Cooking with kids: Dessert recipes

Cooking with kids is a tremendously rewarding experience for little ones and adults alike. Your children pick up some essential life skills while sharing some fun and conversation with you. The key to a good experience is kid-friendly recipes that are creative, delicious, and easy—like these.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Grahams

Yields 24

Ingredients

• 8 graham crackers, broken along the lines into small rectangles
• Smooth peanut butter
• 8-ounces milk chocolate

Directions

1. Kid step: Line a baking sheet with waxed paper (an adult should tear the paper from the roll) and set on a table or work surface.
2. Kid step: Using a kid-sized knife (a toddler-training knife or a plastic knife), spread peanut butter on one side of each cracker and line crackers up on a baking sheet.
3. In the top of a double boiler over water, melt the milk chocolate just until smooth; remove from heat.
4. Drop the grahams into the chocolate one at a time, turning gently with a fork to coat fully; lift carefully from the pan (touching only the side without the peanut butter), tapping the fork on the side a few times to smooth the chocolate and drop off any excess. Lay crackers carefully back onto the waxed paper-lined pan; do not let the grahams touch each other.
5. Let grahams harden at room temperature for about an hour; transfer to the refrigerator (on the tray) until fully hardened. Store in an airtight container until ready to eat.

Raspberry Dark Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

Yields 16 cake bites

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour an 8 x 8-inch baking pan; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth; add eggs and beat into the batter.
3. Kid step: In a large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder using a wire whisk. With the mixer running on its lowest setting, add the flour to the butter mixture, one spoonful at a time until combined; stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl, if necessary.
4. Kid step: Add the raspberries to the bowl of a mini-food processor and process until smooth.
5. Pour the raspberry purée into the stand mixer and beat to combine; add the chocolate chips and run the mixer on low just to combine.
6. Kid step: Together, pour the batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to scrape all the batter out; gently tap the pan to ensure that the batter is even.
7. Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for at least 1 hour before cutting. A completely cooled cake is easier to cut.

Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies with Oats

Yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup oats (not quick-cook)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Kid step: Sift together the all-purpose flour, oats, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract; mix on medium speed until light and fluffy in appearance.
4. Kid step: Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture a little at a time until fully incorporated.
5. Kid step: Add the eggs to the mixer one at a time, beating until incorporated after each mixture.
6. Add the chocolate chips and raisins to the mixer and mix for a few seconds to combine.
7. Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, drop the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving about 2-inches between each mound; cook for 9 to 11 minutes, until golden. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

kid-friendly truffle recipe

Chef Desireé shows how to make truffles with the kids.

More ways to get kids involved in the kitchen

Kid-friendly recipes from A to Z
8 Recipes you can make with the kids
Kids a-cookin’: Tropical Fruit Dip