Letting your little one help in the kitchen is not only fun but it’s also a great opportunity to get them engaged and curious about food (warning: it’s a little messy, too). Even if you have a picky eater on hand, getting them to play around with ingredients and see the results can help get them excited about trying new foods. Baking with kids is a great place to start—it’s hard to find a kid who doesn’t like cookies, muffins, cakes and more.
At OXO Tot, we’ve done a lot of baking with our little ones—from testing products at home or as a fun weekend activity, we spend a lot of time in the kitchen with our kids. We want to share what we’ve learned and our favorite tools to keep by your side when baking with kids (bonus: these are real cooking tools from OXO that are safe to use and kid-friendly).
POP Containers
These storage containers keep baking staples like flour, sugars, baking powder, oats and chocolate chips fresh and do double duty as you bake with your kids. First, they’ll help keep the mess somewhat under control — scooping directly from the wide container is much easier than navigating a bag of flour with a toddler. Second, they’re stimulating for kids. The push-button makes a fun “pop” sound as it opens and closes, something our baking product lead’s daughter can’t get enough of when she’s helping in the kitchen.
Silicone Baking Cups
When baking cupcakes or muffins with little ones, we like to use Silicone Baking Cups. There’s a convenient fill line so your little one can keep track when helping to pour the batter, plus they’re in fun colors for sorting, counting or making patterns. Need one more reason to try these? Our brand voice director uses them in her kiddo’s lunch box to separate snacks.
Egg Beater
This Egg Beater is easy to use, simple to clean, and the handle doesn’t get slippery—even when little hands are wet or…slimy. And it’s just fun when you’re baking with kids. They’ll love watching heavy cream transform into whipped cream or seeing how ingredients combine in the blink of an eye.
Silicone Pastry Mat
A Silicone Pastry Mat is helpful for keeping countertops under control and containing the mess, but it also gives your kid a designated working area when they’re baking. They’ll feel independent working on their own mat; it’s complete with dough diameter outlines for pizza or pie, unit conversions, helpful tips for ingredient substitutes and a border that acts as a ruler.
Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
OXO Tot product lead enlists the help of measuring cups when he makes chocolate chip banana pancakes with his boys. For tots, measuring ingredients (and then dumping them into a mixing bowl) is the ultimate “I can do it myself” moment while baking. These Stainless Steel Measuring Cups are magically magnetic, meaning they store together neatly in your drawer and are endlessly fascinating to kids. Don’t you love a win-win?
Cooking Press
A Cookie Press is another hit when it comes to baking with kids because it makes baking lots of cookies extra fun and super easy. Kids love to choose their shape—the Press comes with daisy, flower, sunflower, fleur-de-lis, butterfly, bear, shell, leaf, heart, snowflake, tree and wreath disks. Just load the dough and push the lever to dispense perfect cookies. It’s kind of like a Play-Doh playset, but edible.
Precision Batter Dispenser
To make batter-ladling kid-friendly, our baking product manager uses the Batter Dispenser with her daughter on weekend mornings for pancakes. The easy-to-squeeze handle is large enough that you and your child can hold together—we just won’t tell them who is doing the hard part. The shut-off valve helps prevent drips and the entertainment potential is huge as your kid watches the batter flow through the valve.
Check out more tips from OXO on how to get your little ones to join in on the kitchen action — along with easy, kid-friendly recipes they’ll enjoy helping you make.
