Kids in the Kitchen: Holiday Baking

Baking is a wonderful activity to do with children, especially around the holiday season!  Not only does this activity result in a delicious sweet treat, but it can also provide many teachable moments.  Kids in the kitchen are able to practice following directions, measuring, and even explore basic chemistry.  If you are looking to begin baking with a child or to continue a favored pastime, below are related books and videos.  Happy baking!   

Books

Kids in the Holiday Kitchen by Jessica Strand

“Kick off the holidays in the kitchen this year! Here are kid-friendly projects including easy entrees, sweet and savory noshes, and fantastic crafts to display, wear, or give. Kids will love making and then eating cupcakes that look like Christmas ornaments and Snowballs in the Forest, creative little pizzas perfect for little hands. That special someone will be delighted to receive Santas Suds decorated soap or a candy-cane decorated gift tin. With these unique craft and snack ideas, the holidays will certainly be merry and bright.”

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Let’s Bake Christmas Treats! by Ruth Owen

“Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without cookies to leave for Santa, gingerbread houses, and other tasty baked treats. Full of complete recipes specially chosen for young bakers, readers can refer to this book year after year for their Christmas baking projects. Each recipe includes an ingredient and equipment list and simple step-by-step instructions that will guide readers to impressive, and yummy, results. Whether new to baking or a holiday baking veteran, all readers can enjoy the great variety of recipes offered in this volume.”

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Super Simple Holiday Cookies by Alex Kuskowski

“Get young bakers making their own treats with Super Simple Holiday Cookies! Kids can follow the super simple recipes in this book to learn how to make chocolaty Valentine’s Day cookies, yummy New Year’s cookie sandwiches and more.  With simple text, how-to photos, and tricks and tips, cooking has never been easier or more fun.”

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Kid Chef Bakes for the Holidays by Kristy Richardson

“Discover dozens of sweets perfect for events all across the seasons! Get a complete kids’ cookbook that helps you grow your skills and become an expert baker. There’s tons of guidance and advice that’ll help kids and parents learn about everything from baking safety to frosting with flair.”

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Holiday Crafting & Baking with Kids by Jessica Strand

“Holiday Crafting & Baking with Kids will bring the whole family together for some good holiday fun. Children ages four and up will love selecting their own materials and digging into these cheerful projects. There is something here for everyone and every winter occasion Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, New Year’s, and Boxing Day! Step-by-step instructions, helpful templates, and color photos make it a cinch for little ones to follow along. Best of all, the materials and ingredients for these projects are inexpensive, easy to find, and even easier to turn into amazing gifts, decorations, and treats.”

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Videos

Click here to view additional kid-friendly cooking videos by Lorain Public Library System!

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Kid-Friendly Cooking Programs with Lorain Public Library System

The Lorain Public Library System offers culinary literacy programs for children and families.  Below is a list of upcoming kid-friendly programs.  Please click each event name to learn more and to register online.  You can also register by calling your local library branch.

Hybrid Green Grinch Smoothies – Thursday, Dec. 16 @ 6:30-7:30 p.m. (Main Library)

Family Sugar Cookies – Monday, Dec. 20 @ 6:30-7:30 p.m. (South Lorain Branch)

Healthy Lunch Box Recipes for Kids – Saturday, Feb. 12 @ 2-3 p.m. (North Ridgeville Branch)

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Mother’s Day Baking

Are you having trouble thinking of a unique gift for Mother’s Day?  Maybe you’re in need of an easy dessert for your family brunch.  Look no further than these three impressive recipes.  Mom will always appreciate a homemade dessert and I’m pretty sure your family won’t complain either!

Chocolate Chip Cast Iron Skillet Banana Bread

This recipe couldn’t be easier, and the results are perfect every time! The cast iron skillet allows the bread to bake evenly.  Don’t be afraid to let it reach a golden brown color, I promise it will be delicious.  Give this recipe a try…who doesn’t have a few ripe bananas laying around?

Tartine Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, and Walnut Cookies

Who can resist a cookie?  These loaded cookies are hearty and oh so comforting.  While they require a bit more work than your average chocolate chip, I promise they’re worth the effort. 

Ina Garten French Apple Tart

This last recipe requires quite a bit of effort, but all told it’s not so hard.  Ina Garten is the queen of simple yet elegant cuisine, and the proof is in this recipe.  With a little time and effort (and maybe some help slicing the apples!), you can create this tasty, eye-popping French dessert.  The best part is the tart will be delicious even if you don’t have top pastry design skills.  Think rustic French countryside.

So there you have it, three desserts to fit your baking comfort level.  Make one or all three for a special Mother’s Day treat!

Valentine Desserts – Culinary Literacy Corner

Join us Friday, Feb. 12 at 3PM for our Food Friday presentation on Valentine’s Desserts.  This pre-recorded program features local baker Laura Coteff who creates delicious cookies and treats for Valentine’s Day.  Laura’s Facebook page Abeille shows some of her amazing work.  She bakes and creates lovely, delicious treats for her clients.  Laura says on her page “My vision for Abeille translates into classic simplicity when it comes to quality & the service of product.  Pastries, fromage, food…all special for YOU.”

February 14^th is Valentine’s Day – a day in which we celebrate our loved ones.  People shower their sweethearts with cards, flowers, candy, and gifts.  On Valentine’s Day people usually enjoy all kinds of sweet treats & desserts – cakes, pies, cookies, decadent candies or truffles decorated with hearts and lots of red and pink. 

How did this holiday tradition begin?  It is thought to be tied to St. Valentine but there is little information about how this saint is connected to love.  The patron saint of lovers is actually St. Dwynwen who I doubt many people have even heard of!  Back in the day of famous English poet and author Chaucer, nature-lovers noticed that English birds paired and produced eggs starting in February.  English nobility started to send hand-written love letters during bird mating season.  Shakespeare’s Ophelia said she was Hamlet’s Valentine and so Valentine’s Day became a tradition that lasted!  Industrialization allowed for Valentine’s cards with lots of hearts and poems to be massed produced for people to send to their loved ones.  Soon the makers of sweets and candy like Cadbury and Hershey’s started to produce candy treats to be given to people’s sweethearts.    

The popular Valentine’s candies we see at stores today have an interesting history.  A producer of lozenges figured out a way to stamp words on candy wafers and they started to be used at weddings.  In 1902 the wafers became the conversation Valentine’s hearts.   Today approximately 100,000 pounds of conversation hearts are made each year.  Sweethearts (conversation hearts) is the best -selling Valentine’s candy.  The first heart-shaped candy box of chocolates was created by Cadbury in 1861.  Today approximately 36 million heart boxes of candy are sold. 

Boxes of candy are nice and so are flowers, but how about impressing your sweetie this Valentine’s Day by making a homemade dessert from your heart!  Check out our library for some great cookbooks to create delicious Valentine’s desserts. 

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Sweet & Simple: Dessert for Two by Christina Lane

Cheesecake Love by Jocelyn Brubaker

Sally’s Candy Addiction by Sally McKenney

Also check out delish.com –  “71 Valentine’s Day Desserts That Are Better Than A Dozen Roses”

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!  Love, Lorain Public Library System

Holiday Baking

This year, the holidays are going very differently for me. Usually on Christmas Eve, we usually go to three different houses, and three again on Christmas day. We visit with a ton of friends and family and share so much good food. This year, while I am totally planning on Zooming my holiday (I got all my nieces great presents and I very much need to see them unwrap their gifts), it’s just me and my husband at home. Since I will be at home this year with some time on my hands, I thought I would dedicate some of the holiday to what I like to call project baking. Project baking is baking that takes some time, that turns out something really, really special.

I have a fairly large list of what I want to make, so I thought I would share them with you, as well as links to the recipes. Some of these are a little more time consuming than a batch of cookies, others homier and humbler than what I might make to bring to my family’s holiday gatherings. No matter what I choose, though, putting one or two of these projects in my oven will make my home feel cozier and more like Christmas. Here’s hoping that if you find yourself with time on your hands this holiday season, you’ll try to make something special for yourself or your loved ones, too.

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Kolaches

Kolaches are semi-sweet puffed dough typically surrounding a fruit filling. They originate from Eastern Europe, and according to Wikipedia, they were traditionally a wedding confection. The type I intend to make this holiday has a yeasted dough and aren’t the cream cheese dough cookies that my Hungarian grandmother makes. I have a lot of jam and preserves on hand, and I think a batch or two of these treats will be very nice to drop off to my parents and grandparents.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Kolaches