Baking with Kids

Whenever my nephews & nieces visit, we walk to the local greenmarket at Union Square and pick up what we are going to make for lunch that day. They always cook in the kitchen with me. There’s nothing as satisfying as being able to create something from scratch.

So when my nephew Sidney and his friend Josh needed to raise some money to support their soccer team for new equipment and transportation, we decided to bake a few types of simple delicious cookies for their fundraiser. So we gathered a few kids for an impromptu baking session with our pastry chef, Momo.

josh and sidney

Not only does learning a new skill boost self-esteem, it fosters a sense of worth and creativity. They also learned a few tips about running their own business: how to sell their goods, pricing, packaging, profit margin, inventory, even creating a blog with pictures.

As the smell of freshly baked goods wafts through the studio, we all happily shared a victory cookie from our cache of goodies.

Here’s one of the recipes from that day. Enjoy!

Sammi with Cookie Crumbs

Vegan Vanilla Almond Cookie

Servings: around 30 large cookies

1 cup Sugar

½ cup Vegan Butter

1/3 cup Soy Milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¾ cup white rice flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

2 tablespoons potato starch

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup almond slices

In a mixing bowl or mixer, sift all the dry ingredients together, except for the almond slices. Create a well in the dry mix and slowly incorporate all the wet ingredients. When thoroughly mixed, add almond slices. Form dough balls into desired size or use a mini ice-cream scooper like we did on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown at 350F degrees.

Chef Momo