Holiday Cooking and Baking with Children

It is the holiday season!  We hope that the coming weeks are filled with beautiful memories and good times with family and friends, and a minimum of the stressors that can accompany this very exciting season.  While there are many different cultural and religious celebrations happening at this time of year, parents of all cultures and faiths can celebrate Thanksgiving, in which we focus on one of our most powerful gifts: gratitude. 

In keeping with that spirit, we can have fun including our children in some of the non-stop cooking and baking that goes on in November and December.  Preparing food for the people we love is one of the most fundamental ways in which we demonstrate our gratitude and affection.  Including our children in this process is a wonderful way to create memories and to give them a deeper sense of family and community.

There are, of course, some very practical elements to consider when cooking or baking with children: 

• Safety
• Hygiene
• Preparation
• Mindset

Safety

There is no better way to ruin an experience with your children than having it end with blood and Band-Aids.  Any activity that requires the use of sharp knives, mixers, electric choppers, stovetops, or ovens should be handled by an adult.  Using your discretion, older children may assist, with supervision.  When working with younger children, it's a good idea to do as much of the prep work requiring sharp instruments ahead of time.  Children get very excited about wanting to do everything themselves, so watch those little fingers. 

Hygiene

Keep the spread of nasty cold-weather germs (and regular-old germs) to a minimum by washing hands before, during, and after cooking or baking with your children.  Little fingers will find their ways into yummy batters for a quick taste or simply get covered in whatever it is you are working on, so be sure to start with clean hands and wash as you go. 

Preparation

Cooking with children can be chaotic, so to help things run more smoothly, be sure to have a clean work space with all of the necessary ingredients and tools laid out.  Aprons and play clothes are a good idea and, in addition, if you have girls with long hair, a ponytail or some other method of keeping hair out of the food is recommended.  There will be less need to step away from the workspace - leaving children on chairs or alone with the food - with everything you need organized and prepped in one area. 

Mindset

A realistic mindset is essential to the success or failure of your cooking or baking experience with children.  If you accept the fact that there will be a mess, some arguing ("It's my turn!"  "No, it's my turn!"), and possibly some less-than-picture-perfect results, you will end the day with more smiles than tears, and significantly less stressed-out!  Imagine the calm, happy person you want to be for those children and try not to let the inevitable set-backs ruin an otherwise wonderful memory-in-the-making.  Yes, making cut-out cookies with children takes approximately 6 hours, but if you set your expectations for this, you will be far better off!

Enjoy your holidays!  Try to stay focused on what matters to you and have lots of fun cooking and baking with your children.  Here are some simple recipes you might try. 

Cranberry Bog Bars

(Taste of Home: Fall Baking Cookbook; 2009)

1¼ cup butter, softened, divided

1½ cup packed brown sugar, divided

3½ cups old-fashioned oats, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 can (16 oz.) whole-berry cranberry sauce

½ cup finely chopped pecans 

Pre-heat oven to 375º.

1. In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 1 cup brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Combine 2 ½ cups oats and flour.  Gradually add to creamed mixture until crumbly.  Press into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.  Spread with cranberry sauce.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt remaining butter; stir in the pecans and remaining brown sugar and oats.  Sprinkle over cranberry sauce.  Bake at 375º for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on wire rack.  Cut into bars.  (Yield: 3 dozen bars)