How to Bake with Kids This Holiday Season
At Domino® Sugar we know the true joy of seeing a baked creation emerge from the oven looking its best, and we know it’s a sight many families will share this holiday season. These tips will help you make the most of every moment as you mix up memories with your children by stirring, cutting, baking and decorating together.
Tips For Holiday Baking With Kids
For over 120 years, Domino® Sugar has provided the ingredients you need to bake up incredible cookies, cakes, brownies and more. Now, we’re sharing some of our best tips for getting the next generation of home bakers in on the act in a way everyone will enjoy. It’s the way our experts got started baking with their families, and we hope it will inspire your young ones as well.
1. Set your expectations
Baking with your kids or grandkids should be fun, and that starts with understanding what you should, and shouldn’t, expect from them in the kitchen. These little chefs are sure to be eager, but knowing their limitations is key, so keep these things in mind:
- Younger kids are best suited for simpler, safer tasks like pouring in ingredients you’ve pre-measured, stirring things together and using cookie cutters to make fun shapes. Once your desserts are baked and cooled, they can also help finish things off, like drizzling the last bit of cookie butter atop our Dark Chocolate Cookie Butter Cookies.
- Older kids are more capable and, depending on their prior experience in the kitchen, can be included in additional tasks. These include using electric mixers, setting the temperature on the oven and even taking your recipe in and out of the oven itself. Just make sure they have the proper potholders on hand, and keep an eye on them so you can watch the smile on their face at the sight of a freshly risen Gingerbread Bundt Cake With Maple Glaze.
2. Avoid common hazards
Even for experienced bakers, the kitchen can be a risky place. When it comes to doing your holiday baking with kids, it becomes that much more important to keep an eye out for anything that might be a cause for concern. We put these tips together to increase the chances that the memories you make in the kitchen this holiday season will be happy ones.
- Sharp utensils like knives, metal thermometers and toothpicks can be dangerous in the wrong hands, so be careful which you allow your kids to use. It also helps to substitute safer alternatives when possible. For instance, a plastic knife you might have purchased for a summer picnic is perfectly capable of cutting our Single Layer Gingerbread Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting, and is far less likely to result in an unexpected injury.
- Hot pots, pans or ovens can also be an issue. Ensure that younger kids are kept at arm’s length from hot items, and that older kids know how to handle them properly. That way you can safely enjoy our Classic Chocolate Cake with each other this holiday.
3. Most importantly—Have fun!
Inspiring a love of baking in your kids this holiday season starts with making sure their time in the kitchen is enjoyable. Sure, baking is work, but it should also be a time to learn and laugh together as you create memories you’ll cherish and desserts you’ll devour. For other easy, fun dessert options, consider:
Everyone at Domino® Sugar hopes you have a magical, memorable holiday season baking with your loved ones, and our expertise can help. Check out the Recipes For Bakers Of Any Age article for recipes you can trust to come out perfectly no matter how skilled or experienced the baker may be.
There’s More Holiday Fun To Be Had
Here’s more help to make your holidays even jollier.
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Gift Your Baked Goods With Domino® Sugar
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Give the gift of fudge this holiday season
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Share the Sweetness. Host a Domino® Sugar Cookie Swap
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How to Make Baking with Kids Even Better
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