Baking with young children is fun, and I highly recommend it anytime you get the chance. Recently I had the opportunity to enjoy a day of baking cookies with the help of my almost 4-year-old grand daughter Alexis and we had so much fun.

Kids this age love to pour and stir so really it is the best time for baking with a young children, and as long as you keep the activity exciting and keep talking to them you will not have anything but fun.

Alexis, like many preschoolers is too short to reach the counter top, so I sat her in her highchair so that she could help. Her 6-month-old brother Jonathon watched us from his walker and seemed to enjoy this special time with grandma and his big sister.

Baking with young children teaches them many things, and Alexis was full of questions as most kids her age are. She asked why we added the flour, and she thought all the sugar should be white, as she put it "that's not sugar, sugar is white even I know that". I told her there are many kinds of sugar and as she poured, I told her a few different kinds. Keeping the explanations simple enough that she can understand them made it fun and interesting to her.

We had gotten a simple recipe for basic cookies off the internet, because I am always one for trying new things. We added our own stuff, but pretty much followed the recipe for the most part.

My own grandma had taught me that a recipe is a guide and not to be followed exactly. My grandma was full of wonderful baking advice and because she was so knowledgeable in the kitchen, she won many awards at the county fair. It is our own variations of a recipe that make it special to us, adds a bit of zip and fun to baking or cooking.

I am one of those creative people in the kitchen, no matter if it is cooking or baking, but baking is one of my favorite activities and sharing that with my own children and grandchildren it is wonderful.

Here is the basic cookie variation recipe
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of butter softened we used 1 cup of spread able margarine.
cup of sugar
cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla we used 3 teaspoons of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups or a 12-ounce package of chocolate chips (add any chips or candy you want to make 2 cups)

Drop by teaspoon on too an un-greased cookie sheet and bake for nine to eleven minutes at 375 degrees.

Alexis and I mixed up two batches of the basic cookie variation recipe we created the following kinds of cookies; Chocolate Chip, Peanut butter Chip, Chocolate Peanut butter Chip, Chocolate Peanut butter Chip coconut, and some had a kiss on top.

Using a basic cookie variation recipe allows you to get creative, and that is always a great thing to do in the kitchen. Do not be afraid to bake with a preschooler, it will be fun and educational for everyone involved. A high chair becomes very handy when you set the child up there, and they love to pour, stir, and help.

Using a basic cookie variation recipe not only allows you to be creative it also allows you to save time as you are really only missing up one recipe and that is always a good thing. Have fun with this enjoyable creative baking experience.

Cooking with Alexis was fun, and if you have a preschooler in your house, allow them to help you bake as they very much enjoy it.

Learn more about this author, Amy Browne.
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