Teaching your kids to bake cookies doesn’t just leave you with a sweet treat but it also teaches your child some valuable life lessons. Following a recipe and baking cookies teaches kids how to measure, how to read a recipe, and how to enjoy spending time in the kitchen. Making cookies together as a family is a fun experience that kids love. Letting the kids help make the cookies might sound like it will end in a lot of clean-up, but your children will love being your little baker.
These easy cookie recipes for kids will take you beyond the humble chocolate chip. While that classic is great, it’s more exciting when you have plenty of options to rotate. We’ll help you keep your pantry stocked with what you need to make any of these easy cookie recipes for kids.
Main types of cookies
Refrigerated cookies
Sometimes it is just too hot to turn that oven on. Thankfully, some recipes only need to be popped in the fridge. From lemon to Neapolitan to pinwheels, you won’t have to worry about any burnt hands with refrigerated cookies.
No-bake cookies
When you need cookies in a hurry, no-bake cookies are the way to go. You don’t need to factor in bake time or fridge time. These can be pressed into a pan or would be a lot of fun for a child to shape.
Rolled cookies
Speaking of rolling, rolled cookies are made from chilled dough that is perfect for all of your cookie cutters.
Drop cookies
Drop cookies are the way we love to make chocolate chip cookies. Just plop that spoonful of dough down and bake it right up. The dough is softer and the cookies sort themselves out as they bake.
Bar cookies
If you never get your drop cookies to look like you want them to, then bar cookies are the alternative. You can press the dough into a pan and bake it so cutting is all you need to worry about.
Molded cookies
Molded cookies are made of tougher dough that is usually rolled into balls and sometimes then pressed with a fork. The most common that you see at the holiday dessert table is peanut butter.
Cookie ingredient must-haves
Whether you bake a batch of cookies every week or once every other month, there are things you should always have on hand.
To make almost any cookie request
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Peanut butter
- Chocolate chips
- Rolled oats
- Eggs
- Condensed milk
- Butter
- Shortening
- Honey
- Vanilla
- Vegetable oil
This might seem like a lot, but if you grab a small package of each, you’ll be ready to make any kind of cookie. Once you’ve checked your cabinets and done a curbside pickup for the rest, let your kids make any of these eight cookie recipes.
Why baking is so great for kids
Baking isn’t just a fun way to pass the time but is also an excellent educational activity for kids. It combines hands-on learning with the development of various skills. Through baking, children can practice measuring ingredients, teaching them about math concepts such as fractions and volume. Following a recipe also helps improve reading and comprehension, as they must follow instructions and learn to do each step in order.
Baking also enhances fine motor skills as children mix, pour, and shape the cookie dough. It also provides a chance for creativity, letting them decorate their cookies however they choose. Baking also encourages patience, attention to detail, and teamwork, fostering a sense of accomplishment and confidence when they see the final product.
Easy cookie recipes for kids (and adults)
Cranberry nut cookies
If you want a tasty no-bake cookie option for the kids, try this one. With cereal, nuts, and dried berries, these would be fun for any age to enjoy. You can switch out the nut or berry for any kind to personalize it for your family.
Snowball fight cookies
If your children love to get their hands dirty, then let them have a turn making these cookies. Kids will have a blast rolling these cookies into tiny snowballs and then dusting them with powdered sugar to get that frosted look. Messes are encouraged when making these so let them have fun.
Chocolate shortbread cookies
This chocolatey treat only needs five ingredients to be a hit. Once the dough is ready, your kids can have the best time cutting out the shapes they want. You can easily jazz these up a bit by drizzling melted chocolate or caramel on top after they are cooled.
Peanut butter cookies
Kids and peanut butter go together like – well, you know the saying. Some kids like to eat peanut butter straight out of the jar. If your kids do, let them enjoy making these peanut butter cookies. They’ll have the most fun mashing the cookies down with a fork before you bake them.
Kiss cookies
Though Hershey’s calls them Peanut Butter Blossoms, we always called them Kiss Cookies growing up. The recipe looks like a basic peanut butter cookie, but the end is the best part. Have the kids add Hershey’s Kisses in the middle when they come out of the oven. These are delicious warm or after they’ve cooled, dunked into some milk (or coffee for the adults).
Three-ingredient macaroons
Anything that requires only a few ingredients is our favorite. So for kids, this three-ingredient macaroon recipe is going to be great. Make these for a fast treat instead of candy.
No-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies
When you don’t have to worry about your kiddos turning on the oven, everyone wins. You can adjust the amount of cocoa to peanut butter depending on your kids’ tastes. There is a bit of stove work with this one, so if you have younger kids you may need to help. But the kids can have fun dropping these onto the parchment paper however they want.
Lucky cookies
Do you have kids that only eat the marshmallows out of the cereal box? Then you have to let them make these cookies. They can eat all of the Lucky Charms marshmallows they want mixed into these delicious treats. They are bright and colorful for the kids, and you’ll be able to sneak a few after they go to bed.
Enjoy these treats!
If you don’t know which cookie recipe you are going to make first, that’s the best kind of problem to have. We made sure you have the option to keep your oven off if you want or only need a few ingredients in a pinch. So when the kids ask if there’s anything for dessert, look back to these eight cookie recipes for inspiration and make happy memories that end with a sweet bite.
