Friday 7 January 2011

Homemade Easy Bake Oven Mixes and Recipes

With 2011's Goal#3 in mind (to be a more deliberate mother), I finally caved.

Olivia has been begging for an Easy Bake oven for years. Literally 2 years. And she's 5. So, yeah, almost half her life.

And until this Christmas I had steadfastly refused. Why? Because I didn't want to have to bake with her. I didn't want the mess, I didn't want to pay money for those silly little mixes, I didn't want to be bothered.

Yikes, that sounds even worse when I type it out.

I don't like to do crafts with the kids because I know I would go all perfectionist on them and freak out if their handmade bracelets didn't have an exact pattern, if they couldn't do it the way I would do it. Because a 33 yr old and a 5 yr should be able to make the same calibre bracelet. I know, I get the ludicrousy. (Is that even a word?!)

OK, selfishness acknowledged.

Technically, Olivia had begged for the Easy Bake cupcake maker - but all the reviews I read on it said it was a piece of junk, so I convinced her that the oven was what she wanted, and I finally gave one of her Grandmas the OK to get it for her for Christmas this year (God bless all Grandmas who wait for permission for these types of gifts!!). And, oh, let me tell you, was she ever in her glory - it was as if the heavens had opened up!

Now, my old self may would have been tempted to let that Easy Bake oven sit on the shelf hidden away, giving the "Later" or "Another day" answer a million times over (yes, this is Olivia - it would've been a million times!). Or I would've just made Emma do it with her. Yes, there are definite advantages of having older kids around! ;)

But my new self, my 2011 self with Goal#3 in mind, did not do that.

Oh, no!

In fact, the very next day after she got that gift, on a Sunday afternoon no less (sacred napping time around these parts), she asked to "do the Easy Bake oven" and I said "Yes!". And so we made cake with icing (both mixes included in the original box).

Psst - you know what?

I had fun.

What was that Tammy? We couldn't hear you.

OK, OK, I had fun!

And Olivia? Well she had an absolute blast!

Sidebar: Technically that was in 2010 but I already had my 2011 goals in mind at the time ;)

Then we left for Alberta to visit family. The very next day after we returned, guess who was asking to do the Easy Bake oven again? Yup, Olivia! And guess who said yes? Yes, 2011 Tammy! So, we made the cookies from the mix that came with the box. Olivia even let Sophia help! They each got to make 3 cookies in their pan, and we even melted chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in the oven warmers to put on top of the cookies.

Both times it took much less time and mess than I thought and resulted in happy children - why have I not done this earlier?

So, now that all the included mixes had run out, I went to my trusty old friend Google to find some homemade Easy Bake oven mixes because my cheap Mennonite thrifty side would not allow me to spend $ on those mixes. Plus, they can't exactly be healthy if all you have to do to get cake or cookies is add water to powder (see Goal#4 - I'm getting a 2 for 1 deal here!)

And Google did not disappoint (though I should've searched with the Swagbucks tool bar to earn Swagbucks, but I digress).

Turns out there are oodles of things you can bake in those Easy Bake ovens and oodles of recipes to choose from. This post has pretty close to 200 (!!) recipes split into categories and labeled as easy, intermediate or advanced. Everything from cakes, brownies, cookies and bars to biscuits and scones, to pizzas and bagels - your own creativity is the limit after viewing these recipes!

So, I picked the Baked Cinnamon Apple recipe because, after quickly clicking on a couple recipes, it used ingredients I had on hand! ;) Olivia loved them! Although I think she actually liked eating the extra/leftover ones before they had cooked (one large apple does not fit into 2 of those little pans!) better than the baked ones afterward. She really wanted to make the brownies, so I picked up some chocolate syrup so we can try those next time!

Here are the recipes (after all, that's what my post title promised you - took me long enough to get around to it, I know!)....

Baked Cinnamon Apples
1 large apple
1/4 teaspoon butter
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar

Wash a large apple, remove center core.
Slice across apples to make 1/2" thick rings.
Grease pan with butter.
Place apple slices in pan.
Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon then sugar.
Top with butter.
Bake in Easy-Bake Oven about 20 minutes.


Brownie Mix
2-1/2 tablespoons sugar
2-1/2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon oil
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons chocolate syrup

Blend all ingredients until the batter is smooth.
Pour batter into greased and floured toy cake pan.
Bake as directed in child oven (I think it's preheat for 15 and bake for 10)



I also found a recipe on Allrecipes.com for a larger cake mix, good for 10 batches, to save time - and create your own little mix package!

Easy Bake Oven Cake Mix
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp unsweetened lemonade drink mix
1/3 cup shortening

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and lemonade drink mix and stir to blend.
Cut in shortening with a fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles corn meal.

Spoon about 1/3 cup mixture into 10 small containers or sealable plastic bags.
Label and store in cool, dry place. Use within 12 weeks.


Preheat Easy Bake oven for 15 mins.
Grease and flour a 4 inch miniature cake pan.

Empty the contents of one bag cake mix into a small bowl.
Using a fork, mix with 4 teaspoons water until smooth.

Bake according to manufacturer's instructions (I think 10 mins)


In fact - according to this recipe, all you need is regular commercial cake mix (3 tbsp any flavour) mixed with 1 tbsp milk) and voila - let them eat cake! How easy is that?!

Easy, but not as healthy (processed and all that!). So, here's another homemade version...

Easy Bake Oven Chocolate Cake
4 tsp flour
2 tsp cocoa
1 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 dash salt
1/8 tsp vanilla
4 tsp water
2 tsp vegetable oil

It would be pretty easy to multiply that by 10, omitting the wet ingredients, in order to make your own mix to have on hand, ready to just add water and oil at baking time!

Recipezaar (now Food.com) has a whole ton of recipes as well - you can check them out here - including omelettes!

Easy Bake oven Omelet
1 egg
4 tsp shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp oregano (or spice of your choice)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
cooking spray

Preheat the Easy Bake Oven for 15 mins.
Spray 2 Easy Bake Oven pans with cooking spray.
Scramble the egg in a bowl.
Divide the egg between the 2 pans.
Sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper.
Sprinkle 2 tsp of the cheese on top of each egg.
Bake for 15 minutes.


One thing to keep in mind - since the Easy Bake Oven works by simply using a light bulb, you have to be careful when baking meats that you only use meats that need to be warmed, not cooked through!

OK, I was going to be done, but then I found this ....

Easy Bake Oven Deep Dish Pizza
2 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 dash salt
1 tsp margarine
2 1/4 tsp milk
1 tbsp pizza sauce
1 1/2 tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat Easy Bake Oven 15 minutes.
Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and margarine until dough looks like medium-sized crumbs.
Slowly add milk while stirring.
Shape dough into a ball and place into a greased pan.
Use your fingers to pat the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan, then up the sides.
Pour the sauce evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with the cheese.
Bake 20 mins.

You could even add a slice of pepperoni or veggies or some other meats that only need to be warmed up not truly cooked through.

Honestly, I'm actually getting a little excited to try some of these! Apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks. ;) And, I only thought of it now, I totally should've taken a picture!

Goal#3 is officially underway.

16 comments:

Pamela said...

Good for you! Kiandra had an easy bake oven too but it didn't take long before she asked to use the "real" oven! lol!

This was one of her favourite recipes
http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-bake-oven-peanut-butter-fudge-61258

(It pains me to see food.com instead of recipezaar.com)

Alicia said...

Well, 1- I can relate to this feeling even though I'm not a perfectionist (though I may be on some levels that I've decided on selfishly). 2- Way to go to push yourself though this, that is no small thing and it is a good example to we mom's who feel that way too. 3- Awesome idea to find your own mixes! My girls never had these but that was one thing that deterred me before was the expensive processed mixes. Great idea.
SO, hey, you know about swagbucks? Would you know enough to do a guest post on WTD to explain them? It's no rush, but I totally don't know how they work but I'm hearing their praises everywhere.

Donna said...

Haha! Hannah (also 5) just got an Easy Bake oven this year too. And she also wanted one last year and I told Grandma no. And I also struggle with not wanting to do silly little things with the kids.

So thank you. I think we're going to get the Easy Bake out tonight.

Claire said...

Oh, I'm so glad you all had fun!

Cxx

Andrea said...

We got the girls an oven last year, but only used it once -- Christmas Day -- when we ran out of the mixes that came with it! We got them more mixes this year for Christmas, so we used it for the 2nd time on Christmas Day again. I don't mind the time or the mess of it -- the thing that gets me is that it takes just as long to make one teeny-tiny thing as it would to make an entire batch of cookies!!! :)

But I will try to use some of those recipes too, since we are almost out of the 'real' mixes again...

Jen said...

Aww I am glad you had a fun time and she is enjoying her easy bake oven! I had one as a kid..it really didn't take me long before I was using a real oven though...One time I even used the small cake pan and put it in the oven to make my dad a birtday cake it was a fun time ...

Kristen said...

Loved this post. Calla and Maya have asked for the Easy Bake but we are trying to use the real thing. I didn't realize that we could come up with our own recipes though. Hmmmm...

Tammy said...

I always thought that I'd rather just use the big oven as well. And I still would. But I know that SHE loves using the Easy Bake Oven because she can put it in the oven herself and take it out herself - something I wouldn't let her do just yet at her age with the real oven.

Lisa D. said...

I just found your blog while looking for recipes for my daughter's new Easy Bake oven. I had to laugh because I didn't want her to have the oven for exactly the same reasons :)
She did have fun with it though, up until eating it. We are just not big fans of packaged/processed baking. I look forward to trying some of these recipes, and coming back to read your blog again I'm sure!

Restaurants Brugge said...
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Travel Links said...

great idea dear i will follow your instruction. I really love this recipe.

frazzledinconeticut said...

Ok so I'm the first but thank you for posting. I got the new black easy back oven for my son who is five soon. My son has egg peanut n tree but allergies n is lactose intolerant so for me I like that I can just make or help him make a small desert for him to take instead of a whole box and I'm using home recipes because the ones the easy bake co uses have eggs n nuts n milk. Thanks for the recipes.

Unknown said...

Thanks so much! My 5 year old son received one for Christmas. I had no idea the mixes were so much! This will save us a lot of money, especially since his siblings will want some too (5 kids 6 years to 3 months).

Unknown said...

Thanks so much! My 5 year old son received one for Christmas. I had no idea the mixes were so much! This will save us a lot of money, especially since his siblings will want some too (5 kids 6 years to 3 months).

Trish said...

Delving into the world of EZ Bake recipes.... thank you for sharing this. :) Very excited to have new cooks in the house.

Unknown said...

With 2011's Goal#3 in mind (to be a more deliberate mother), I finally caved. Olivia has been begging for an Easy Bake oven for years. Literally ... ebakeoven.blogspot.com

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