I don’t remember as a child baking with my mom but I remember being a lot in the kitchen. I remember experimenting and that my mom always let me bake whatever I wanted. I even turned on the oven and made my invention cookies. I was maybe 6 I guess and that felt great. Being in the kitchen and being allowed to create whatever I wanted. The best thing is that I remember my parents and sister actually eating it and at times I remember I got very good reviews. I loved oatmeal, chocolate, coconut so I think those were my winner ingredients as a kid as well. From years of experience, putting those together is always a winner. I can imagine myself mixing those with some eggs and sugar and baking it. Hey, I would do that now and it will be tasty….

Till this day, I think the best when my hands are engaged in creating something edible. Anything from breads to cookies, chicken soup to pizza. If I feel stressed, nervous, angry or happy I turn to the kitchen to make something. It’s like an hour of meditation. The hardest part is deciding what to make. Today for example I feel like baking cookies but need someone to eat them as well. I’d love to back 200 cookies right now. Just sheets and sheets of cookies…. The smell and fun of baking cookies is something that really makes me feel at home.

Today, with 3 kids, I find that having them with my in the kitchen is a real pleasure. Making a batch of cookie dough and letting them shape and decorate them for an hour is so much fun. Making a batch of bread dough and having them knead, roll and shape is very engaging. In the kitchen anything goes. I’ve never felt creative in being able to draw, paint or sculpt and admirer people who turn a blank piece of paper into something, but in the kitchen I feel that I can make anything. I read recipes like musicians read notes and my hands mix ingredients like a painter mixes colors. Together it all makes sense and all senses are awaken.

I think that being in the kitchen with kids at ALL ages is important and fun. My children have been a part of our kitchen since they were born. Sitting and watching from the Babybjorn and later in a high chair, getting to touch everything and squeeze, taste and smell. My husband always have them season our food and lets them smell each herb and spice. They can recognize many of them and are great helpers always.

Ideas for baking with kids. Some don’t even need an oven….

Everything on a stick.

There  is something about having a sweet treat on a stick that is fun and a winner with children, of ALL ages.

Rice Crispy treats:

Probably the easiest thing to make and soooooo yummy!

Melt any chocolate you like; dark, milk, white or a combination in a bowl.

Add rice crispies to the chocolate until you get a crunchy mix.

place a spoonful in a small cupcake paper wrap and stick a lollipop stick in the middle. let cool and set in the fridge.

After cooling the rice crispy lollipops, you can dip them in chocolate or leave as is.

Israeli chocolate balls (on a stick or not…):

1 pack, 200/250 grams of cookies – preferably Petit Beurre

1/2 cup sugar (2 oz)

4.5  tbsp of cocoa unsweetened

1/2 stick melted butter (60 gram) unsalted

Tsp vanilla extract

4-5  tbsp milk

For Dipping:

Coconut

Sprinkles

Any other idea….

Crush the cookies- I usually crush them while in the closed bag with a rolling pin. Crush so you get small crumbs but still some bigger pieces left- they make the balls crunchy.

Add sugar, cacao, vanilla and melted butter and mix (best by hand). Add milk as needed until you get a mix that is a bit sticky – that will enable the balls to be dipped in coconut or sprinkles and for the dips to stay on them.

Great as a gift idea as well

Roll the mix into small balls, dip them and place in small cupcake paper cups. Add a lollipop stick in the middle, or not. Place overnight in the fridge to set.

3-2-1 and an egg

Growing up in Denmark, the Danish Butter cookie was always a fun tasty thing to make. I loved this recipe when I was young because it’s easy to remember.

300 gram flour

200 gram sugar

100 gram butter

1 egg

mix it all together into a nice smooth dough. Cut small pieces, roll them in your hands into small balls and place them on a baking sheet. gently flatten the cookies out with a wet fork, dipped in coldwater to get the strips in the cookie.

Bake for 12 minutes at 150C, 320F, until golden.

Today, I would add to the cookies more flavors that I love in cookies. Here are some ideas:

– Vanilla almost a must in any cookie- a few drops of vanilla essence.

– Orange zest from half an orange or lemon zest from half a lemon. Try to cut long thin strips to get some color in the cookies.

– Coconut flakes- I adore coconut and in these crispy butter cookies it is delicious.

– Sliced almonds.

– Chocolate chips.

– C raisins or raisins.

Also we like to dip half a cookie in chocolate or rainbow sprinkles or raw sugar, before baking or in melted chocolate after baking and cooling the cookies.

Keep the cookies in an airtight container for a week or two, not that you will have any left that long….

I have many many more ideas of things you can bake or make with your kids. If you want additional ideas, let me know.

Have fun, that is what it is all about.