10 Days of Holiday Baking with Kids

There’s no better way to get in the spirit of the holidays than to bake some festive holiday treats.  I love to bake with my kids.  Yes, it’s messy.  Yes, it can test your patience.  But it can also be so much fun!  It’s a wonderful learning experience for children.  But most important, it’s an incredible bonding experience for everyone.  If you give kids the opportunity, they will love to bake and cook.

I didn’t grow up helping much in the kitchen.  I’m embarrassed to say that up until a few years ago I had never attempted to flip a pancake.  I was never presented with the opportunity.  In this fast paced world of rushing around from activity to activity, it’s never been easier and more convenient to eat from a box or pick up fast food.  This is what we did for years, because we knew no different.  A few years ago we changed all that.

Today we make a home cooked meal almost every night.  We make a warm nutritious breakfast for the kids every morning.  Now, I must confess, I have a husband who loves to cook.  He cooked and prepared dinner from the time I met him, long before I would ever step foot in the kitchen.  We often joke about going back to culinary school if we were a little younger.  Our guilty pleasure is watching MasterChef and Hell’s Kitchen.  We’ve now introduced Madelyn to MasterChef Junior on Friday nights and she enjoys it as much as we do.  We love these shows!

Because I have a new-found love for being in the kitchen, I’m watching my children follow in my footsteps.  I must say, I am so proud of their culinary skills.  My 10-year-old loves to bake and cook and can do it independently.  She recently made us breakfast in bed.  Homemade pancakes with beautifully sliced apples placed on top.  In addition, strawberry lemonade mix with added lemons and a lot of additional sugar blended in the Blendtec and poured into wine glasses.  Such a sweet touch until one glass tipped and spilled all over the bed and floor.  A very sticky mess to clean up to say the least, but so very worth it.

Both my kids jump at the opportunity to help fix dinner or bake a treat.  The kids and I have baked and decorated sugar cookies at Christmas time for many years now.  This holiday season we decided to expand on the holiday baking.  Instead of dozens of decorated sugar cookies, we decided to bake a different holiday treat for 10 days leading up to Christmas and share each one with you.  Not to mention our 10 days of holiday baking comes at the perfect time. Being 33 weeks pregnant the sugar cravings are in full force.  Let the holiday baking begin!

For our first day of holiday baking we made an oldie but goodie.  The Peanut Butter Blossom.  The light taste of peanut butter combined with the rich taste of chocolate is always a match made in heaven.  I think this Christmas cookie should definitely be made year round.  It’s that good!

Try different flavor Hershey’s Kisses on top to add a fun twist to the Peanut Butter Blossom.  There are many varieties posted on the Hershey’s site.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

The Ingredients:
48 Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolates
1/2 cup shortening (I substituted 1/2 cup of unsalted softened butter)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar for rolling

If you’d like to try this recipe as the holidays draw near you can find the instructions over at Hershey’s.

Check back tomorrow to see what the kids and I are baking in the kitchen.

What are your favorite sweet treats to bake at the holidays?