Baking with Toddlers | Lemon Cookies – Montessori Mother ELC

toddlers baking lemon cookies, montessori-style

For our baking days this month the toddlers will bake lemon thumbprint cookies in pairs. The cookies turned out deliciously – I even baked an extra batch for the parents to enjoy! 🙂 In this blogpost I will walk you through how I prepare this baking workshop and share with you the vegan, gluten-free recipe that I used with my students. Enjoy!

Step 1: Prepare the trays

I had to practice the workshop a few times to make sure that the trays were set up for the toddlers to have maximum success during the workshop! The proportions also had to be perfect. In the end I used the recipe below divided into 5 portions to be baked by 10 toddlers working in pairs. Here’s how >>>

download recipe card:

(for 15 thumbprint cookies)

Step 2: Set out the mixing bowls and first trays

Two toddlers are sharing one mixing bowl and one tray of work. On each tray there are at least two tasks to make sure that every child has something to do during the whole workshop.

The reason I don’t give each toddler their own bowl and tray is because
a – I like for them to work together on group cooking projects like these
b – If one child is not interested and leaves their work, the other can continue
c – Children of different ages can work together on tasks of varying difficulty

THIS TRAY INCLUDES:
(in baking order + left to right)

Transferring the dried flowers (rose petals and lavender) using the pincer grasp
Transferring the sugar using a spoon
Pouring the lemon juice
Zesting the lemon using a cheese grater (grater from Joie)
Mixing it all together (wooden spoon from Ikea set)
Smelling the sweet, citrusy scent*

Step 3: Set out second trays

As the pairs finish mixing – in their own time- you can remove everything except the mixing bowl and wooden spoon. I set them up and bring them the next tray.

THIS TRAY INCLUDES:
(in baking order + left to right)

Chopping the margarine using a toddler knife (from Tescoma or Joie)
Transferring the flour mixture using a spoon
Mashing the margarine (masher from Ikea set)

Step 4: Form cookies and arrange on baking trays

I bought a mini baking tray for each toddler so they could make their own cookie forms. This is done by rolling the dough into a ball, placing it on the baking sheet, and pressing the thumb down. After each child finished arranging their cookies, They placed them on a large tray and started washing up.

TIPS:

I pre-cut parchment paper for the mini baking sheets to save myself time with cleaning
If the cookies are too large or too thin they won’t all bake properly, so I had to re-shape a few of them before putting them into the oven
You MUST pre-heat the oven before putting the cookies in or the will spread
The cookies are finished baking when the tops are dry. If they start to brown on the edges they are burned.

Step 5: Cleanup

I prepared 2 basins with a small amount of warm water, 6 half sponges, 4 dry rags, and 2 broom and dustpan sets. The toddlers had just as much fun cleaning up as they did baking, maybe more. 🙂

Step 6: Decorating the cookies (optional)

For the Open Day Baking Workshop we decorated our cookies by spreading lemon frosting and sprinkling dried coconut. This was such a cute touch and the toddlers loved it. However since frosting is so sugary, this step is, of course, optional. The cookies are also delicious without frosting. 🙂 I have included the fluffly lemon frosting recipe below.