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One of the best feelings in the world is when your hard work pays off. Cooking in the kitchen with kids can be SO hard. I used to think it would just take a bit more cleaning. I didn’t realize that the extra mess was just the beginning. It can be painstakingly slow. Kids can be super excited and helpful one minute and then distracted and wanting to quit the next. And how many times do you need to stop and wash their hands after they lick their fingers? And how do you scale the rest of the ingredients when they spill while mixing. While baking cookies with a preschooler can be hard, practice does eventually pay off.
My three year old daughter had been excited for weeks to make cookies for a church event. Fast forward to the evening before. Our day had been crazy busy and we still needed to make the cookies. My one year old son of course woke up right when we started to round up the ingredients. And once I got him up was in a “I will scream at the top of my lungs unless you hold me” kind of mood. I almost just gave up on the cookies all together. Then, I remembered that my daughter was the one who wanted to make them. As long as her attention held, she was all but capable of making them herself.
So, I stood there holding my son and my daughter made all the cookies. We have a learning tower that lets my daughter reach the counter. I obviously still provided a lot of instruction and oversight, but she was my hands while mine were busy.
How to Make Cookies with a Preschooler
Prepping for Baking Cookies with a Preschooler:
First, get out all the ingredients for your cookie recipe. I did this since pretty much all our baking supplies are up high or in baby proofed cabinets. This was the one thing I got done before my son woke up. Use whatever cookie recipe you like best. But if you need a place to start, here is the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe you find on the back of Toll House chocolate chips.
Then, learn what your child can do. Making cookies is a great way to try out and practice measuring, pouring, and lots and lots of mixing. I would recommend using big bowls for everything to make it easier for them to avoid spilling. Cookies are a great thing to practice on since they will probably still be tasty even if the ingredient amounts aren’t quite right.
Measuring:
Measuring is the first thing that I want to take full control over. I need to remind myself that my daughter is capable and give her a chance. For things like flour and sugar my daughter struggles to fill a whole measuring cup up by scooping. So I gave her a spoon instead. She uses it to slowly fill up the measuring cup. It is slower, but gets a more accurate measurement.
If this is the first time your child has poured into measuring spoons, do not do what I did and have them do it over the mixing bowl. Get an extra bowl for them to do it over so if it overflows, the extra doesn’t end up in your batter. If you want to practice measuring with your child on something that takes less accuracy, try making a smoothie with them.
Pouring:
Pouring was one of the first things my daughter learned how to do in the kitchen. I used to measure things out for her and have her dump them. Now she wants to do it all herself.
Mixing:
Making cookies takes a lot of mixing. This is another step that I tend to take over on more than I should. Letting a preschooler do it takes such a long time. But, it is amazing how well they can do even when it gets tough.
Shaping:
Now her dough needed rolled into balls. All of the previous steps I had done with my daughter a lot before. But, in the past, my daughter had only clumped together a few pieces of cookie dough on the pan. But this time I needed her to make them into actual balls and stay focused for the entire bowl of dough. My alternative was to put my son on the ground and listen to him scream while I made them as quickly as possible.
Thankfully, my daughter rose to the occasion. I think she was so proud of making everything by herself up to this point (as she should have been) that she was extra motivated to finish. The size of her cookie dough balls varied a lot. When they were too extreme I pointed it out to her and she fixed them.
About two thirds of the way through, she did lose interest. She got slower and slower. My husband ended up finishing what he was doing and held my son while I helped my daughter with the last few balls. She arranged them on the tray right next to each other, so I spread them out across two cookie sheets and put them in the oven.
Outcome of Baking Cookies with a Preschooler:
My daughter made some really yummy cookies. And of course a huge mess.
I think I learned more from my daughter’s cookie making than she did. For a while I was really good about letting her help in the kitchen. But lately I haven’t had the patience. Her great success in making these cookies all but entirely on her own was a reminder to me that it is worth it. Not only did it restart me dreaming about the day she can cook on her own, it was wonderful seeing her so proud of herself. When has your child blown you away by how well they can do something on their own?
