Kids in the Kitchen: Gluten Free, Egg Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a vegan option)

Last week was the debut of our long-awaited "Kids' in the Kitchen" series of get-togethers.  It can be intimidating to include kids in the cooking process, but they gain so many benefits from being involved.  Scooping, pouring and stirring ingredients can be a wonderful way for children to work on their fine motor skills.  Cooking is a great sensory experience too.  From smelling ingredients like cinnamon and vanilla to feeling the texture of flour and squishing the dough, there is so much for little ones to discover.  The process of following a recipe reinforces the importance of following instructions in a particular sequence.  For older children, measuring ingredients is a great introduction to concepts like fractions and decimals, and baking can be a lesson on chemical reactions. 

Helping to prepare foods also gives children a sense of importance and accomplishment, and teaches self-sufficiency.  It can also be a way to encourage reluctant eaters to try new things.  Many children are more likely to try an unfamiliar ingredient or dish if they have helped to make it.  As an added bonus, letting your kids help in the kitchen keeps them occupied while you cook, and one day in the future they may be able to make dinner for you!

For our first Kids' in the Kitchen event, we decided to tackle gluten-free, egg-free chocolate chip cookies. This recipe can easily be made vegan by substituting dairy free chocolate for the chocolate chips, or by using raisins or other chopped and dried fruits in place of the chocolate chips.  The recipe is a great one to make with kids: an electric mixer is not required, the recipe can be scaled down so that each child can make his own small batch of cookies, and kids get the opportunity to roll and flatten the dough.  Because there is no egg in the dough, you don't need to worry if the kids want to taste it. Here's the recipe we used:

Small Batch Gluten Free Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Note: This recipe makes a small batch of cookies, and is perfect if you are cooking with a group of kids and want each child to be able to make his own cookies. If you are making the recipe at home, you can easily double or quadruple it to make a family sized batch.)

Ingredients:

½ cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch sea salt
2 tsp canola or other neutral flavoured oil
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp agave nectar (honey, brown rice syrup, or maple syrup should also work)
1 tbsp miniature chocolate chips (use a brand such as “Enjoy Life” for a dairy free or vegan option)
 

Method:

1.    Preheat oven to 325, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.    In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until blended, and make a well in the centre.
3.    Add oil, vanilla, and agave nectar to the dry ingredients.  Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms.  Stir in chocolate chips.
4.    Use your hands to roll dough into teaspoon sized balls.  Place dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and gently flatten them to approximately ¼ inch thickness using the palm of your hand.
5.    Bake for 6-9 minutes, until lightly golden around edges. Allow to cool on baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes about 8 small cookies. Enjoy! 

I was busy cuddling a newborn baby while the kids were measuring, stirring, and scooping their cookies, so there are no pictures of the actual cooking process, but here are our cookies before they went into the oven.  If you look closely, you can see the fingerprints in the cookies. There is something so precious about that:

We read a story while we were waiting for the cookies to bake and cool, and pretty soon they were ready:

There is nothing quite like a warm, fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie.  As proof, there were exactly two cookies left at the end of our playdate.  I can't wait for the next Kids in the Kitchen event!