Category: Kids in the Kitchen

Chocolate Leaves

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What else do you find on a safari besides beautiful animals? Plants and leaves of course! Ok, so we didn’t really forage for leaves, but I loved the idea and replicated it at home as best I could. The project might feel more like a “safari” if you have your own garden from which to select beautiful leaves! Whether store-bought or from your home, be sure to choose leaves that are edible or non-toxic and not sprayed with any pesticides.

We made do with bay leaves from the store, so no real “foraging”, but Travis loved helping rinse the leaves off in the sink before we began, and patting them dry.

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Arrange your leaves on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

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Meanwhile, melt your favorite chocolate in a double-boiler just until melted and smooth. We love the dark chocolate from Endangered Species Chocolate Company! Before you let your child work with the melted chocolate, make sure it isn’t too hot to the touch.

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We used plastic knives to spoon our chocolate over the leaves. You are going to get messy, but that’s half the fun!

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Once he discovered how good his chocolatey fingers tasted, it was time to use a spoon.

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We put the baking sheet in the fridge for the chocolate to set – it took a few hours, which turned out to be perfect timing for dessert.

Carefully peel the leaf off of each portion of chocolate – Travis was a super helper with this part, too!

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And then it’s time to eat the bountiful crop from your “safari” journey.

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Mac and Cheese in a Mug

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Yes, your toddler can make pasta nearly him- or herself alone! This comfort food recipe is just right for a winter lunch or dinner.

In an oven-proof mug, have your child pour in the following: 1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni or small shell pasta; 1/4 cup shredded Daiya cheddar cheese; 1 tablespoon flour; and 1/2 cup non-dairy milk.

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Now give the mug a big stir to combine the ingredients!

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Adults, place the mug on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes – the mixture should be bubbly on top.

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In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon melted Earth Balance butter and 1 tablespoon fresh bread crumbs. Spoon over the mac and cheese, then return to the oven for a final 5 minutes.

Let cool at least 5 minutes before serving. Travis was so proud to have stirred the ingredients together, and couldn’t wait to try the recipe – especially because of the novelty of eating from a mug!

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You can double the recipe and use two mugs; reheat the second portion of mac and cheese in the microwave the next day.

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Christmas Cookie Crate

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We received this delightful holiday kit from Koala Crate, featuring both pretend and real Christmas cookies. The craft would be easy to put together yourself, simply by purchasing felt and stickers! I love that we not only engaged Travis’ imagination with the make-believe cookies, but then got to whip up real Christmas cheer with the included recipe.

First, we played with the felt cookie set. Travis thought the cookie cutters were very neat, since the pre-cut felt let him pop the trees and gingerbread people right out.

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The stickers for decorating were a big hit, and although we didn’t decorate the suggested Santa, snowman, and gingerbread people as depicted, we certainly had fun creatively applying the decorations!

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Then it was time to really bake! This recipe is super kid-friendly; tots can help measure, pour, or mix ingredients, as well as help to roll the dough and use cookie cutters.

For the sugar cookies, you’ll need:

1 cup Earth Balance butter

1 cup sugar

1 Ener-G egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons baking powder

3 cups flour

  1. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix in the vanilla and Ener-G egg.
  2. Combine the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl, then add to the wet ingredients. Once a dough forms, finishing kneading the dough with wet hands.
  3. Divide the dough into portions (we worked with one quarter at a time) and roll out to 1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured surface.
  4. Use round cookie cutters (or holiday ones!) to make shapes, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes.
  5. Cool the cookies briefly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.

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Travis did take a quick turn with the rolling pin, but then he loved crumbling the dough and pressing cookie cutters into his mess, so we lost some of our dough to toddler madness!

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Luckily, we still managed to bake enough cookies to decorate.

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For the icing, you’ll need:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons non-dairy milk

3 tablespoons brown rice syrup

Food coloring

  1. Mix together the powdered sugar and milk. Add the brown rice syrup – your frosting should be thick.
  2. Divide into zip-top plastic bags, and add a sprinkle of food coloring to each bag, kneading to incorporate. Snip a small hole in one corner of each bag and squeeze onto the cookies.

Travis loved this part – be prepared to get messy!

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For a final dose of fun, we added colored sprinkles to some of our cookies, and crushed candy canes to others.

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In sum, a crate-ful of holiday cheer!

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Rocky Road Brownie Mix

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Layer the ingredients for this rich chocolate brownie mix in a gift tin; it makes the perfect gift for a teacher or neighbor during the holidays! Travis loved helping to measure and pour out the ingredients as we arranged them in the jar. And of course, don’t forget to whip up a batch to enjoy at home! Omit the pecans if your recipient has nut allergies.

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First, the recipe itself:

Ingredients:

  • Cooking spray
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup melted Earth Balance butter
  • 2 Ener-G eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup vegan mini marshmallows (such as Dandies)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
  1. Coat a 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt (a.k.a. “the brownie mix”) with the butter, Ener-G eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir until well blended.
  3. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle the chocolate chips, marshmallows, and pecans over the batter. Bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes – the marshmallows should be puffy.
  5. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.

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To prepare the recipe as a gift, layer the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt in a glass jar with lid. Omit the wet ingredients. Place the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and pecans in a zip-top plastic bag, and set over the dry ingredients. This was Travis’ favorite part, especially because he stole a few marshmallows for snacking!

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Make sure to seal the gift jar tightly.

Write out the recipe instructions on an index card so your recipient can add the wet ingredients at home. Use a hole punch to punch a hole in one corner, and tie the index card to the jar with a ribbon.

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Travis helped add stickers to the index card as the finishing touch!

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Mini Pumpkin Pies

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We gave this mini pie recipe, adapted from High 5 magazine, a pre-Thanksgiving trial run today. Kids can help with almost everything, from rolling and cutting the dough to mixing the batter and filling the pie shells! Look for prepared vegan pie crusts from Whole Foods or Wholly Wholesome in the freezer aisle; let the crusts thaw about 15 minutes at room temperature, then remove from the aluminum pie tins and use as directed below.

Roll 2 (9-inch) prepared pie crusts to about 1/16-inch thick on a floured surface. This was Travis’s first time standing on his stool to reach the kitchen counter, and he loved it!

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Using a 5-inch bowl or glass, cut 3 circles from each pie crust, and place in large muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

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To prepare the filling, mix together 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree, 14 ounces sweetened condensed coconut milk (from Let’s Do Organic), 2 Ener-G eggs, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

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At this point, Travis discovered what batter tastes like – cue the happy smile.

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Spoon the batter carefully into the prepared pie shells. Preschoolers can definitely help with this step, although toddlers will likely need you to do most of the work.

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Note: You’ll have a bit of filling leftover – might I recommend a pumpkin pie smoothie for breakfast one morning?

Bake the pies at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes, until the filling is set.

 

Chocolate Pudding Jack o’ Lanterns

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The cutest and easiest Halloween snack ever, delight your kiddos with this treat on Halloween or in the days leading up to it.

Cut about 1/4-inch off the top of clementines or tangerines, reserving the tops. Using a paring knife, remove the fruit segments, leaving the peel intact. Draw jack o’ lantern faces on the peels with a permanent marker, then spoon in your favorite chocolate pudding. I used Zen Soy, but you can also use your favorite homemade recipe!

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Serve surrounded by spooky decor of course.

Veg-i-licious Quesadillas

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This quesadilla recipe (care of High Five) is so easy your toddler can nearly construct it all him- or herself. Adult supervision required for microwave buttons, of course!

Place a whole wheat flour tortilla on a plate and have your child sprinkle on the following: 1/2 cup chopped fresh baby spinach, 2 chopped white mushrooms, and 1/4 cup shredded non-dairy mozzarella (such as Daiya).

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Place in the microwave and cook for 20 seconds. For those learning numbers higher than 10, this is a great time to count down!

Top with an additional tortilla and microwave for an additional 10 seconds.

Let stand for about 1 minute, then cut into quarters (or bite-sized pieces), and serve with a dollop of salsa. Travis was initially leery of the salsa, but was spooning it onto his plate by the end!

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Yogurt-Cup Cake

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This hands-on recipe for kids doesn’t just contain the yogurt of your choice (we used coconut milk from So Delicious); the yogurt container itself becomes a foolproof measuring cup!

First, let your child spoon 1 (5.3-ounce) container of plain non-dairy yogurt into a large mixing bowl.  Clean out the yogurt cup and dry completely.

Next, your child can add the following: 2 “yogurt cups” of all-purpose flour, 1 “yogurt cup” of canola oil, and 1 and 1/2 “yogurt cups” of sugar. This recipe is very forgiving, so your child’s measurements don’t need to be precise, just ballpark.

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Travis was extremely proud to be in charge of the yogurt cup, and continued to play with it even after the baking was done!

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If baking with a toddler, adults can add the following ingredients: 2 vegan eggs (prepared from Ener-G egg replacer or flaxseed), 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Preschoolers will be able to help with these smaller ingredients, too! Now let your child mix it all together.

Pour the batter into a greased 10-inch round cake pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes – the top of the cake should be golden and a pick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Let cool before serving.

Pickled Veggies

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Thanks to High Five for this cute culinary idea! If you chop the veggies, your toddler can prepare nearly the entire rest of the recipe for quick pickles. It’s a neat way to introduce the idea of canning and preserving.

Adults, cut 1 large English cucumber in half, and then into 1/4-inch thick slices. Peel 1 carrot and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Give your child the veggies and a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Travis was so proud to tackle the task of moving the veggies from plate to jar, doing so very studiously.

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Next, prepare the brining liquid: Whisk together 3/4 cup hot water, 3/4 cup rice vinegar, 6 tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Help your toddler pour the brining liquid over the veggies. Travis was very careful to make sure all the vegetables were covered before we latched the lid. Now it’s time to wait! Let the veggies chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.

 

Dump Cake

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We had a construction truck theme for Travis’s second birthday. When I stumbled across this recipe, I thought: what better name for a construction party cake than a “Dump” Cake?

It turns out the name has nothing to do with dumps or construction sites, but rather with the fact that all of the ingredients are simply dumped into a baking pan, no mixing or measuring required. That means your toddler can literally make it him or herself! It was a doubly-perfect recipe for his second birthday cake.

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Ingredients:

  • 2 (15-ounce) cans sliced peaches in juice (such as Native Forest)
  • 1 box vegan yellow cake mix
  • 12 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
  1. Grease a 13×9-inch baking dish, and have your child dump in the peaches, including the juice.
  2. Sprinkle the cake mix over the top of the fruit. (Adults: you can step in and make sure the mix is sprinkled evenly, if your child is concentrating things in one corner).
  3. Add 12 tablespoons of butter, spaced evenly over the top. (Again, adults may need to do a little “clean up”).
  4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour – the cake should be bubbly.

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You can also prepare a version using 1 (15-ounce) can crushed pineapple and 4 cups cherry pie filling. Native Forest’s canned pineapple is vegan, but I needed to step in with a tiny bit of prep for a homemade cherry pie filling, meaning Travis didn’t quite make the second version all by himself… but close enough!

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He was so proud when the moment came to blow out two candles, and tell relatives he had made the cake his “whole self.”

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