There are as many reasons for cooking with kids as there are cookies in a batch, and fortunately, the benefits will last longer than the cookies. These applesauce cookies were so yummy that we cooked up some more– a sort of double treat for eating and learning. They are called Applesauce Oatie Cookies.
**The recipe calls for 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar. We found this was too sweet, so the second time we made it with only the 1 cup of brown sugar, and that was enough. Our homemade applesauce was pretty tart, because there was no sugar in it so, if your applesauce is sweet, you may be able to cut down some more. The recommended amount of time is 8-10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the cookies were still a bit underdone so we left them in for another 2 minutes. 12 minutes was better, but of course, this can vary for different ovens and locations. **
Cooking can help develop higher level thinking skills like doing steps in a particular order, observing, and following directions. Plus there’s basic science, counting and measuring for math, using language purposefully, and special vocabulary. Paying attention is extra important because getting distracted even for just a few minutes can mean cookies get overdone.
Having children help means more supervision for us but there are some ‘sweet’ benefits. When we include kids in cooking, we are helping them create a connection and understanding with food, building family bonds, boosting children’s confidence and self-reliance, and encouraging a healthy attitude to eating.
Being part of the process is so much more meaningful and satisfying. Kids often feel powerless because they have to depend on others for practically everything. By involving them, they feel empowered. Once the cooking part is done, there’s more to come with the cleaning up part. This is an experience about balancing fun and work, another life skill. Would you agree that learning and fun are like extra ingredients in a recipe?