EASY baking with kids

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dkpop, Dec 15, 7:16pm
I am not a baker! But would like to do some with the chn. Does anyone have a great pretty much no fail easy recipe for something! Have looked in few books and on line but thought from experienced bakers might be best option! LOL THANKS

fauna1, Dec 15, 7:38pm
My (then) 5 year old used to make a coconut cake which always turned out well, all measures in cups, no eggs no butter (no beating) sorry lost recipe but someone else might know it. I think it was classed as a 'loaf'. Other than that biscuits with melted butter, syrup etc in blobs on tray, or roll-out with cutters, tho that can be messy and long-winded. Kids are not critical of things they have made themselves.

rainrain1, Dec 15, 7:56pm
Here you go,merry xmas :-)

Peppermint Candy Cane Bark
2 large blocks (500 gms in total) white chocolate (don't use buttons)
2 cups rice bubbles
12 peppermint candy canes (210 gms)

Break up the chocolate and melt in a double boiler, stirring. Put the candy canes into plastic storage bag, seal and beat with a mallet until broken into small pieces. (can finish off in food processor).

Line a sponge roll tin with baking paper. Add all other ingredients to the melted chocolate, then pour into the prepared tin. Put another piece of baking paper on top and spread the mixture out. The baking paper on top helps to prevent your hands from getting too sticky.

sarahb5, Dec 15, 8:01pm
My daughter has just made the reindeer cookies from the Countdown mag that came out this month - they are just made from gingerbread men turned upside down and decorated with chocolate and lollies.Will see if I can find a link .Tried to find a picture but I can't - sorry

sarahb5, Dec 15, 8:02pm
What about White Christmas!That doesn't really actually involve much cooking, more just melting stuff and mixing together, and it involves chocolate so should be popular with the kids - or chocolate crackles

rainrain1, Dec 15, 8:08pm
afghan biscuits edmonds book, they are easy to make

mmecholet, Dec 15, 8:18pm
I used to make hokey pokey biscuits from the Edmonds cookbook when I was young. A friend's daughter has been making them alone since she started school. I reckon they're kinda failsafe. Anyone have the recipe!

guardy, Dec 15, 8:28pm
I am making stained glass window biscuits with my kids this afternoon.SO easy and they look awesome.You can make a basic biscuit dough if you want but I just buy sweet shortcrust pastry.Make into biscuit shape and stamp out trees/stars etc OR roll into 'worms' and join them together to make stained glass window shapes (there are recipes on the net to show you ideas).Then fill up the gap with crushed lollipops and bake at about 160 for around 20 mins.They look fantastic and you can hang them on the tree (if they last that long) by putting a hole in them with a straw before baking.

rainrain1, Dec 15, 8:45pm
In an old recipe book of my mothers, I note they are calledPam Biscuits, I remember making those as a kid,and great fun it was too

elliehen, Dec 15, 8:50pm
CRAZY CAKE - ALISON HOLST

This easy (school holiday!) cake is made without eggs, butter, milk or an eggbeater! Its surprisingly good texture and interesting flavour make it well worth trying!

Makes a 20cm square cake.
Ingredients

1½ cups standard (plain) flour
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp each cinnamon and powdered ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil
¾ cup water
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Heat oven to 190°C (180°C fanbake), with the rack just below the middle. Line the bottom and two opposite sides of a 20cm square pan with baking paper. Butter and flour the uncovered sides of the pan, or coat with non-stick spray.

Sift the first six ingredients through a sieve over a fairly large bowl. Stir in the sugar with a fork, leaving a depression in the centre. Measure the oil and add it to the dry ingredients, without stirring. Add the vinegar and vanilla to the measured water, then tip them into the flour-oil mixture. Stir with the fork until the mixture is smooth and no dry lumps remain.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until the centre of the cake springs back when pressed, and a toothpick or skewer comes out clean. Leave cake in the pan for five minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool. Dust with sieved icing sugar. Serve cut in squares for dessert. Top with whipped cream and fresh or partly thawed raspberries; sliced drained canned peaches; or sliced bananas and raspberry jam.

cookessentials, Dec 15, 9:00pm
Gingerbread men of course, is a great thing to make at Christmas. You can either buy a plain cutter and the children can decorate them themselves, or you can also buy 3D cutters which imprint the eyes, mouth and buttons onto the gingerbread man, you can then decorate over the top ( a bit like paint by numbers) or you can leave them plain. You can pre-make the dough the night before if you wish.

r-mvz, Dec 15, 9:01pm
Chocolate Chip Cookies

125g butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup of chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder

Cream butter, sugar then add egg and vanilla essence - beat well.
Sift in flour and baking powder.
Add chocolate chips and mix well.

Roll into small balls and flatten with a fork.

Bake 180 degrees celcius (350F) for 12-15 mins.

rainrain1, Dec 15, 9:52pm
This is an old recipe from a book of my mothers.I think Cadburys made these santa choc bars way back when dollars were quids.I assume they were shaped like a Santa and were available all the time, not just at xmas.I've related it as written in her book,

Santa Choc Biscuits

4 oz butter
5 ozs flour
2 ozs sugar
1teasp baking powder
2 teasp golden syrup
2 or 3 cakes of santa chocolate
Meth:-Bake in moderate oven

sarahb5, Dec 15, 9:57pm
The reindeer cookies my daughter made are cut out with a small gingerbread man cutter and turned upside down to decorate with melted chocolate, etc.

sarahb5, Dec 15, 9:58pm
I wonder what size the chocolate was - or whether in fact it should be Sante bars!

rainrain1, Dec 15, 10:19pm
that could be right too, I forgot about those.Aren't they just a small slab of choc, not all all shaped like a santa claus!

sarahb5, Dec 15, 10:41pm
Yeah kind of like a finger of chocolate (very yummy though) - perhaps they were just decorated to look like Santa!I guess we'll never know .

indy95, Dec 16, 12:12am
Sante bars are ( or maybe that should be were ) small,quite thin bars of plain chocolate. I can't remember if they were available as both milk and dark chocolate or came in different flavours. I have a feeling they aren't made any more.

sarahb5, Dec 16, 12:42am
Pretty sure you can still get them although I haven't looked lately but you can (or could) get milk, dark and white - Whittakers aren't they!

trah, Dec 16, 12:47am
Yep, Whitakers - and you can still get them.

indy95, Dec 16, 1:07am
Hooray ! And made by Whittakers, even better !

rainrain1, Dec 16, 1:39am
woohoo we're on to something here, sante bars for xmas stocking,I must have a hunt round

uli, Dec 15, 7:47am
bump for your "hunt round" .

sarahb5, Dec 15, 8:01pm
My daughter has just made the reindeer cookies from the Countdown mag that came out this month - they are just made from gingerbread men turned upside down and decorated with chocolate and lollies.Will see if I can find a link .Page 48

http://www.countdown.co.nz/panels/modal-windows/indulge-christmas-2011

rainrain1, Dec 15, 10:19pm
that could be right too, I forgot about those.Aren't they just a small slab of choc, not at all shaped like a santa claus!