Carol’s Comfort Foods

Aren’t these cute?  Amazing what you can do with a couple of cupcakes.  My daughter and I made these last night using two types of cupcakes and the directions from a wonderful book entitled Hello Cupcake by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson.  It has step by step instructions on how to make some awesome cupcakes.  Most of the designs use cupcakes as the foundation, but much of the detail is created with candies, cookies, decorating sugars, cereal, and the like. 

Overall, the author gives very detailed and easy to understand instructions in completing each cupcake design.  The author states that most of these cupcake designs can be created with tools that you already have in the home and she particularly stresses that Ziploc bags work well as a pastry bag.  She is correct in that many of the tools that are needed to complete the custom cupcakes are things that you readily have at home, however I would disagree that the Ziploc bags are an adequate substitute for a pastry bag. 

My daughter and I attempted the Ziploc bag piping and found that it did not come out as nice as using a regular pastry bag and tips.  We abandoned the Ziploc technology about half way through the project, so our panda’s facial feature are not as clean as we would have liked for them to be, however we piped on the claws and I think you can see the difference. 

By all means, try the Ziploc bags, however if you are going to be making lots of custom cupcakes, I would recommend purchasing a regular pastry bag and tips and using those for the detailed piping work.  For convenience, you can purchase plastic disposable pastry bags that will work just fine with the coupler and tips that come with a standard pastry bag.      

When you allow your little ones to help you in the kitchen, along with having a great time, children receive lots of extra educational benefits in spending time baking with you.  Consider these:

1.   Math – baking offers children an opportunity to sharpen their math skills.  Whether your child is helping you measure out ½ cup of oil or determining how many sticks of butter equal ½ cup, the math skills that they are learning in school are being put to use in a very practical, real life manner.  What better way to solidify these skills, than by baking a chocolate cake!

2.   Culture – If you try different dessert recipes from around the world and discuss them as you work together, your kids will learn about the customs, holidays and language of the dessert’s country of origin.  Perhaps this would include some special recipes that you brought back from your travels in other countries.

3.   Organization – Getting ready to bake requires preparation – reviewing the recipe, determining the ingredients that are necessary, checking the pantry to make sure all ingredients are on hand and compiling a shopping list for those ingredients that need to be purchased.  All of these steps will develop your child’s organizational skills and patience.

4.   Following Directions – Baking is a process and certain steps must be followed in sequence to ensure the desired result.  You can help your kids read the recipe and follow the instructions step by step in baking a dessert.  You can also ask them questions during the process like “what would happen if we frost the cake before its cooled?” 

5.   Responsibility – Give kids age specific tasks and responsibilities when you bake together.  Young, preschool children can be taught to wash fruit or participate in kneading some dough.  Older children can break and beat eggs, measure out ingredients and frost cakes or cookies.  They all can take part in the clean-up process.  Giving your kids some responsibilities in the baking process can teach them about completing projects and the importance of cleaning up after project.  These lessons can be valuable in completing school projects and the ongoing tasks of getting them to clean up their room as they get older!

I haven’t met a child yet that doesn’t get excited about helping in the kitchen. From an early age, children can begin to assist you in the kitchen, with age appropriate tasks. Cooking with your children can benefit them in so many ways. They can learn valuable lessons about nutrition, measuring, following instructions and how to safely navigate in the kitchen. At the end of the day, you are creating wonderful memories for you and your children through your time with them in the kitchen.

There are a number of great cookbooks designed for children, including Kitchen for Kids by Jennifer Low. This cookbook contains 100 recipes that are especially designed to allow children to work safely in the kitchen. Recipes include: healthful breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas, as well as recipes for desserts, beverages and breads. Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual by Klutz also has a number of recipes that are designed to introduce children into the art of cooking in a fun way.

Throughout the country there are countless cooking schools that are sprouting up that are designed for the young chef in your family. Many retailers have taken note of this trend and now offer culinary wear and specialized kitchen equipment designed for kids. Whether or not you want to take advantage of some of these formalized resources, consider allowing your child to spend some time with you in the kitchen. My eleven year old daughter has evolved into my “sous chef” and we have spent some wonderful afternoons in the kitchen cooking and baking. The excitement and sense of accomplishment that she displays after baking a cake or batch of cookies on her own (with my oversight) is priceless.