up with something delicious (if a bit naughty) to eat at the end of it all. Try one of the following recipes and you can’t go far wrong… (famous last words!)

Simple iced biscuits

You really can’t get much more simple than a sugar biscuit which the kids can decorate. Use this recipe to whip up a batch of biscuit mix then get the kids involved in cutting out the biscuits in whatever shape you have to hand. Letters, circles, stars, heart or little animals. You could even go freehand if you’re feeling brave. Once they’re baked and cooled you can whip up some runny icing, slip in some food colour and let them get as creative (and sticky) as they like!

Spring lamb cupcakes

How cute can you make your cupcakes? This really simple recipe for spring lamb cupcakes is fast and adorable. And the kids will love decorating them with mini marshmallows and sugar paste faces. Once you have the cupcakes themselves, how you choose to decorate them is entirely up to you – but these spring lambs are just too cute to overlook and they’re great for sharing with friends and family too.

Rainbow cookies

What is more fun than cookies? Rainbow cookies! This delicious recipe is quick, simple and really tasty too. Use the cookie recipe on its own or throw in all the colours of the rainbow to make beautiful, colourful cookies for the family… Find the recipe here.

Peanut butter blondies

Oh my word – these blondies are amazing! Not only delicious and easy to bake, but they’re an incredible after school snack to boost the energy levels! While these beauties take a little longer to prepare and bake than your average batch of cupcakes, they’re worth the wait and really quite simple to get right. They obviously contain peanuts so do be careful of allergies. But if you’re good with that, these are definitely worth a try…

Rice Krispie slab

Such a favourite in our house, Rice Krispie slab is the perfect no bake recipe to whip up on a cold afternoon when the kids want something delicious to eat. Only three ingredients, no baking time and absolutely delectable too! Here’s the recipe… Ingredients 150g Rice Krispies or other rice snap cereal 100g unsalted butter, plus a little extra to grease your tin 100g mini marshmallows 300g milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces Method Grease and line a 21cm square tin with baking parchment. In a large pan, melt the butter, marshmallows and 100g chocolate over a low heat, until the mixture is melted and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the Rice Krispies and mix until the snaps are completely coated. Press the mixture into your lined tin and smooth the top to make it flat. Melt the remaining chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring, until completely melted and smooth. Pour the melted chocolate over the rice snaps, spread evenly and leave to set. Once set, cut into 25 squares and enjoy every last crumb. Simple!