Cooking with the Kids – Easy Autumn Recipes for the Whole Family
November 15, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Los Angeles
• 0 Comments
Cooking with the Kids – Easy Autumn Recipes for the Whole Family
Autumn is rich with the smell of homemade soups, hot spiced apple cider and the crisp aroma of a slight chill in the air. With the holidays right around the corner, it’s hard for the little ones to control their excitement. Make use of this energy by adding some eager little helping hands in the kitchen this year. A love for the culinary arts can start at any age and some of the most cherished memories for children often include getting into the kitchen and creating some yummy masterpieces with mom and dad. You never know, you may just have your own little California culinary star in the making.
Here are three easy recipes that kids will love. Whether it’s simply making a flour masterpiece (a.k.a. a mess on the counter) or peeling apples, here are a few seasonal ideas that the whole family will love.
Apple Crisp
This seasonal staple will have everyone just as excited to make this masterpiece as they are to indulge in it! Here is a simple recipe that requires lots of apple peeling, the perfect job for eager little hands.
Ingredients:
5 cups sliced apples
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup softened butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup flour
3/4 – 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F while preparing apples.
2. Coat the bottom of a large pan lightly with butter.
3. Place apples in pan and mix all other ingredients together. Once well mixed, spread over apple slices.
4. Bake between 30 and 40 minutes or until the topping begins to brown and the apples soften.
5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and add your favorite toppings – ice cream, cool whip, fresh berries – whatever inspires you!
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
This one requires getting a bit messy – perfect since kids and messes somehow magically seem to find each other all too often. Get them to gather up the seeds and then pop them in the oven. Truly it IS as easy as that!
Ingredients:
Pumpkin seeds
Salt
Cooking spray
Directions:
1. Remove the “guts” or seeds from inside the pumpkin, separating the seeds from the membrane as much as possible. Place these into a large bowl as you go.
2. Once all the seeds are collected, preheat the oven to 350 F and begin washing off the seeds in a strainer, removing as much of the remaining membrane as you can.
3. Lay the seeds on a paper towel and pat dry. Spray a conventional sized cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray, tossing the seeds so that they are well coated.
4. Salt lightly and bake until seeds begin to turn golden brown. This will normally take anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes. Allow to cool and then enjoy!
Super Easy Turkey Shaped Cookies recipe from Pillsbury
®
With this super easy recipe, the hard part is done for you already! Making sugar cook dough from scratch can be a rewarding part of the culinary arts experience but one that the kids won’t appreciate waiting for. Now they get to do the best part even faster, the decorating!
Ingredients:
I roll refrigerated Pillsbury® sugar cookie dough
I container frosting of your choice
Candy corn
Orange decorating icing
Black decorating gel
Miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies as directed. Cool completely, this usually takes about 20 minutes.
2. Spoon chocolate frosting into re-sealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag. Cut small hole in bottom corner of bag.
3. On each cookie, pipe frosting on outer edge of half of cookie. Arrange candy corn over frosting for feathers.
4. Pipe orange icing onto each cookie to resemble turkey face and feet. Use orange icing to attach baking bits to turkey face for eyes.
5. Pipe black gel on baking bits for centers of eyes.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in Los Angeles, California. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Los-Angeles for more information.
Find disclosures on graduation rates, student financial obligations and more at www.chefs.edu/disclosures. Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary. Credits earned are unlikely to transfer.