10 kid-friendly recipes for young bakers
Get them out of your hair and into the kitchen.
Date
July 21, 2025
It’s summer, and if you, like me, have children, that means life is a Venn diagram of camps that end before your workday does, cries of boredom, and snack requests. If it’s all driving you a little crazy, it’s time for action! Time to get the young people in your life baking.
This fall, we’ll release our first kids’ cookbook, Sweet & Salty, which is jam-packed with 100 recipes for the young bakers (or wannabe bakers) in your life. It’s out September 30 (pre-order now!) but patience is one thing we know most kids lack. Get them going on their baking journey now with these 10 kid-friendly recipes. Not only is learning to bake a great summer project for kids, with lots of useful lessons (Science! Math! Cleaning up after yourself!), but it also results in something tasty to eat, which we’ve found to be the greatest motivator of all.
1) Sunflower Bread
This fluffy, sweet, yeasted pull-apart bread is a fun celebration of summer. With its twisted dough petals and poppy seed center, it resembles an oversize flower. It’s almost too pretty to eat, but certainly too delicious to resist.
Get the recipe: Sunflower Bread
To make this, you’ll need: Half-Sheet Baking Parchment Paper
2) Glazed Cookies-and-Cream Scones
Got a kid who loves cookies and milk? Have them make these scones, which are inspired by the classic ice cream flavor. The scones have crushed chocolate sandwich cookies in the dough and sprinkled on top; a vanilla glaze helps bring it all together.
Get the recipe: Glazed Cookies-and-Cream Scones
To make this, you’ll need: King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
3) Pink Lemonade Cake
The batter for this oil-based cake is mixed in one bowl, a boon for kids who love cake but hate doing dishes (uh, all of them?). The oil makes the loaf cake moist and tender (and also means no butter to soften), and the addition of lemon juice and zest drives home the citrus flavor. The brilliant pink icing gets its color and flavor from fresh raspberries.
Get the recipe: Pink Lemonade Cake
To make this, you’ll need: King Arthur Standard Bread Loaf Pan
4) Pizza Party Buns
If you’ve got a kid who likes pizza more than any other food, set them to work on these buns, which are a savory, pizza-fied version of a cinnamon roll. Swirled with red sauce and cheese and baked until brown, they’re a great movie night snack (or camp lunch).
Get the recipe: Pizza Party Buns
To make this, you’ll need: Bread Flour
5) Birthday Cake Ice Cream
It doesn’t have to be anyone’s birthday, and you don’t even need an ice cream machine to whip up this creamy dream, which is made by beating together cream and sweetened condensed milk. Too hot to bake? Don’t want your kid messing with the oven? Here’s the recipe for them. Sprinkles, of course, are not optional.
Get the recipe: Birthday Cake Ice Cream
To make this, you’ll need: Supernatural Rainbow Softies Sprinkles
6) Cheesy Broccoli Snacking Bread
Even kids who claim to dislike vegetables will love this cheesy, savory quick bread. Loaded with cheddar and Parm, studded with just enough of the green stuff, this bread makes a great snack or a side dish. For grilled cheese vibes, toast the slices before serving.
Get the recipe: Cheesy Broccoli Snacking Bread
To make this, you’ll need: King Arthur Standard Bread Loaf Pan
7) Famous Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins
Most kids alive today will have no idea who — or what — Jordan Marsh is, but we bet they’ll dig these muffins, which are loaded with fresh fruit and feature the all-important sugary top. Plus, they can be made start-to-finish in just over an hour, great for kids who’d like to be eating a muffin two hours ago.
Get the recipe: Famous Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins
To make this, you’ll need: King Arthur Standard Muffin Pan
8) Easy Drop Biscuits
Snag a bag of self-rising flour and a carton of heavy cream and your kid is 90 percent of the way to making their first pan of biscuits. Simply mix the two together, scoop onto a baking sheet, and cook until golden brown. Serve them with honey or jam, or have kids customize their biscuits by mixing in cheese cubes, bacon bits, fresh berries, or chocolate chips.
Get the recipe: Easy Drop Biscuits
To make this, you’ll need: Unbleached Self-Rising Flour
9) Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake
If your young baker has a bit more experience (and loves chocolate), hand them this recipe for a moist chocolate cake topped with a layer of cherry buttercream, which gets its color and flavor from cherry concentrate. The literal icing on top? A thin layer of rich chocolate ganache. This is a big cake, so there’ll be plenty to share with friends.
Get the recipe: Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake
To make this, you’ll need: Cherry Concentrate
10) 50/50 Corn and Flour Tortillas
Homemade tortillas are a great project for kids, who will get into the process of rolling and cooking each one. These, made with a combination of masa harina and all-purpose flour, are chewy and tender, and can be rolled with a rolling pin — no tortilla press required. Eat them solo, or have your kid level up and use them to make quesadillas.
Get the recipe: 50/50 Corn and Flour Tortillas
To make this, you’ll need: Masa Harina
Our kids’ cookbook, Sweet & Salty, is out September 30! Pre-order your copy now.
Cover photo (Sunflower Bread) by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova.
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