Holiday baking can be a fun time to spend with your kids, helping them gain self-confidence, become educated about food safety and learn baking steps.
It is important to know what baking steps children can safely complete.
- Five and six year olds can press cookie cutters, pour liquids into the batter and stir mixtures.
- Seven and eight year olds can beat eggs and measure dry ingredients.
- Nine and ten year olds can stir hot mixtures, blend batters and bake foods in the oven.
- Children ages ten and older can complete the entire cookie making process.
You should also be aware of some extra steps that you should take when involving children, including:
- Never leave children alone in the kitchen.
- Do not leave a hot stove unattended.
- Do not eat any dough with uncooked eggs.
- Batter or dough that isn’t cooked and has raw eggs can contain salmonella. So make sure your children don’t sneak a bite or lick the beaters.
- Raw flour can contain bacteria so don’t taste any food with uncooked flour in it.
- Your little ones should learn how to properly wash their hands. One way to do this is by telling them to sing the Happy Birthday song twice while washing hands.
- Teach your kids to wash utensils and work surfaces before and after handling food.
- Teach kids about how to chill food in the refrigerator or freezer.
Additionally, you should follow basic safety baking rules including: follow package directions for cooking at proper temperatures and times, use the back burners if possible, keep handles of pots turned toward the back of the stove and tie back your hair.
Teach your kids the rules of the kitchen and your baking experience can become a tradition you’ll treasure for years to come.