Clutter Busting: K.A.F. Kids™ - A Bridge to Baking

My kids have always enjoyed cooking and baking, and it has been my pleasure to teach them.  My son, Dylan, is 4 and he is still happy with the toy ovens and licking the mixing spoons, but my daughter, Juliet, who will soon be 10, has already mastered stirring (while keeping much of the food inside the bowl), cracking eggs, and measuring; and has begun wanting a bit more leeway in the kitchen.

I am always anxious to try a kid friendly product in the kitchen and was delighted to test out King Arthur Flour K.A.F. Kids™ Snickerdoodle cookie mix.  I sat the box out on the kitchen counter and tied an apron around Juliet.  She had no problems following the kid friendly directions.  Not only were they easily spelled out, with child friendly fonts, margins and spacing, but there were illustrations for each step.  I helped with a couple steps, but quite frankly she could have done each step solo.  She turned on the oven while I melted the butter she lined the cookie sheet with parchment paper and then cracked her egg.  Once the butter cooled a bit she used a whisk to incorporate the egg with the butter and then used a spoon to add the packaged cookie mix.  She then followed the directions on the box and rolled the dough into balls.  Dylan got into the action at the next step as he got to roll the balls in the cinnamon and sugar (the cinnamon and sugar come with the box and there is more than enough).  They placed the cookies on the cookie sheet and I placed it in the oven.

The 8 to 10 minutes that followed brought great anticipation through our home as the kids waiting patiently for the cookies to finish baking.  They took turns flipping on the oven light and smashing their faces against the oven door, watching the dough balls spread out into proper cookie form. When the buzzer rang and we confirmed that the cookies were ready, I placed each of the 16 cookies onto a cooling rack.   

After a few minutes I placed 2 warm cookies on plates and poured them each a glass of cold milk; quite a reward for their efforts in the kitchen.  The cookies were absolutely perfect.  We stored the leftovers in an airtight container and the texture of the cookies stayed perfect for days: edges firm, top layer crinkly, and oh-so-soft inside.

If you are looking for a fun and tasty way to spend some time in the kitchen with your child, I would certainly recommend this product.  King Arthur has a whole line of kids’ mixes and you can view them online at www.kingarthurflour.com, or you can request a catalogue by calling 800.827.6836. For about the same price of a kid’s meal at a fast food restaurant (the mixes retail for $5.50-$5.95) you will have a learning experience, great memories, and yummy dessert!

Although it would sometimes be far quicker to do it yourself, or purchase prepackaged foods, the time spent with children in the kitchen is absolutely priceless.  I fondly remember graduating from my own light bulb powered oven and becoming Mommy’s little helper.  The times spent with my mom in the kitchen are some of my fondest memories, thanks Mom!

Happy Baking!
Betsy