Easy Recipes To Make With The Grandchildren - Guest Post

It’s that time of year when staying indoors and spending time with family takes centre stage.

Make the most of the long winter days by getting stuck into some easy and fun recipes that kids will love to get involved with.

Here are a couple of ideas to get your started:

Super Simple Sugar Cookies

These basic biscuits by Sally’s Baking Addiction are incredibly easy to make. Children will love picking out their favourite cookie cutter shapes and decorating them however they fancy – sprinkles at the ready! The icing used here is different from the traditional royal icing that requires expensive meringue powder or fiddly egg whites too so it won’t cost you a fortune.

What you need:

Cookie dough:

170g butter (unsalted)
150g sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
280g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder

Icing:

180g icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp light corn syrup (optional)
2-3 tbp water
pinch salt

How to make:

1. Beat the butter until creamy, then add sugar and beat for another 3-4 minutes
2. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat until fully combined
3. Whisk together the flour and baking powder. Add to the wet mixture in two parts, mixing until all the dry ingredients are combined
4. Divide the dough in half and roll out to ¼ inch thickness and chill for at least an hour, preferably longer and up to a day
5. Preheat oven to 170° and cut out cookie shapes. Place on a lined baking tray
6. Bake for 8-11 minutes, turning half way, until very lightly coloured
7. Allow to cool completely before making the icing (whisk the icing sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons of water – if the mixture is too thick then you can add ½ tablespoon more water or if it is too thin you can add a little more icing sugar) and decorate as desired.

Mozzarella, Ham and Pesto Mini Pizzas

A warming snack, quick dinner or, with a little pizzazz, a simple canapé. Set up a production line for each topping and feel free to customise the recipe to suit fussy eaters. This recipe is taken from BBC Food but there are plenty of similar options available online.

What you need:

4 mini pitta breads
150g mozzarella
4 tsp pesto
85g wafer thin ham

How to make:

1. Preheat grill to high and heat pittas for a minute
2. Turn over and spread over a teaspoon of pesto, followed by a few slices of ham, and top with some torn pieces of the cheese
3. Grill for 3-4 minutes until the cheese has melted and is beginning to turn golden

Cooking is a great way to have fun, learn new things and spend time with loved ones during your retirement.

Your culinary adventures could even win you a KitchenAid standing mixer and Mary Berry Baking Bible if you’re lucky! This is thanks to a great Pinterest competition being organised by retirement home specialists McCarthy & Stone. Take a look and get involved for your chance to win.

This is a collaborative guest post.