Baking with kids ideas

ok so miss 5 and I made vanilla cupcakes for a school plate last night (admittedly out of a cake mix packet)and I have to admit we really enjoyed doing it despite being worn out after work, then she had a playdate while I had other daughter at dancing etc etc.And they were super yummy.

Now I would like to do some more baking over the weekend and am after some ideas please of recipes you use that they can be involved in.(I also have a Mr 3, Miss 9 and Miss 10 who will probably want to have a go too, and possibly Mr 12 as well) lol

Chocolate Crunch
125gr butter
1c coconut
1TBSP cocoa
1c flour
1/2c sugar
vanilla essence
Melt butter & pour over dry ingredients. Press into sponge roll tin.
Bake 20 - 30 mins @ 180. Cut while warm & ice when cold. Sprinkle coconut over icing (opt)

Honey & Rice Bubble Slice
125gr butter
125gr sugar
2TBSPs honey or golden syrup
Boil gently 5mins. Remove from heat & add 4c ricebubbles
Press in a sponge roll tin. Cut while warm

biscuits are great to start with.
My mum used to get us to help (mr 3) by stirring the mix once she had creamed the butter and sugar usually when she had added the egg(s). Miss 9 & 10 or Mr 12 could do the creaming for you.
Favourite biscuit was an almond biscuit except instead of almonds make a thumb or finger depression in each biscuit before baking and put about ¼ tsp jam in each.
Others were Elsies fingers, got to roll them out.
The older 2 if interested could be taught how to make things like ginger slice, tan square, and maybe a fruit loaf. Also start teaching these two how to cook dinners.
By 12 I was doing all the family baking 3-4 lots of biscuits, a slice, a loaf and a cake plus 1 item I wanted to make, as well as cooking the family dinner for 6-8 at night.
Two of my brothers bake exceptionally well and make things I very rarely try to do, the fancier the bettter they reckon. Remember middle bro ringing mum to check that what he was doing was correct ... making profiteroles (sp).

thanks!

Can anyone recommend a good kids recipe book?

cgvl, I would love for them to be able / keen to make a dinner, unfortunately all bar one are eat to survive kind of kids, not at all interested in food, the only one who might be keen is so incredibly fussy that I just wouldnt want to go there lol

Jo Seagar has a good one for children which includes savoury cooking as well as baking treats.Think its title is "Easy Peasy...??"

Had grandie here today(aged 3) and we made pizza faces for lunch, which were pita bread spread with tomato base, and then she put her own cheese pineapple and salami. Also we make Shrewsbury biccies (i make the recipe in the kitchen whizz) and used cutters: todays shapes were ducks* although she says they were chickens.* Anyway they were awesome, and such a fun thing to do on a cold wet day.

Scones. Miss4 loves to help mix then roll out dough and use her playdough cutters (cleaned first of course!) . We have made lots of different flavour pinwheel/rollup scones too- choc chip filling is awesome!, cheese marmite, tomato ham, cinnamon sugar etc

Painted Cookies:
Batch makes 24 -
275 g flour
100 g icing sugar
200 g butter
mix ingredients together to form ball (works well for littlies to squish it all together w/clean hands).allow kids to make a variety of shapes with the dough.Take some egg yolks, add a bit of water and food colouring - and they can paint the cookies with small paint brushes (or fingers)before they are cooked.Bake for 12 mins at 180C.They are so pretty and the kids love to eat their artwork.You can also do individual batches that make 3 cookieswith 1/4 cup flour, 2Tbsp icing sugar & 3 cubes (2cm squared) butter.

There's a new book reviewed in the latest Taste and in last weekends papers - by Lisa McCluneSP? the actress from the Aussie navy programme, anyway it's for parents wanting to cook with their kids - rave reviews. if I had grandkids I reckon I'd buy it!