Weekend Foodie Warriors – Take 38! *Cooking with Kids*
Hello again, Foodie Friends 🙂 For this Foodie Adventure, I’m sharing some of my favorite kid-friendly recipes, fun local cooking kits for kids, and essential skills to help with cooking with kids in no time!
Kid-Friendly Recipes
One of my favorite things to do with my mom when I was younger was to cook and bake. I feel like I subconsciously made a lot of the recipes on my blog in a way that was not only easier for people with a normal level of cooking skill to accomplish but also things that could be fun to do with their family/kiddos! Below I’ve created a list of awesome recipes compiled from my blog and how to make them, even more, kid-friendly!
Ideas for Baking/Dessert Recipes:
This has to be in my top two favorites of all the ones I’ve chosen below. These recipes were looked over by my favorite judges, my little cousins (I have about eight in total, some you’ll see in the picks below!), who also have gotten more into cooking, being at home so much lately. They love cookies and have made anything from those cupcake cones (something I haven’t even attempted yet) to tie-dye cakes!
- This first recipe is perfect for little ones to help cook with! They can help to place the gummies or candy in the center of the cookies and can help to make the dough into little balls too. We always need some good kids sous chefs in training to help stir too!
- This is a great recipe to help teach kids the “order of operations” when it comes to cookies – creaming the butter and sugars first, mixing the wet into the dry ingredients, etc. These are also fun classic cookies to start with and can be tailored really easily to non-dairy, gluten-free, or other mix-ins – be creative here!
- This is actually the *most popular* baking recipe on my blog (#humblebrag) and is so super easy to make in under 15 mins! Kids can help with stirring, dumping ingredients in, etc.
Ideas for Dinner/Meal Prep Recipes:
- This is a super fun one, whether you make your own dough or buy the pre-made stuff from the store, and can be customized to any toppings or things kids love to eat.
- Crockpot meals are so so simple for not only meal prep but also weeknight “dump dinners” that the whole family can enjoy. Open a couple of cans of stuff you most likely already have in your pantry and set the crockpot and voila!
Ideas for Breakfast/Brunch Recipes:
- This is a spin on the classic pancakes (my cousins are helping to model the chocolate chip variety above) or waffles with an overnight version of Bananas Foster French toast! Even little ones with a dull plastic knife (and adult supervision) could help cut up bananas, and the older ones could help carefully crack eggs.
- This is another fun one and super customizable, and can include anything you have for leftovers in the fridge too! Leftover meats, cheeses, and veggies can be added to this, with the kiddos helping to layer and sprinkle everything in (being careful with the stove and oven of course).
Ideas for Appetizers
& Snack Recipes:
- These are great for the older and younger kids to help out with! You can make multiple flavors in one go, again using leftover ingredients, and pre-made dips, and is something that will keep them busy for hours!! Definitely labor-intensive but these are such crowd-pleasers.
- These are fun as kids can help make the corn pancakes and roll the dough into balls, being careful of the stove again!
What are your favorite recipes for cooking with the kids? Shout out in the comments below or let me know which recipes you’d like to see us do next!
Fun Cooking Kits for Kids!
Greenville, SC Area
You all know how much I love supporting small businesses and restaurants, and these are some of the perfect things to reach for when your kids wanna be creative in the kitchen! Love a good parenting shortcut. 🙌
Pizza and cookies are some of my two favorite things to both make and eat, however, trying to make both from scratch can seem daunting at times. We’ve found a great semi-homemade shortcut in these kits below, all reviewed and tested by your local Greenvillians on Facebook and Instagram! 😁See the sections below for lists of cool kits from some of our local hot spots! To order any of these or see more pictures of the kits, check out their links below. ⬇️ Also feel free to check out this list here, put together by the Kidding Around Greenville blog, that details some kits I don’t have below for cooking with kids!
🍪Cookies and Baked Goodies: 🧁
- Sweets by Julie (GF!) – “I will be baking sugar cookies and apple cider donuts tonight!! Does anyone else want a sugar cookie kit, an order of decorated sugar cookies or apple cider donuts?? 🍪 Kits are 1 for $15 or 2 for $25. Apple cider donuts are $15/dz or $7.50 half dozen!! Will be posting more Easter options in the next few days!!! Always fresh and always gluten-free! Speaking of free…..offering free delivery in the area!!! Please share so everyone has a chance to order!!”
- Sugah Cakes – “Take and bake cookie dough!!!! You won’t have to go without cookies…we will have packed cookie dough in the freezer ready for pick up! $11.95”
- “New items starting with our decorate your own cookies- A box with 12 sugar cookies, 2 bags of buttercream icing, and 1 bag of sprinkles. There is a set with cars and trains and one with tiaras and castles. These sets are $25 and such a great way to entertain your kids during this time at home.
- Reach out and reserve your set today!! 864-585-3228…we are offering delivery to you within the zip codes of 29302 and 29307 (Spartanburg, SC). Also, if you want us to deliver to you at work within the city limits we can do that too!”
- Liz Made Cookies – ” DIY cookie kits are here! 🥳 Each kit contains 1 dozen soft-baked sugar cookies, 5 royal icing colors, assorted sprinkles, and basic instructions! Each kit is $25 ($30 for gluten-free) and pickup will be Saturday 3/21 or Sunday 3/22! DM or click the link here to order! https://forms.gle/WBR3uWxRKadz4SAg6 Options are:
- Dreaming of Vacation🌴
- Wine and Cheese 🍇
- Social Distancing 🏠
- Farm Friends 🚜”
The Frosting Fairy – “My name is Regan and I own The Frosting Fairy. In response to COVID-19, we are now offering Porch Delivery! Your order can be dropped off at your door with a text confirmation once it has arrived!”
- “We appreciate all of your support during this difficult time as we try to keep a smile on everyone’s face! Introducing our Cookie Kits!! These kits come with 6 cookies, 3 sets of sprinkles, and 3 bags of colored icing. They come in a variety of themes:
- Mermaid Magic 🧜♀️
- Play Ball! 🏀
- Staycation 🏠
- Magic Mix 🦄
- Princess Party 👸
- Snack Pack 🥨
- Easter Eggs 🥚
- and He is Risen ✝️!
- Message us to find out more about each kit. These are $20/each. We would be more than happy to make a custom kit for you and your family! These are available for Porch Delivery!”
- Smallcakes Spartanburg – “Looking for something fun for the whole family to do? Kids out of school? Need a fun activity for a family/friends bonding time? This is it!! Smallcakes Spartanburg is now offering Take home “Cupcake Kits”!! Cupcake Kits can be purchased in two sizes…
- 6 Pack (pictured) includes.. $25
- 6 Signature Cupcakes
- 3 Frosting Bags
- 3 Sprinkles
- 12 Pack includes… $45
- 12 Signature Cupcakes
- 4 Frosting Bags
- 4 Sprinkles
- “Maybe a Cupcake Will Help?” Order yours today!! Smallcakes Spartanburg, 198 W. Main Street Suite B, Spartanburg, SC 29306
- 864-541-8222, Smallcakesspartanburg@gmail.com, www.smallcakesspartanburg.com
- 6 Pack (pictured) includes.. $25
🍕Pizza and Dinners: 🍕
- Full House Sportzaria (Simpsonville) – “All items are currently available for pick up or curbside. Give us a call at (864)757-8396! Did you know you can order a “Full House at Your House” Pizza Kit?
- Either 1 Large 16″ dough, sauce, cheese, and 1 topping for $12 (additional toppings $2) or
- 4 Small personal size doughs, sauce cheese, and 2 toppings for $20 (additional toppings $1).
- Just add quality family time!
- Offer available for pick up or DELIVERY (starting tomorrow, 7 days a week, 12-8 pm). Give us a call to place your order!! (864)757-8396 Thank you for your business and your support!”
- Giovanni’s Pizza and Subs – “With just about everyone being quarantined at home, make dinner fun with our Make Your Own Pizza Kits. Medium Kit includes 2 medium pizzas with one topping each for $19.99. Large Kit includes one large pizza with one topping for $12.99. Additional toppings are available for $1.50 each. Pre-order today. Call 864-670-9495!”
- Todaro Pizza – “Pick up your Make Your Own Pizza Kit at our GVL location and tag us so we can see what you create! All Kits come with dough, sauce, and cheese for just $10, and for two dollars more we’ll include pepperoni! Thank you for supporting local! Thank you SO much for all of your support in the last few days! It means so much to us as a small business! We will be adjusting our hours for this week:
- Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday – 4pm – 10pm
- Thursday-Sunday – Regular hours, 11 am – 11 pm
- Monday Night Cheap Pizza Night starts after 5 pm!”
- Moe’s Southwest Grill – “Feed the fam! $34.99 for our build-your-own taco kit delivered FOR FREE, with free delivery or curbside pick-up included! Feeds 4-6 🌮🌮 order.moes.com.”
Essential Skills for
Kid-Chefs
I’ve polled a good number of my mom friends, cousins, and relatives, and these were the top answers for the most important things for kids to be taught when it comes to cooking and being in the kitchen.
First and foremost, some safety rules:
- First, the oven is hot! Respect the heat!
- Hand washing/Proper hand hygiene – especially in this day and age!
- Also always wash your produce, especially with things like apples that may come with a waxy coating.
- Some things parents need to do, like cutting with sharp knives. This can be fixed (sometimes) by using safety scissors or plastic knives made for kids, always with adult supervision!
- Not eating uncooked eggs or meat!
- And safety always!
One kitchen skill that my mom taught me growing up was how to properly measure ingredients, especially dry ingredients like flour and sugar. With flour, you need to spoon the flour into the measuring cup, as simply pouring the flour into the cup could lead to air pockets that could throw off your measurements. It’s always good to overfill your measuring cups and then take a knife across the top and level it off to make sure that you have the most accurate measurements. White sugar, on the other hand, you can pour directly into a measuring cup and then level off. Brown sugar (light or dark, same concept here) needs to be packed into the measuring cup (imagine you’re building a sandcastle), patting it down so that there’s not any air left either. Pack brown sugar all the way to the top so that it’s level with the top of the cup and then add to whatever you’re making!
For things like cookies, make sure ingredients are mixed in the right order. We mentioned mixing in the wet before the dry – One time my cousin and her friend made cookies and they put in the flour before they creamed the butter and sugar – they were terrible! Remember, baking overcooking is always a science experiment more than an art project – too much or too little of one ingredient could throw off the chemical balance and ruin the dish.
My cousins are the sweetest things and I love the time I get to spend cooking with them – see the photo below of my cousins making homemade pizzas at my aunt’s house over the holidays – one of my favorite family traditions. 💜 I also wanted to make sure I included some stories from my friends and their kids’ cooking adventures too!
“Leo loves making pizza at home with my mom (they make the dough from scratch) and then he plays with the toppings and hides drawings with the tomato sauce.”
“He also loves baking & decorating cookies which can get a little messy but oh well. I’m a stickler for safety (work hazards, I’m biased) so fire safety & safe handling of electric equipment & tools is a must from early on I think.” – Kat P., one of my friends who’s a local doctor that works in the area.
Whenever you cook with your kids, cherish the times you spend making memories with them, and appreciate the skills that you’re passing onto the next generation of Chopped Champions, foodie entrepreneurs, or home bakers.
So how was your weekend Foodie Friends? What are some of your favorite things to make with your kids? Sound out in the comments below and let me know your suggestions of recipes or places we should visit next. As always, feel free to like, comment, & share 🤗
