There’s no doubt about it; in our quest to teach kids what they need to know to be getting on in life, we simply have to teach them how to cook.  I have to admit, though, that this is one of those parenting things that makes a better ideal than practice.  It just takes so much extra time and work to have kids helping in the kitchen.  I sometimes live in dread of those three little words that cause me joy when I hear them in any other context:  “Can I help?”

Try not to think of this as an inconvenience; think of it as an investment.  It will take extra time and care to show them how to pre-heat an oven, how to clean up as you go (some adults haven’t quite mastered that one!), how to scrape the sides of the bowl as you stir a cake batter, how to crack an egg, and so on.  But if we do take the time to walk kids through those basic things, it won’t be long before they can do them on their own.  The benefit to you is that soon your child can be in charge of cooking one night a week, and you can have the night off!

There are sites that feature all sorts of recipes for cooking with kids.  One that I recently found is called simply ChildrensRecipes.com.  They feature recipes easy enough even for preschool children, and some that are a little more challenging for kids who want to learn new skills.

Here’s a fun one for making Valentine’s Day Heart-Shaped Ice Cream Sandwiches.  First you have to make the cookie part, which is a simple and fun butter cookie recipe:
Butter Cookie Dough
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
Method:
Combine butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and egg yolk in medium bowl. Add flour, baking powder and salt; mix well. Cover; refrigerate about 4 hours or until firm.
Makes about 3 cups of dough

Once you’ve made the cookie dough, you can then proceed to the ice cream part.

Ingredients:
3 or 4 drops red food coloring
1 pint ice cream or frozen yogurt, any flavor
Heart-shaped cookie cutter
Method:
Prepare cookie dough; mix in food coloring. Cover, refrigerate until firm (about 4 hours or overnight).
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Roll dough on floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out cookies using cookie cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 20 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned around edges. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
Remove ice cream from freezer; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly, about 10 minutes. Spread 4 to 5 tablespoons ice cream onto flat side of half of cookies. Place remaining cookies, flat side down, on ice cream.
Press cookies together lightly. Wrap each sandwich in foil; freeze until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
Makes 6 to 8 cookie sandwiches.