cooking/ baking with toddlers

[Laugs]

DD and I had lots of fun the other day making cupcakes from a packet. I want to move on to real food, so I'm just wondering what to try next. Any ideas? She is 2.

Banana loaf cake is nice, and easy. My two enjoy helping to make it.

Cupcakes are easy too (without the packet) and you can decorate them.

Jam tarts. My DD loves rolling the pastry and cutting the shapes out.

Muffins are great because they shouldn't be overmixed (so ideal for beginner stirrers), and it's really just a matter of weighing out all the dry stuff in one bowl, all the wet stuff in another bowl and then flinging them together. hey presto!

Oh, and you can make them quite healthy too, with various fruits and wholemeal flour and so forth.

You could also try home made pizza. Either using your own dough, or bought bases, or even pitta breads. Small hands can assist with the toppings.

Jam tarts sounds good actually, as she can be involved in most of it.

I had been trying to think of dinners she could help me make (since she always gets really restless around this time of day) but everything I can think of involves chopping or stirring hot food. I know I sound really thick, but my mind has gone completely blank.

Ahh x posts midnightexpress. Pizza is perfect.

But do I need one of those pizza pans to make a base on? (we really should have a stupid emoticon)

you don't need one - they are good though. A normal baking tray should be fine.

How about salad?! My DSs like throwing things into a bowl after I've chopped them.

Cheese scones are nice - and easy

No no. Just make the dough (I use a recipe from jamie Oliver's italy book, but it's basically the same as regular bread recipe), roll it out about half an hour before you cook them (don't add the toppings until they're rady to go in the oven) and stick it on a normal baking tray. We bought a couple of trays that have holes in the bottom for air circulation, but have made it fine on normal baking trays too. Our pizzas tend to be rectangular rather than circular, mind you.

When I chop veggies I give my 2 yr old her own board, a plastic knife and a couple of mushrooms. She 'helps' me by cutting the mushrooms up while I do the rest.

Thanks for the suggestions. She's just helped me make the salad for tonight. It was a great way to get her to eat it too - she was sneaking loads of the veg while she was supposed to be mixing it, then ate half the salad on her plate before the rest of the meal was even ready.

Will try pizzas next I think.