Baking with the Kiddos

Looking to warm the house this winter or fill it with the aroma of wonderful memories?  Here are a couple of easy Kiddo friendly recipes that we love to  make especially in the winter . The ingredients may already be in your cabinets so take a peek and maybe you and your Kiddos can whip up one of these tasty treats for this weekend!!

Now we always end up with those last 3 bananas that get just a little too ripe for eating so here is one great way to use them...

Prep time – 10 min. approx.    Baking time – 70 minutes

3 overripe bananas

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup sugar

½ tsp baking soda

dash of salt

1 egg

¼ cup (½ stick) butter

¼ cup of chocolate chips (optional)

1. 
   
   Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mash bananas in a large bowl (I let the kiddos squeeze them in a ziploc bag till they are nice & mushy, they love squeezing the bananas, then put them in the bowl). Add, flour baking soda, salt and egg.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Melt butter in microwave, add it to the mix until just blended. (My kiddos like chocolate chips in the bread so you can add a handful or 2 of chips to the mix now if you'd like)
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Pour into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake for 70 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
   
   
   

Have you ever looked a box of cake mix and said but I really don't need 24 cupcakes....well Betty Crocker has us covered. Here is a great recipe for your little Chefs that is easy to make & that has endless possibilities, you could add chocolate chips, peanut butter chip, toffee pieces, dried cranberries or just have them as the delicious chocolate cookies they are.   http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/quick-mix-chocolate-cookies/b181b72f-4126-4796-b851-e2be6b33a440

Five ingredients are all you need for quick homemade chocolate cookies.

Prep Time: 45 min    Total Time: 1 hour 25 min      Makes: About 4 dozen cookies
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, mix cake mix, oil, vanilla and eggs with spoon until dough forms.


2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls about 2 inches apart.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store tightly covered.

We have made them and froze them for upto 3 months & they were still delicious.

Cookie keeping tip: When you make home made cookies keep them in an air tight container and place a piece of white bread wrapped in a napkin or paper towel at the bottom. The bread will absorb the air & keep your cookies fresh and soft!

There are so many great recipes that have simple ingredients that help the older Kiddos with practicing their fractions, reading, measuring and most importantly it build great memories.

If you have a favorite kiddo friendly recipe please share it, my picky little eaters will always try a new recipe that they get to help create. Hope you & your Kiddos enjoy!

Happy Baking!