Making Sugar Cookies - Freedom Inside the Box

Updated March, 2023

Baking is one of my favorite activities to do with kids (link) because it combines science, math, and deliciousness all in one. For this project, we went with making sugar cookies. This fun recipe for kids to make is also easy. Anyone can join in making sugar cookies. You can cook with older children, you can cook with preschoolers, you can even cook with toddlers (with a little more help of course).

Supplies

Baking is a great way to teach simple and complex math skills such as addition, fractions, and measuring. These are great life skills and at the end, you have a delicious treat to share with your family. Even the youngest of children can participate with cooking. Here is our recipe for sugar cookies so you can have fun with your family as well.

Margarine

I buy margarine in bulk and keep it in the freezer until I think we are going to use it soon. This is because many baking recipes require margarine or butter. You will need 1 cup of margarine for these cookies.

Sugar

As I start this bit on sugar, I am realizing I really buy most of my baking materials in bulk. If it won’t go bad, you might as well buy a lot of it at once. You will need 1 cup of sugar (they are sugar cookies after all).

Vanilla

Just 1 teaspoon of vanilla for flavor will be needed here.

Egg

Grab 1 egg for your future sugar cookies.

Baking Powder

What happens to your cookies if you do not add baking powder to them? What about other ingredients? This is just one example of questions you and your budding scientist can ask while you cook.

Flour

You will need almost 3 cups of flour for these cookies. It’s a lot, but not all of it will go into the cookies directly. Trust me, you are going to want plenty of flour on hand to prevent sticking.

Salt

Baking is different from cooking because it has specific measurements. It’s not a pinch of salt, or salt to taste. In baking, it’s exactly 1/2 teaspoon.

Mixing Bowl

Your mixing bowl needs to be large enough to comfortably mix for you and your child. I tend to do larger than is really necessary so that the mess is more readily contained.

Mixer

You don’t have to have a super fancy Kitchen Aid Mixer. And handheld mixer will do. I just like the Kitchen Aid because it includes the bowl and I know it will have the power I need.

Measuring Cups

You need to be exact with baking, so be sure you have some measuring cups on hand.

Spatula

Cookie dough is precious! We don’t want to waste any. So it’s important to have a spatula on hand to scrape the beaters and the sides of the bowl.

Rolling Pin

I am sure there are other options for flattening your cookies. The rolling pin is the easiest though.

Cookie Cutters

You don’t actually have to have cookie cutters. We did a combination of cookie cutters and making our own shapes. Make sure you give your child plenty of room for creativity.

Baking Sheet

Of course you will need a baking sheet to actually cook the cookies on.

Process

Step 1: Gather Supplies

Gather all of your supplies together.

1 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Step 2: Combine

Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl (only use 2 cups of flour, the rest is for your work surface). Beat on medium speed until smooth. If you don’t have a mixer, you can always mix by hand. This is great muscle development for your child.

If you are anything like us, you may have to adjust your recipe until it is the right consistency. We often have to add water to get it right.

Step 3: Chill

Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Step 4: Roll

Prepare your work surface by sprinkling flour over it. I also find it helpful to rub flour over our rolling pin as well. This will help discourage the cookie dough from sticking to everything it touches, including hands!

Once your surface is ready, roll out the dough into about a half inch thick. Cut the dough into shapes either by using cookie cutters or shaping your own.

Step 5: Bake

Transfer cut out shapes to a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Step 5: Eat

Take out of over. Let cookies cool. Frost if desired.

Expand

If you are anything like us and completely mess up your recipe (we are children after all) experiment with adding different ingredients (usually wet ingredients) to get the right consistency.
If you used cookie cutters, try creating some cookies from your own imagination.
Make your own frosting if you like frosting