- in Have Fun by Alexis Rodrigo
Holiday Baking with Your Kids
One of my favorite holiday activities is baking – and it’s even more fun when I let my kids “help” me out. Sure, it’s messy, it takes twice longer than it should, and sometimes it’s plain chaotic. But it’s really fun!
Come on, you can do it too. But before you get started, keep these things in mind.
1. The age of your children
Some aspects of baking are not appropriate for very young, such as taking things in and out of the hot oven or handling raw egg. Still, young children can do plenty of other things, like stir dry ingredients together, or sprinkle chocolate shavings on cupcakes.
2. Kitchen safety
Remember to keep all sharp blades and hot surfaces away from little hands, and establish rules for the kitchen.
3. Healthy ingredients
If you have a favorite holiday recipe loaded with unhealthy fats or sugar, consider replacing ingredients like white sugar and butter with applesauce, pureed bananas or prunes, or a healthy oil like safflower oil. Use whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry flour is especially conducive to baked goods) instead of white. Or substitute half of the white flour with whole wheat pastry flour, which bakes up lighter than whole wheat flour.
See if the amount of sugar in your recipe can be reduced or replaced with healthier sweeteners, such as stevia, yacon syrup, sucanat, or blackstrap molasses. Use organic ingredients where possible as well. Sweet and Natural: More Than 120 Sugar-Free and Dairy-Free Desserts is my favorite source of recipes for healthy but delicious pastries.
If you just don’t know what you need to make healthier holiday treats, here is a recipe for holiday cookies that is much healthier than the typical recipe:
Sucanat Cookies
In a bowl, combine:
2 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
Cream in a mixer until fluffy:
1/4 cup unsalted, organic butter
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated buttery spread, such as Earth Balance
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/2 cup sucanat
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Add:
2 eggs, one at a time. Then gradually add flour mixture. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto parchment paper, covered baking stone or cookie sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. When cookies are still warm, top with colored evaporated cane juice made by shaking 1/2 cup of cane juice with a few drops of natural food color.
Here is recipe for molasses cake reminescent of gingerbread that contains no granulated sugar and very little butter.
Molasses Cake
In a mixer, blend:
1 egg
1/2 cup raw, unfiltered honey
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup organic, blackstrap molasses
Add:
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. sea salt
Dissolve:
1 tsp. baking soda in
1 cup hot water
Gradually add the hot water-soda mixture to the batter. Pour into a buttered and floured 9″x9″ glass baking pan and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.
Take some time to bake together as a family this Christmas. You can even give baked goods as gifts, which is a frugal, eco-friendly and thoughtful alternative to the hassle of shopping. What’s more, you get to spend quality time with your children. And your loved ones will appreciate the sweet taste and healthful ingredients in your labor of love!
PS: Here are some books I’m about to order to keep the kids and me busy this holiday season (and maybe make a few gifts while we’re at it):
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