Baking with kids

My recipes are always simple, delicious and homely. Fun, easy to make and tested with my own children, family, friends and at cooking parties and classes.

All you need is a few simple ingredients in the cupboard (and fridge) and you can always be ready to bake something together. You don’t always have to set aside a special slot of time (although it’s great if you can do that as well).

“A seventy year old man recently told me that the strongest memory of his life was hearing his mum’s food mixer start as he knew it meant ‘something good was about to happen’.”

It can be as simple as cooking and baking when your children are in the kitchen. Most children can’t wait to get involved but even more reluctant ones will become curious and want to find out more. I have been amazed by the things my children know how to make just because they have been watching, or listening, when I have been cooking or baking.

Baking creates special time together and memories to last a lifetime. A seventy year old man recently told me that the strongest memory of his life was hearing his mum’s food mixer start as he knew it meant ‘something good was about to happen’.

So grab your aprons and get baking with your kiddies, the more you do it the less stressful it becomes.

Miranda’s Top Five tips for Baking with Kids

1.  Don’t forget that the best bit of baking is licking the bowl! Create memories together and let them enjoy the simple fun parts.
2.  There is plenty of learning in baking – weighing, measuring, history, writing – make this a fun part of the process. Let them weigh and help you double ingredients and tick off ingredients.
3.  Make sure you have enough time. Baking can be quick and lots of my recipes are super speedy but there is nothing more likely to induce stress than you feeling rushed!
4.  Remember mess can always be cleaned up! We usually have a big team tidy up when everything is baking in the oven.
5.  You are not striving for perfection or for a handshake from Paul Hollywood – don’t forget that what you are baking is meant to look homemade!

Here’s a lovely festive recipe to start you off.

Recipe from Biscuit published by Ebury Press, £14.99

Miranda Gore Browne was finalist on the first series of BBC’s The Great British Bake Off and has written several baking books including Biscuit and Bake. Miranda can be found on social media…

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