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Gingerbread recipe

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A good recipe to use with children – the dough can cope with lots of handling by the children and the finished biscuits will still turn out OK.

Gingerbread recipe


baking

7 oz plain flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoons mixed spice

3 oz butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

2 oz sugar

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 desert spoon of water

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 / 190 C and grease two baking trays with butter.

2. Heat the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan, but don’t let them boil.

3. Stir in the flour and spices.

4. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the water and add to the mixture.

5. Knead it into a ball and then roll out on to a floured surface.

6. You can make diferent shapes and use cookie cutters to make biscuits – whatever you like. If you’re making gingerbread men, add raisins for eyes / mouth / buttons.

7. Bake until golden (time will depend on how big your cookies are, but check after 10 minutes).

8. Lay them on a cooling rack. If you want to add icing wait until the biscuits are completely cool.

Enjoy!

Birthday Cake Recipe – best ever!

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Easy birthday cake recipe

Makes enough to fill two round cake tins about 20cm diameter or 24 fairy cakes

8 oz caster sugar

8oz butter, at room temperature

4 large eggs, free range please

8 oz self raising flour

a little milk

1. Grease the two cake tins with butter – on the bottom and all round the sides. Pre-heat the oven to gas 4 / 180 C.

2. Cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon.

3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and stiff.

4. Sieve in the flour and fold it in gently with a large metal spoon. Easy does it.

5. Mix in a little milk to get the mixture to a soft consistency which drops easily off the spoon.

6. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins. Family tradition says everyone present in the kitchen has to blow the cake a kiss to make it taste good.

7. Bake for 20 minutes until it’s firm to the touch on top when y0u press it gently.

8. Turn the cakes out on to a cooling rack. Once completely cool you can decorate (see icing receipe below).

Butter Icing

3oz butter at room temperature

6oz icing sugar

a little water

1. Beat the butter until soft

2. Sieve in the icing sugar and beat with the butter.

3. Add a little water (or orange / lemon juice for flavour) til you get the consistency you want – fairly stiff, but spreadable. Less is definitely more – don’t add too much water. You could add a few drops of food colouring if you want.

4. Spread over the top (and sides if you want) of the cake. Then add your decorations.

 see all our Kids in the Kitchen recipes

Memory Game

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When children learn to read and do simple arithmetic they need to be able to use their memory to recall information. A way to help develop this memory skill is with a simple party game, which you can play individually with your child, or with a group of children.

You’ll need: a tray, a tea towel (or similar cover), a selection of objects – say a train, a book, a wooden spoon, a teddy, an apple, a wooden blockmemory game

(If you’re playing this at a themed party you can select a group of related items, for example for a ‘mermaid’ party you might use a shell, a starfish, a pebble, a fish etc.)

Sit the children down and show them the objects on the tray – say what each item is and have a chat about them. Tell the children you’re going to cover the objects up and then take one away – they’ll have to guess which object is missing.

The children can take it in turns to guess which is missing, or with older children the first person to shout out the answer is the winner. Bear in mind that children develop memory skills at different rates, so take care not to make anyone feel they are wrong or can’t take part. If a child can’t remember you can give some clues (refer back to what you said about the objects at the beginning of the game) or ask the team to help out.

As children get more skilled at remembering you can use a larger number of objects or remove two items at a time.

Counting game – what’s the time Mr. Wolf?

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Do you remember playing ‘What’s the time Mr. Wolf?’ when you were a child? Great fun and a nice way to incorporate counting into a game. Best played outside where there is lots of space to run.

One person – Mr. Wolf – is ‘on’ and stands facing a wall or tree. The other players stand a few metres away and shout ‘What’s the time Mr. Wolf?’ If Mr. Wolf answers ‘Three o’clock’ the children have to take 3 steps towards Mr. Wolf – counting each step out loud. Repeat the questions and counting, with Mr. Wolf saying different times and the children getting closer and dangerously closer to Mr. Wolf each time. But watch out – when the children are very near and ask ‘What’s the time Mr. Wolf?’ he shouts ‘Dinner time!’ All the children run away (with much shrieking!) and Mr. Wolf tries to catch someone. Whoever is caught becomes Mr.Wolf and the game is repeated.

Make a cardboard box house

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cardboard box houseOne of the favourite things we’ve ever done is to make our own cardboard box house. We had a box left over from a house move but any will do as long as it’s sturdy. Even better if your child can fit in it, but you can make teddy a home if yours is smaller.

Assuming your box is the type with four flaps at each end which fold over to close: Fasten up one end using glue or sticky tape. At the other end, cut off two of the flaps (top and bottom) leaving two (right and left) to be your front door. Cut out a letter box – so your child can deliver letters to the house – and two windows. You can cut a small square out of the roof and use a folded up strip from the discarded flap to make a chinmey – very important, as my daughter pointed out, so Father Christmas can get in! Paint the walls and roof in your favourite colours (we used a few coats of poster paint) and add some pictures such as a climbing rose or a cat sat by the door. Put your house number on the front. You can make a simple curtain by hemming a piece of fabric and threading a piece of elastic through the hem. Make two holes either side of the top of the window and thread the elastic through – knot it to hold in place.

A unique toy with hours of play – home sweet home!

Happily shared with Today’s Creative Blog.

Transport theme food

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traffic light jelly

 

If your child is transport mad you can have a fun lunch eating traffic light jelly and car sandwiches.

Your child can help to prepare the jelly so you can explore ideas of melting, dissolving and setting. Make up some red, orange and green jellies and you can create your own traffic lights.

Making a car sandwich is easy. Just use your favourite filling and cut out a simple car shape. Use cream cheese to stick circle shaped carrots and cucumber on as wheels. It’s good fun telling everyone you ate a car for lunch!

 

car sandwich

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