Baking with the Kids?: Here are 5 Tips for Making Beautiful (Fuss-Free)Treats

Simple, Elegant and Kid-Friendly, Too! These treats are made with only 5 ingredients you can easily find in your every day cupboard.

Let’s face it! Baking with your kids can be fun, but it can also be timely, too. Not to mention the mess and a not-always-so-pretty results. We’ve all seen those lumpy, mis-shapen cookies (that only a mother could love). And whether or not they taste good, it’s not always elegant or appetizing to say the least. So why not make a “no-bake” treat, that’s simple & elegant — and kid-friendly, too! And you can literally make it in minutes. This treat has only 5-ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your own cupboard (and if you haven’t tried PB2 (powdered peanut butter) yet, here’s a tasty reason you may want to have it on hand.)

So if your looking for the scoop on keeping it simple-in-the-kitchen with your school-age kids, look no further than this energy bite (see recipe below). It’s definitely kid-friendly, but it’s elegant, too!

Here are 5 Tips for Baking with Your Kids:

1. Read a recipe not once, but twice. Be sure you have all the ingredients on hand. There’s nothing worse than having to stop in the middle (of making something) to go shopping. If you’ve got it all planned, you can do your prep/baking and get it done within a reasonable time.
2. Always, always always set your kitchen stage. Line the counter with newspaper or a cheap plastic disposable table cloth, pull out a tray to set up your ingredients, give each kid an apron and a towel. And yes, dress the part, too. When you have an apron with a towel looped over the tied belt of your apron, it’s easy to wipe up a spill.
3. Make it a joint adventure. Have your kids read the ingredients out loud as you are measuring them up. Having the ingredients set up makes the process much easier than measuring as you go. This way your kids can do what they love best — pour, mix, assemble.
4. Choose tools that simplify the process. I highly recommend a mini ice cream scoop. It’s fun for the kids, it’s less messy than rolling balls with their hands and it keeps the perfect shape for a bite-sized treat. It’s perfect for scooping muffin batter into mini muffin tins (another great tool), baking cookies and serving up energy bites.
5. Clean as you go. While your kids are assembling ingredients, gather the tools (bowls, cups, spoons) that have been used and wash them immediately. That way you’ll have less work to do after the baking is done.

Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored. The two products mentioned in this post (PB2 and Swerve) are simply ingredients I enjoy and keep on hand.