One of the best parts about the holiday season is the seemingly never-ending supply of festive treats and Baking with kids.
The truth is those holiday sweets become even more special when you involve your kids in the baking and preparation process! Keep reading for Baking with Kids: 10 Kid-friendly Holiday Treats.
Fun and easy to make (with adult supervision, of course), these goodies are sure to be a highlight of their holiday break!
Keep reading for Two of my faves: Star of David Cupcakes and Reindeer Cupcakes
Baking with Kids: 10 Kid-friendly Holiday Treats
Reindeer Cupcakes
Ingredients
12 cupcakes
1 to 2 cups chocolate frosting
12 Nutter Butter cookies (1 for each cupcake)
Chocolate candy melts or chocolate flavored almond bark
12 red cinnamon candies (1 for each cupcake)
24 candy eyes (2 for each cupcake)
24 pretzel twists (2 for each cupcake)
You will also need:
Large open star tip (Wilton 1M Open Star Piping Tip)
Piping bags
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
- Melt chocolate candy according to package directions making sure not to overheat. If the candy gets too hot, it will seize. If desired, add 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening or coconut oil to make the melted candy pourable.
- Dip the pretzel twists in melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Place the pretzels on waxed paper until dry.
- Dip Nutter Butter cookies in melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Place the cookie on waxed paper and immediately add the pretzels (as antlers), cinnamon candy (as the nose) and eyes before the chocolate hardens. Allow to set completely.
- Pipe chocolate frosting on each cupcake using an open star tip. Place one reindeer head on each cupcake.
Holiday Puppy Chow
If you and your kids have never experienced puppy chow, you don’t know what you’re missing! Put a holiday spin on this sweet snack mix by replacing the chocolate and peanut butter with white chocolate or almond bark. Melt 1.5 cups of the chocolate with ¼ butter, toss with 8 cups Chex or Crispix cereal, then finish with a dusting of powdered sugar and crushed candy canes. Or, if you don’t want to alter this Midwestern treat, simply place your favorite puppy chow in a holiday bowl and call it “Reindeer chow.”
Gingerbread Houses
Use a gingerbread house pattern to cut and bake the correct sizes of gingerbread needed to create the walls and roof of the gingerbread house. Assemble pieces and use frosting to stick them together. Let kids create their dream gingerbread houses by decorating them with gumdrops, chocolate candies, sprinkles, frosting, cookies, and anything they can think of. Hold a contest for best gingerbread house or make small gingerbread houses to create a gingerbread village (for smaller houses you can cut the work by using graham crackers in place of ginger bread).
While you are waiting for your hosues to take shape you ca play a game of Candyland
Star of David Cupcakes
Ingredients
12 cupcakes
1 to 2 cups vanilla frosting
Candy melts, blue
6 pretzel sticks for each cupcake
You will also need:
Large open star tip (Wilton 1M Open Star Piping Tip)
Piping bags
Toothpick
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
- Melt the candy coating according to package directions giving special care not to overheat the candy. If the candy coating is overheated, it will be too thick. You can add 2 teaspoons of vegetable shortening or coconut oil to help thin the candy but do not add any other type of liquid as the candy will seize and harden.
- Toss each pretzel stick in the melted blue candy and then place it on the waxed paper to create triangles. Allow to dry completely.
- Once the pretzels have dried, use a small amount of melted candy to attach one triangle over another triangle to create a star. If desired, transfer remaining candy melts to a piping bag. Snip the tip from the bag and drizzle the candy over the pretzel stars. Allow to dry completely.
- Pipe vanilla frosting on each cupcake using an open star tip.
- Gently lay a pretzel star on each cupcake.
Hershey Kiss Pretzels
This treat works for the square, grid-like pretzels. Arrange pretzels on a baking sheet and place one unwrapped Hershey kiss on top of each pretzel. Bake for 2-3 minutes in an oven preheated to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from oven and place a single (red or green) M&M in the center of each Hershey kiss. Chill in refrigerator until hardened (about 10 minutes).
Hot Chocolate Stir Sticks
Make a variety of stir sticks to dress up your hot cocoa. Simply use plastic spoons and coat the end of the spoon with chocolate, almond bark, or caramel. Before the coating of your choice hardens, be sure to add sprinkles, nuts, or crushed candy cane. Place finished spoons in a clear jar once they are hardened for a decorative display until it’s hot chocolate time.
Oreo Snowman Pops
Insert a Popsicle stick into the frosting of an Oreo. Melt an almond bark or a thick white chocolate bar and generously coat the Oreo to act as the snowman’s face. Add a candy corn nose and mini chocolate chips for the coal eyes and mouth. Allow white coating to harden on wax paper.
Rice Krispy Treat Wreaths
Simply add green food coloring to your favorite Rice Krispy treat recipe and shape treats into wreath rings (use buttered hands to prevent sticking). Use red frosting dots, dried cranberries, or red M&Ms to create holly berries and a Twizzler string to create a bow. You can also make this same recipe with corn flakes instead.
Indoor Snowmen
When it gets too cold for the kids to make real snowmen outside, break out the marshmallows and create some winter fun inside. Use frosting to stack marshmallows on top of each other and add buttons, eyes, nose, and mouth with different colors of frosting, gum drops, or sprinkles. Use mini pretzels as the arms.
Tortilla Snowflakes
Microwave store-bought tortillas for 5-10 seconds until soft and pliable. Fold the tortillas in half and then in half again so that they resemble a pie wedge and have the kids use clean kitchen scissors to cut out shapes as if they were paper snowflakes. Unfold the tortillas and brush with oil. Arrange on baking sheet and sprinkle with confectioners, granulated, or if you don’t care about the color, brown sugar and heat in the oven until lightly browned or slightly crisp. Sprinkle with edible glitter for a sparkly effect.
So are you ready to get Baking with your kids ? Another one of my favorite recipes is this Cinnamon Bun recipe and this Pumpkin Spice Monkey bread recipe
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