Kid Friendly Homemade Donuts

When my grandchildren come to visit, the one thing they always want to do is bake something. Well, there are lots of recipes out there, but not all of them are kid friendly. By that, I mean that not all of them allow for much hands-on work. Let’s face it, kids don’t want to just watch us bake; they want to participate! However, some of the baking tasks are too messy, some are dangerous, and some are just too advanced. Not this one! It’s perfect for children because, not only is it fun to do and full of things they can do, but the end product is so yummy! So, let’s make some Kid Friendly Homemade Donuts!

Why These Donuts are a Great Project for Kids

• This recipe takes less than an hour start to finish, and sometimes that’s the limit of their focused attention.
• No yeast, more like a quick bread, so no need to wait for them to rise.
• Cakey and tender, this donut is better than fresh from the bakery.
• This batter is mixed by hand, so kids can do it all.
• Baked, not fried, so they can watch them puff up through the oven window.
• Coated with butter and cinnamon sugar–kids just love this part!
• Can be eaten right away–by the time they’re dipped in sugar, they’re ready to eat!
• Love! Kids can just feel the love wafting from the aroma of fresh donuts!
• Easy to double, so parents (and grandparents) can have some too!

Why Baking is Beneficial for Children

PATIENCE: I can’t think of a situation in life where patience isn’t helpful. Children have a particularly difficult time waiting for the things they want. Michelangelo said, “Genius is eternal patience.” Why not get started early by letting them wait for their cookies to come out of the oven!

ATTENTION: Baking requires being present through the mixing, the baking, the cooling, the icing. It requires following directions and paying close attention. All these things may help prepare children for the tasks that require their focus throughout life.

READING SKILLS: Baking with your children can be beneficial in the same way that reading a book can be. It exposes them to lots of new words and phrases. If they are already reading, helping with the recipe will be another layer of the experience. If they’re not reading yet, just hearing the recipe and instructions will enhance the learning opportunity.

COMMUNICATION: Baking teaches children how to ask questions and interpret the answers. Questions that seem so simple to adults aren’t always so simple to children. They need experiences to in order to explore those questions and be brave enough to ask them. Baking is a good place to start!

MOTOR SKILLS: Whether you’re baking with a three-year-old or an eight-year-old, children are always developing motor skills. Dumping flour, trying not to spill it, stirring without knocking the bowl off the counter, squeezing a piping bag, cracking an egg, dunking a donut in butter, hugging grandma in the middle of it all–these are all activities that encourage motor skills.

SELF ESTEEM: Accomplishing something always seems to lift a child’s sense of self worth. They present their cookies or donuts or pie to someone and the appearance of pride is unmistakable. More than the accomplishment, because we all know that sometimes our baked goods don’t always turn out, is the experience itself. As a mother of five grown children, I have always found that these are the times when you learn the most about your children–when you’re not expecting to.

NUMBERS: Depending on the age of the child, baking can really encourage math skills. If you’re baking with a three-year-old, just counting eggs may be the beginning; but if you’re baking with an eight-year-old, reading the kitchen scale may inspire more interest in math.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED: Learning to try again is really difficult for some children. They fear trying again because they failed the first time. Baking is a great opportunity for them to learn that sometimes recipes fail. Without trying again, they can’t enjoy the cookies or the donuts, so they dive in again. Not only are they learning to troubleshoot, but they’re learning that failure is sometimes a part of the path to success.

FUN: It’s wonderful that baking with children has so many benefits, but we really just want to have fun!

Making the Kid Friendly Homemade Donuts

Kid Friendly Homemade Donuts are not to complicated, one of the many reasons they are great for kids. First help your child assemble the ingredients and separate dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon) from wet ingredients (egg, sugar, milk, yogurt, butter, and vanilla). You will also need a donut pan.

Next, mix the dry ingredients into one bowl and the wet into another. It’s at this stage that I add food coloring to the wet ingredients if I’m making them for a particular holiday (We tinted our last batch pink for Valentine’s Day). Mix them together and you’re ready to put the Kid Friendly Homemade Donuts batter into the donut pan.

The batter is very thick so I recommend putting the batter into a sandwich baggie and then cutting the corner so it can be piped neatly into the pan. Depending on the age of the child, they may need a bit of guidance for this task, but very quickly they learn to do it independently.

Now it’s time to bake them. Place them in the oven on the middle rack and wait for the timer to go off. I like to ask my grandson to “check” on them, and then I watch him stoop down in front of the oven door and peer in through the window. The look of anticipation on his face is priceless.

While you’re waiting, make the topping by combining the cinnamon and sugar in one bowl and melting the butter in another bowl, both large enough for dipping the donuts.

After the donuts have cooled for ten minutes, they can be dipped into butter and then cinnamon sugar and placed on a cooling rack.

Finally, enjoy donuts together!

Kid Friendly Baked Donuts

I hope you guys have as much fun with your little ones as I did. To see more of our recipes check out Recipes section of the blog. Let me know what you think of this recipe, or just tell me about the fun you had in the comments below!

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