Baking with Children

Junior Chefs’ Best Cookies – GF, DF, Low Refined Sugar

Kids in the Kitchen Series

It is no secret that I enjoy having children in my kitchen. I love being a part of their eagerness and excitement when I suggest that we do some baking together. Today, we were presented with a different type of baking challenge. Their grandfather requested cookies that included some of his most favourite ingredients. Additionally, we had to consider several dietary restrictions: the cookies had to be healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free and low in refined sugar. Together we came up with a delicious cookie recipe that the children appropriately named, “Junior Chefs’ Best Cookies.” Skip to Recipe

Junior Chef's Best Cookies | urbnspice.com

Junior Chef’s Best Cookies are Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Low Refined Sugar and delicious!

Baking is a great opportunity to teach children all about measurements such as fractions, weight, volume and calculating yield. These are skills that they need to learn and it sure is a fun way to create memories that will last a lifetime.

“Always eat something that the farmer grows as part of your snack” was the standing rule that we had with our daughters and now that same rule applies to our grandchildren. Okanagan apricots are in season. We really enjoy this fruit, which is juicy and sweet and always creates a drippy mess on our fingers. The rewards for eating what the farmer grows are these delicious healthy cookies! How great is that?…

Nut Butter and No Nut Butter Cookies

By Denise Pare-Watson

There are many types of nut butter cookies and not so many for no nut butter cookies. That is why I wanted to revisit an old recipe that our family has made for years and years. This version is called “Nut Butter and No-Nut Butter Cookies”. The recipe is based on a national brand peanut butter cookie recipe which has always been a favourite in our household. I have updated the recipe to reflect the need to consider dietary restrictions, including gluten-free, nut-free options and refined sugar-free options. This updated recipe will be the answer to all of the Moms out there who are trying to find a great cookie recipe for their families in which no one has to feel guilty snacking on a small cookie or two.

Sunflower Butter Cookies

Furthermore, for school lunch treats, try making these cookies with a nut-free spread such as Sunflower Seed or Pumpkin Seed Butter. In addition, I have included a recipe for Sunflower Butter below the Nut Butter Cookie recipe for you to try. And finally, a funny story about a misadventure of making sunflower butter with a happy ending.

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Best Ever Banana Muffins

By Denise Pare-Watson

Kids in the Kitchen Series

I have been making these Best Ever Banana Muffins for so many years now that I know the recipe by heart. What does this tell you? It tells you that this Best Ever Banana Muffin recipe will become a family favourite in your household, too!

My little daughters helped make these often…(sometimes with surprising results). Like the time the baking soda perhaps found its way into the mixing bowl a few too many times and our muffins tasted mighty soapy. Or the time that we forgot the baking powder and they ended up a little on the flat side.

Baking with children is always an adventure and one that I would not have missed for the world. We look back on those times with fond memories and now have carried it into another generation with grand kiddies. They enjoy it just as much as their mommas did.

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Vanilla Bean Poppers – Holiday Food Fun Variation

By Denise Pare-Watson

VANILLA BEAN POPPERS – HOLIDAY FOOD FUN VARIATION: Recently, I was thrilled to win a prize for the delightful little cookies in this post. Urb’n’Spice is proud to be one of the Grand Prize Winners of an Edible Christmas Gifts Contest. Since then, I have made this recipe several times and have had quite a bit of fun with it. (See Rainbow Poppers for my grandson’s third birthday rainbow themed party).

That same little boy helped me make another variation today: Christmas Vanilla Bean Poppers! He and his older sister often ask if they can make more vanilla bean poppers. Young children enjoy making the ‘snakes’ and ‘ropes’ and cutting the little cookies with a plastic pastry scraper. Separate the dough (recipe below) into three parts. Reserve one part, colour one part with a few drops of red food colouring, and the remaining part with a few drops of green food colouring.

Vanilla Bean Poppers - Holiday Food Fun Variation | urbnspice.com

The Vanilla Bean Popper dough is coloured separately and twisted together to make a coloured rope. Cut the small logs into small slices.

Vanilla Bean Poppers - Christmas version | urbnspice.com

Lay the cut Vanilla Bean Poppers on their side on a parchment lined tray and bake according to the directions given in the recipe below.

These vanilla poppers make a Delightful Hostess Gift. Here is the original recipe for your reference – have fun with these!

Vanilla Bean Poppers

I make these teeny, tiny cookies for hostess gifts and put them in pretty jars during the holiday season. I call them poppers because they are delightful delicate little cookies that are so irresistible you will keep popping them in your mouth. These cookies are lots of fun to make with children. They can help you roll the dough into long rope-like snakes before you cut them into small pillows or balls. They will love giving these cookies to their teacher.

As you can see in the photos below, the cookie dough is very easy to mix up and it is great fun to make the ropes, cut into tiny pillows and roll into balls. They can be left as little pillows as well. They bake up in a few minutes. Cool before dredging them in icing sugar. They are irresistible treats. The little bowl of baked poppers used in the photograph quickly disappeared before my eyes.

Making Snakes: Vanilla Bean Popper Dough

VANILLA BEAN POPPERS

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8 oz. brick plain Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or substitute Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 dash fine salt
2 cups icing sugar, for coating the cookies

METHOD:

In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese and 2/3 cup icing sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla bean paste and mix to combine
Combine the flour, cornstarch and salt together. With your mixer on low speed, add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until combined well.
Remove small handfuls of dough from the mixer at a time and roll into ‘snakes’ about 1/2 inch in diameter. (Remember, these are tiny cookies). With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/2 inch pieces.
At this point, you can leave them in the pillow shapes as they are, or you can roll them into tiny balls. Either way, place these tiny pieces of dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (The cookies do not spread, so you can place them fairly close together).
Bake in 325oF oven for 12 – 15 minutes, depending on the size of your tiny pillows or balls. The bottoms of the cookies should just start to turn a very light golden.
Let the cookies cool slightly. In a medium-size bowl, place the 2 cups of icing sugar. Place the cooled cookies in the bowl and toss them to coat thoroughly with the icing sugar. Tip: Place the cookies in a sieve to shake the excess icing sugar off.
Place the cookies in a decorative container or jar, label and decorate with ribbon and give to your favourite someone.

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Parchment Paper
Oven Temperature Accuracy
Vanilla Extract
__________

OTHER GIFT IDEAS:

Variation to Vanilla Bean Poppers: Urb’n’Spice Rainbow Poppers

Dee’s Old Fashioned Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Cherry Rhubarb Compote

Chocolate Desserts Cookbook Series

Rainbow Poppers

By Denise Pare-Watson

Thinking outside the box is not an unusual past time for me when it comes to creating fun recipes. In December, the idea for Vanilla Bean Poppers came into my head when Real Women of Philadelphia – Canada announced an intriguing contest for Recipes for Edible Gifts. Rainbow Poppers is a variation of the recipe I submitted called Vanilla Bean Poppers.

Instead of making ropes and cutting (like gnocchi), I separated the cookie dough into smaller portions, added food colouring (I used Wilton Gel Icing Colours, as I find that the colours stay vibrant once the cookies are baked). I explain this further in the steps of the recipe below.

In the photo above, you will notice that the technique is just a bit different than making the vanilla bean popper ropes. In the rainbow poppers recipe, make several coloured ropes and join them together, rolling to smooth them into a colourful cylinder, chill and cut into disks, bake and enjoy. Follow along step by step in the recipe for Vanilla Bean Poppers provided below.

RAINBOW VANILLA BEAN POPPERS

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 – 8 oz. package Original Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour alternative)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 dash fine salt
2 cups icing sugar, sifted (for coating the cookies)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 325^oF.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese and 2/3 cup icing sugar until light and combined.
Add the vanilla bean paste and mix to combine.
Combine the flour, cornstarch and salt together. With your mixer on low speed, add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix just until they are combined.
Remove equal size pieces of dough from the mixer. For each individual piece of dough, add food colouring to your taste. Roll each coloured piece of dough into ‘snakes’ about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter.
Once you have all of the colours you want for your rainbow cookies, place the coloured snakes together lengthwise and start to roll them together. You might have to cut the larger rope into sections in order to get the colourful cylinders of dough to a circumference that will be small enough to cut into 1/2 inch (or less) cookies. (Remember, these are tiny cookies – the tinier the better). With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/4 to 1/2 inch or smaller coin-sized pieces.
Place these tiny pieces of coin size dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. The cookies do not spread, so you can place them fairly close together.
Chill the tray of prepared cookie dough for a few minutes in the refrigerator. CHEF TIP: I find that most cookie doughs benefit from a chill in the refrigerator before baking. It helps the cookies to retain their shape. Try this the next time you make chocolate chip cookies.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12 – 15 minutes, depending on the size of your tiny pillows or balls (for example, the recipe on the Kraft Canada website indicates baking for 25 to 28 minutes for 1/2 inch cookies). The bottoms of the cookies should just start to turn a very lightly golden and will feel firm.
Place the colourful rainbow cookies in a decorative container or jar, label and decorate with ribbon. Give them to your favourite someone.

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Creaming
Oven Temperature Accuracy
Vanilla Extract
__________

More Urb’n’Spice Cookie Fun:

Vanilla Bean Poppers

Vanilla Bean Poppers – Holiday Food Fun Variations

My Dee’s Old Fashioned Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Italian Almond MacGluten-FreeGluten Free Cookie

Urb’n’Spice Chocolate Cookbook Series – Cookies, Brownies and Squares

As you can imagine, the possibilities are endless! What shall I create next?

As always, if you give this recipe for Rainbow Vanilla Poppers a try, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

Follow me on Social Media:

Urbnspice Facebook Page

Urbnspice is on Twitter

You will find lots of fun boards on Pinterest

I am also on Instagram

National Cookie Day – A Cookie Story

By Denise Pare-Watson

Have you heard of National Cookie Day? This is a happy day in the UrbnSpice kitchen. It could be National Cookie Day any day of the year, as far as my family is concerned. Growing up, baking was something that happened frequently. My Mom would typically bake on Saturday morning – I was always a little shadow beside her in the kitchen, tucking myself into the crook of her elbow as she mixed, rolled and scooped dough. It is little wonder I became a pastry chef. Making cookies still gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling of baking with my Mom. Just as my Mom did, I welcomed my little ones into the kitchen. Sharing this experience with my own daughters was such a joy to me. I see the same thing happening all over again with my grandchildren and their Momma – my heart just melts.

Chocolate and Oat Cookies with a Creamy Filling

National Cookie Day – A Cookie Story

So, let’s talk about cookies. What do you think of when you hear the word cookie? Do you have food memories of sandy textured shortbread, or melty chocolate chip, or crispy meringues? Everyone has their own opinion when it comes to their cookie favourite. Most folks are unable to bake on a whim, however. I can offer a few suggestions, tips and techniques that will make any day a cookie baking day for you and your family.

There are many ways to have cookies on hand for occasions when you just have to have a freshly baked cookie. I have dough in my freezer just for occasions like this – slice and bake varieties have endless possibilities, like this cookie dough shown below. The dough is separated into three different varieties: chocolate, strawberry and vanilla bean. It is just a matter of cutting strips to make Neapolitan or twisting the colours together into a cylinder, or just mushing them all together and come up with something different and interesting with every piece of dough. But don’t stop there.

Cookie dough fun - three different cookie doughs formed into many varieties | urbnspice.com

Cookie dough fun – three different doughs formed into many varieties

Making a chocolate chip cookie dough ahead of time, for instance, use a scoop to portion all of the dough, roll them into balls, flatten just slightly, and place the nuggets close together on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then, freeze the dough nuggets until firm, and label and store them in a zipper type plastic bag in the freezer until you are ready to bake them.

I worked at a private golf club where we would freeze the nuggets of dough, called “Toonie cookies” for the menu. They were baked to order – hot and fresh to the customer’s table in 8 minutes. Before the busy Christmas season, we would stock up our cookie nugget inventory, literally making pails and pails of cookie nuggets.

Icebox cookies are also great make-ahead options. The flavour possibilities are endless and they are quick to mix together, roll into a cylinder to make a tiger cookie, wrap, label and freeze. When you are ready to bake them, remove them from the freezer. They will be easy to slice from the frozen state into 1/4 inch slices and place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake and enjoy.

Cookie Dough shaped into logs and stored in the refrigerator or freezer is very handy for baking adventures

Tiger Dough: made by twisting two different cookie doughs together

For a baby or bridal shower, you may want to try just working with two coloured doughs to make a variety of very pretty, delicate, and tiny cookies. They are just as pretty as the checkerboard version, if not prettier, in my opinion. Take a look at the collection of pink cookies below that I made for a baby’s christening. These cookies were by far one of the most pleasant baking requests that I have ever had in my career.

I have to admit that our favourites are not typically the fancy cookies or those that take time to make and bake, but the rustic, homemade, old-fashioned cookies like oatmeal, peanut butter and particularly, chocolate chip and my Mom’s Hermit Cookies. Shown in the photograph below is my husband’s favourite: Urb’n’Spice’s Ultimate Chocolate Chip Pecan – cookies ‘to die for’ according to him. And they are delicious, indeed. Roasting the pecans first make all the difference. There are many tips and techniques that are part of the baking fun. You can learn more baking tips and techniques from this post.

Chocolate Pecan Cookies and Gluten Free Chocolate Pecan Cookies from the cookbook series

You Might Also Like these UrbnSpice Cookie Recipes:

Baking Testing Day and a Kitchen Disaster

My Dee’s Old Fashioned Oatmeal Coconut Cookies – some of the best cookies that I have ever tasted!

Vanilla Bean Poppers – These award-winning tiny, delicate cookies that are worthy of gift giving any time of the year.

Italian Almond Macaroons – a gluten-free meringue type cookie that is fun to make with kids

Urbnspice’s Chocolate Cookies, Brownies and Squares – Volume Two of the series, “Chocolate Desserts Made Easy and Delicious”

So, what is your favourite cookie? I can’t wait to hear your stories.

Have fun with cookies today – promise me that you will have at least one cookie today!

Happy Cookie Baking, everyone!

Denise Pare-Watson

The UrbnSpice Chef

National Cookie Day

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

Happiness is Baking with Children!

By Denise Pare-Watson

“Happiness is Baking with Children”

The UrbnSpice Chef

One thing I am known for as a Mom, Grandmother, and culinary educator is welcoming children into my kitchen. Baking with Children – I love it! My children would literally come running happily into the kitchen when it was baking time with Mommy. Their friends knew that they would always have a place in my kitchen island when they visited. Birthday parties often had a baking or kitchen activity component to them. My grandchildren are willing little helpers – I have even had dreams of all four of them around me at the kitchen island.

Best Banana Muffins Ever: Kids in the Kitchen | urbnspice.com

Best Banana Muffins Ever: Kids in the Kitchen helping top the muffins with streusel

There are some tips to keep things organized and (somewhat) mess-free. Each situation is going to be a little bit different. If a child has been involved in a fun baking activity, this is going to be easier than a child who has never experienced any sort of kitchen activity with an adult. Many of my daughter’s friends told me that they were not allowed anywhere in the kitchen. Sadly, this happens. My goal is to change that….

Have you ever wondered about ………..?

By Denise Pare-Watson

Kids in the Kitchen – I love it, actually. They are such willing little helpers. It all started when my two daughters were very young. The ‘wonder’ in a child’s mind is a beautiful thing. It was my challenge to nurture that curiosity and provide opportunities for them to have sensory experiences both in food and play. One of the questions I would often ask them is, “have you ever wondered about…..?” The answers that they gave me always inspired me to continue asking the same question over and over again.

Making Edible Play Dough with Kids in the Kitchen

Being the curious souls that they were with active minds and adventurous palates, it was always exciting going for a visit to the local greengrocers (Longo’s) to help Mom to shop for “vegables” and “foooots”. It was their special job taking turns each week to help find something new that we had never, ever tried before to buy and bring home.

Beautiful Strawberry tomatoes

The staff at the greengrocers made my task easier, with excellent signage describing each item, how to pick the best one, and how to cook or eat it. The girls enjoyed this responsibility thoroughly. The other highlight of this visit was spending time (lots of time) at the display station where the staff would be busy at work carving fruits and vegetables into flowers, animals, people and other whimsical creatures. The demonstrations captured the attention of my then three and five-year-old. They stood beside me completely mesmerized by the carving talent displayed by the staff together with the other amazed onlookers young and old.

We had some interesting treats (daikon, dragon fruit, star fruit, kiwi, passion fruit, blue potatoes, striped tomatoes, baby vegetables, to name a few) – some were very popular, some not so much. Yet, it was still an experience that we all enjoyed from start to finish. As parents, we always thanked the girls for trying every item with enthusiasm, or for even it giving it a hesitant little nibble.

Have You Ever Wondered About? | urbnspice.com

Gorgeous Purple potatoes

My daughters are now grown. They have developed sophisticated palates, excellent cooking and baking skills and possess the same spirit of adventure they acquired as youngsters when it comes to trying new foods, ideas and recipes. I like to think it had something to do with our “buy it and try it” greengrocers adventures at Longo’s.

Have you welcomed Kids in your Kitchen? What interesting foods have you purchased and investigated? I can give you lots of tips on where to start your Kids in the Kitchen Food Adventures.

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN:

Here are a few activities to get you started with Kids in the Kitchen:

Purple Potatoes: Make some Purple Gnocchi

A fun cookie to make with Kiddies: Vanilla Bean Poppers

And here is another fun cookie to make with kiddies: Rainbow Vanilla Bean Poppers

“Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking.

It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.”

Guy Fieri

Invite Kids into Your Kitchen and enjoy experiencing cooking and baking again through the eyes of a child. Ask them the question, “Have you ever wondered about……? I am excited to hear the answers that they give you.

Happy Cooking with Kids in the Kitchen

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

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