Baking with children
Here you can choose between sugar-free recipes, savory snacks or sweet muffins, cakes and more. One thing all recipe ideas have in common: it's incredibly fun to bake them together with children. And: they are all perfect for little hands to hold and nibble.
1. Sugar-free baking recipes for children
Babies and toddlers have particularly sensitive taste buds. That's why sugar-free recipes even for the littlest are a great idea.
Kids' cookies without sugar
Required ingredients
1 ½ apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
100 ml milk
1 pinch salt
150 g dried plums
100 ml coconut oil
300 g flour
200 g rolled oats
Nuts (optional)
Here's how
First, peel the apples and grate them with a grater. It's best if you do this yourselves. Then drizzle the grated apples with lemon juice so they don't turn brown.
Then finely chop the dried plums and add them to the apples.
In a large bowl mix the flour with the rolled oats, the cinnamon and the salt. Then add the milk and the oil and stir everything with a wooden spoon to form a dough.
The dough is somewhat moist. If it's too wet, you can add another tablespoon of flour. Now preheat your oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat).
While the oven heats up, place a piece of baking paper on a baking tray. From the dough, form small balls with your hands and place them on the tray with some distance between them. Press the balls slightly flat - this gives you flat cookies. The flatter you press the dough, the crispier the cookies will be.
When you're ready and the oven has reached the right temperature, slide the tray onto the middle rack of the oven. Set the timer to 18 minutes; then the cookies will be baked.
Now patience is required. Let the cookies cool completely before you eat them.
Banana pancakes
Required ingredients
2 bananas
4 eggs
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp fine rolled oats
1 tsp oil (optional)
Here's how
This recipe is a great idea for a breakfast where the children can help out. Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork on a board.
Mix the flour, oats and eggs in a bowl. It's best to do this with a whisk. Add the mashed bananas and stir everything into a smooth batter.
Take a pan and heat it on the stove over medium heat. If you don't have a non-stick pan, you can add a teaspoon of oil.
Once the pan is hot, pour small pancakes from the batter. After about two minutes one side is golden brown, then you can flip your banana pancakes.
The pancakes are done when both sides are golden brown. Serve them with fresh fruit like bananas and strawberries. Cut into small pieces they are also suitable for babies and toddlers.
Applesauce muffins
Required ingredients
40 g rolled oats
2 bananas
200 g flour
100 ml oil
1 tsp cinnamon
360 g unsweetened applesauce
100 ml milk
2 tsp baking powder
Raisins (optional)
Here's how
Before you start mixing the batter, preheat your oven to 180°C (fan/convection) and line a muffin tin with paper cases. The quantities in this recipe are enough for a total of 12 muffins.
Then you can start: Peel your bananas and mash them in a bowl with a fork as finely as possible.
Then add the applesauce, the oil and the milk to the bowl and mix everything with a hand mixer. If you don't have one, you can also use a whisk.
When everything is well combined, add the rolled oats, the flour, the baking powder and the cinnamon. Stir the ingredients until a uniform batter forms.
Then fill the batter evenly into the muffin cases. You can use two tablespoons for this.
Then the muffins can go into the oven. After 20 to 25 minutes they are golden brown.
Let your sugar-free muffins cool on a wire rack - then they are ready to eat!
2. Sweet recipes for little sweet-tooths
Maybeyou enjoy a slice of cake with the whole family on Sundayor your children love delicious cookies for dessert - here you'll find suitable recipes for sweet treats.
Chocolate banana cake
Required ingredients
260 g flour
3 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp cocoa powder
110 g sugar
75 g butter (soft, room temperature)
100 g natural yogurt
1 large banana or 1.5 small bananas
2 eggs
For the chocolate coating:
approx. 200 g white or dark chocolate
Instructions
Slice the bananas, put them in a bowl and mash them with a fork.
Then add the eggs and beat with a hand mixer until the banana pieces are broken down.
Now add the sugar, butter and yogurt to the banana-egg mixture and mix everything well.
Add the flour, baking powder and cocoa and mix everything into a smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 40 minutes at 180 °C top/bottom heat or 160 °C fan. Use a skewer to check when the cake is done.
After baking, the cake must cool in the pan so it can be removed easily. When it's cold, carefully turn it out onto a cake plate. First lift the edge of the baking pan slightly so the cake loosens.
Then you can remove the pan.
To decorate, pour hot water from the kettle into a pot and place it on a hot stovetop.
Put a small bowl with the chopped chocolate into the pot. The bowl must float in the water. The hot water melts the chocolate. Stir from time to time. Caution: No water should get into the bowl!
If you use a silicone mold, pour the melted chocolate into it and gently press the cake into the mold.
After an hour in the fridge you can remove the silicone mold from the cake.
If you have a metal pan, carefully pour the melted chocolate over the cake and spread it with a pastry brush. Important: Place the cake on baking paper for this.
Tender vanilla muffins
Required ingredients
Batter
65 g butter
60 g sugar
2 eggs
35 g flour
35 g cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 packet (approx. 8 g) vanilla sugar
Chocolate
1.100 g white or dark chocolate
Instructions
Cream butter, sugar, vanilla sugar and eggs in a bowl. Add flour, cornstarch and baking powder and stir briefly.
If you want to bake round muffins, it's best to place a paper liner into each cavity of the muffin tin. If you use a silicone mold, you can also pour the batter directly in.
Then fill each cavity of the muffin tin halfway with batter and bake the muffins for about 25 minutes at 180 °C top/bottom heat or 160 °C fan. Use a skewer to check when they're done. After baking, the muffins must cool in the tin; only then will they come out easily.
To decorate, first melt the chocolate in a double boiler: pour hot water from the kettle into a pot and place it on a hot stovetop.
Put a small bowl with the chopped chocolate into the pot. The bowl should float in the water. The hot water melts the chocolate. Stir from time to time. Caution: No water should get into the bowl!
If you use a silicone mold, pour the melted chocolate into it and gently press the muffins into the mold. After an hour in the fridge you can remove the muffins from the silicone mold.
If you have a metal pan, you can carefully spoon the melted chocolate onto the muffins with a teaspoon and spread it with a pastry brush. Important: Place the muffins on baking paper for this.
Crunchy apple crumble
Required ingredients
110 g flour
80 g cantuccini
80 g brown sugar
110 g butter
500 g apples
some cinnamon
a pinch of salt
Instructions
Wash the apples, cut them into small pieces, mix with 20 g brown sugar and put into a baking dish.
Put the cantuccini into a freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
Knead the crushed cantuccini in a bowl with lukewarm butter, 60 g brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt into crumbs.
Spread the crumbs over the apples and put the dish into the oven. Bake for 25 minutes at approx. 170 °C fan / 180 °C top and bottom heat.
Tip:
Chocolate or vanilla ice cream or whipped cream go particularly well with the apple crumble. Also tasty: use 500 g plums instead of apples or mix both fruits.
Cake pops for kids
Required ingredients
200 g butter cookies
20 g cocoa
120 g melted butter
50 ml milk
80 g sugar
1 pinch of salt
100 g couverture chocolate
sprinkles
cake pop sticks or paper straws
Instructions
These cake pops are made very quickly! For this recipe you don't need pre-baked cake, but cookies. Take your butter cookies and crush them in a mixer into a fine powder. If you don't have a mixer, you can also put the cookies in a plastic bag and crumble them with a rolling pin.
Put the crumbled cookies into a bowl and mix them with the cocoa, melted butter, milk, sugar and pinch of salt into a crumbly dough.
Form small balls from the dough with your hands. Press the dough together slightly so the balls keep their shape. Put the finished balls in the fridge for about half an hour.
In the meantime, heat the couverture in a double boiler or in portions in the microwave until it is liquid. This is important so the chocolate doesn't burn.
Take the balls out of the fridge and insert a cake pop stick or a paper straw into each ball.
Dip the balls one by one into the melted chocolate. Immediately sprinkle them with colorful sugar sprinkles so they look even nicer.
Place your cake pops to dry on a piece of baking paper. Once the couverture has dried, you can enjoy the delicious mini cake balls.
Delicious chocolate cupcakes
Required ingredients
For the cupcakes:
120 g flour
100 g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
150 g butter
150 g sugar
2 eggs
175 ml milk
½ bar chocolate, chopped
1 pinch of salt
For the frosting:
250 g cream cheese
150 g low-fat quark
150 g frozen raspberries
100 g powdered sugar
1 packet whipped cream stabilizer
sugar pearls (optional)
Instructions
Line a muffin tin with 12 liners and preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan. Take the raspberries out of the freezer and put them in a small bowl to thaw. Our tip: strawberries or cherries work just as well with this recipe idea!
In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and eggs until everything is well combined. It's best to do this with a hand mixer.
In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking powder and a pinch of salt.
Then add the dry ingredients spoonful by spoonful to the large bowl with the butter mixture. Gradually add the milk.
When everything is well mixed, stir in the chopped chocolate. Then fill the batter into the muffin liners and bake the muffins for about 20 minutes.
While the muffins are in the oven, make the frosting. That's the cream that turns a muffin into a cupcake. To do this, puree the thawed raspberries and stir in the powdered sugar.
Then add the cream cheese, quark and whipped cream stabilizer. Whip the mixture for about 2-3 minutes until it has a creamy consistency.
Once the muffins are completely cooled, you can apply the glaze. You can use a piping tip for this. Now decorate your cupcakes with colorful sugar pearls or fresh raspberries and strawberries - and your sweet baked goods are ready!
Fun cinnamon rolls on a stick
Required ingredients
For the yeast dough:
50 g butter
125 ml milk
15 g fresh yeast or ½ packet dry yeast
50 g sugar
300 g flour
For the filling & topping:
100 g soft butter
100 g sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp milk
1 egg
sugar pearls
Instructions
For the fun cinnamon rolls on a stick you need a yeast dough. To do this, heat the butter in a small pot until it has completely melted. Then add the milk and wait until it is lukewarm. This doesn't take long, but make sure the mixture does not get too hot.
Remove the pot from the heat and add the yeast, sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir until the ingredients have dissolved.
In a large bowl, add the flour to the warm liquid and mix everything together. The dough hook of the hand mixer helps with this. If the dough becomes too heavy, continue kneading by hand.
Shape the dough into a ball and put it back in the bowl. Take a kitchen towel and cover the bowl with it. Let the dough rest covered for about half an hour in a warm place.
In the meantime, mix the remaining butter with the cinnamon and sugar.
Once the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and knead it again on a floured work surface. Then roll it out with a rolling pin into a rectangular sheet.
Now spread the dough with the soft cinnamon butter. Then roll the dough up from the long side. This creates a thick roll, from which you cut thick slices with a sharp knife. Small children will of course need the help of grown-up hands.
Place the slices with some space between them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Beat the remaining egg with a tablespoon of milk and brush the rolls with it. If desired, you can decorate the rolls with pearl sugar.
Now slide the tray into the oven and bake the rolls for about 17 minutes on the middle rack. Once they are golden brown, you can remove them and let them cool on a wire rack.
Finally, insert a paper or wooden stick into the fun rolls. If you like, you can decorate the rolls with icing, chocolate or nuts.
3. Savory recipe ideas for kids
Baking doesn't always have to mean sweet cakes or cookies. There are many great baking ideas for savory treats — let yourself be inspired by the following recipes!
Puff pastry cheese twists
Required ingredients
1 package puff pastry from the refrigerated section
1 egg
100 g sour cream
100 g grated cheese
Salt & pepper
Here's how
These cheese twists are a popular baking recipe for kids. First take the puff pastry out of the package and roll it out. Then preheat the oven to 180°C (fan).
In a small bowl, beat the egg with the sour cream and season the mixture with salt and pepper.
Spread the mixture over the rolled-out puff pastry and smooth it.
Spread the cheese evenly over the dough.
Cut the puff pastry with a knife into equally sized strips, preferably about 2 cm wide.
Now twist: hold the strips at both ends and twist them in opposite directions.
Place the twisted cheese sticks on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
After just 12 to 15 minutes in the oven the cheese sticks are done! Kids will enjoy them warm or cold.
Vegetable muffins
Required ingredients
7 eggs
50 ml milk
Salt & pepper
1 bell pepper
1/2 head of broccoli
2 tomatoes
150 g grated cheese
some butter
Here's how
These delicious muffins are filled with vegetables! Use a muffin tin greased with some butter. Then preheat the oven to 220°C (fan).
Cut the vegetables into small pieces. You can choose which vegetables you and your children like best — bell pepper, broccoli and tomatoes, for example, work very well. Then put the vegetables into the greased baking dish.
Then beat the eggs with the milk and season the mixture with salt and pepper.
Then pour the egg mixture into the individual muffin cups. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over them.
Now the vegetable muffins are ready for the oven. Bake them for about 20 minutes — then your savory snack for in between is ready.
Quick pizza rolls
Required ingredients
1 package pizza dough
1 jar tomato sauce
1 bell pepper
1 small can of corn
3 brown mushrooms
250 g grated cheese
Here's how
These quick pizza rolls are the hit at every kids' birthday party or at the picnic with the kids.
Before baking, preheat the oven to 220°C (fan).
Then take the pizza dough out of the package and roll it out. Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the dough.
Then cut the bell pepper and mushrooms into small pieces. If you want, you can also cut other pizza toppings like ham or salami into small pieces.
Now distribute the vegetables over the pizza and sprinkle about half of the cheese on top.
Then roll the pizza lengthwise so you have a large roll and cut slices about 3 cm thick from it.
Place these slices with some space between them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the pizza rolls.
And then into the oven! Bake the delicious pizza rolls for about 20 to 25 minutes. When they are done and have cooled slightly, you can enjoy them!
Frequently asked questions about baking with children
Which recipes are good for baking with children?
What should I pay attention to when baking for kindergarten?
What can I teach my child while baking?
What does yeast do in baking?
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Image credits
Mother and child nibble on dough ©Halfpoint - stock.adobe.com
Healthy cookies on white background ©Dash - stock.adobe.com
Muffins with apples ©galiyahassan - stock.adobe.com
Chocolate-banana cake AdobeStock_296387128 stock.adobe.com
Colorful cake pops ©DenisProduction.com - stock.adobe.com
Chocolate cupcakes with strawberries ©Yulia - stock.adobe.com
Yeast dough rolls ©M.studio - stock.adobe.com
Cheese sticks ©Fischer Food Design - stock.adobe.com
Muffins with vegetables ©manyakotic - stock.adobe.com
Pizza rolls ©Mitch Shark - stock.adobe.com