As a homeschooling Montessori Mom, it can be difficult to include kids in the process while you bake, cook, and prep meals or snacks. Unlike a traditional Montessori school (which likely has its tiny-tot-sized kitchen area!), we have to make it work with our home kitchen and all the extra distractions it can bring.

As challenging as it may be to find a good Montessori kitchen activity for toddlers, it is essential to allow them in the kitchen from time to time to refine their practical life skills such as measuring and pouring solids and liquids, stirring and mixing, using tongs and funnels, and even cutting vegetables into small pieces. Not only that but doing a kitchen activity for toddlers, like making these no-bake cookies, allows them to see something come together from start to finish! In this tutorial, we will cover how and when to include kids in the process of making No-Bake Cookies, a special sweet treat we make a few times a year.

** Please keep in mind, that this tutorial is NOT a step-by-step instruction on how to make a no-bake cookie recipe. It is a tutorial on HOW to include your child during the process of making no-bake cookies.

The Recipe

There are plenty of no-bake cookie recipes available online. You can follow this tutorial with any of them, just substitute your ingredients with the kid-approved steps I have outlined to complete this easy Montessori kitchen activity for toddlers. The recipe we used is as follows:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick oats

Tools Needed:
1 large metal spoon or scoop per child (Amazon Child Size Metal Scoops)
Measuring cups in 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 1 cup sizes
Measuring teaspoons in 1/2 and 1 teaspoon sizes
1 large saucepan
1-2 medium-sized bowls
1 small rubber spatula
1 large rubber spatula
1 long piece of parchment paper

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Step 1: Prep Your Area

To begin, gather all of the ingredients for the recipe you’d like to use, as well as the kitchen tools I have listed above. Place the ingredients in a place where the children can see and reach them, and keep the tools in a second area where most of the kitchen work will be done. The goal is to set everything up in a way that encourages learning and involvement from your child, while also keeping it a safe kitchen activity for toddlers!

*Tip: If your child is old enough, allow them to gather the ingredients from the pantry and the fridge with some assistance from you.

step 2: Washing Hands

Have your child and yourself wash your hands with soap and water before starting your recipe. Explain to them why we wash our hands when we are preparing food as you complete the handwashing activity. Some points to make and questions might be:

– First, we wash our hands every time we are going to cook in the kitchen.
– Why do you think we need to wash our hands before we cook?
– Our hands have tiny germs on them we can not see with our eyes.
– We make sure to rub the bubbles over all of our fingers and the tops and bottoms of our hands.
– Can you tell me another time it is important to wash our hands?

Step 3: Have the Child Grab Ingredients as You Go

When you’ve finished washing up, invite your child to grab the first 1 or 2 ingredients from the counter and take them to the work area. For example, butter is the first ingredient needed in the recipe, so ask them to find the butter on the counter and bring it to the work area. Have them peel the wrapper off the butter themselves and drop it into the saucepan before you place the saucepan on the stove.

As you work with the child, keep your “grown-up duties” (anything involving the stove, knives, etc.) separate from them.

Continue to ask the child to grab the next ingredients themselves, helping them identify each one if needed.

Step 4: Measuring and Adding Dry Ingredients

Instruct your child to fill the appropriate measuring cups with the dry ingredients, one at a time. Hand them the metal spoon, or scoop, and allow them to scoop the dry ingredients into their measuring cup at their own pace. Remember- it’s OKAY if they make a mess. We rarely learn how to do these things without spilling. Encourage them to move slowly and carefully to ensure messes stay at a minimum. If your child is old enough, have them dump the dry ingredients into the heated pot themselves. If they are not old enough to do so, do it for them.

**For the oats and salt, you can have the child measure them out ahead of time, or, later in the process. I find it easier to have them practice the dry ingredients all together and set them aside in different bowls. When it is time to add them to the pot, you can add them yourself or let the child pour them into the other hot ingredients (if they are old enough to do so).

Step 5: Measuring and Adding Wet Ingredients

Next, have the child measure the wet ingredients in the same manner as explained above.

**For items such as milk and vanilla, use the appropriate assistance needed to fill the measuring cup and spoon. For example, my 4-year-old child is still too small to lift and pour the gallon of milk and measure it, but they are fully capable of holding the measuring cup and practicing pouring it into the pot themselves. They are also not refined enough in their pouring skills to pour the vanilla into a teaspoon by themselves, so I did this for them entirely.

Step 6: Finish Your Cookies

After all of the ingredients have been added and mixed in the pot, you’ll need to place the mixture spoonful by spoonful onto parchment paper to cool. My children are not old enough to scoop hot cookie batter from a hot pot, so I did this for them.

**Tip: Towards the end of the cooking process, if your child is old enough to understand the stove and cooking with hot items, allow them to do a final stir or even use a large handled spoon to scoop out the cookie batter onto the parchment paper themselves – with your direct supervision and undivided attention.

Step 7: Enjoy Your Cookies!

Making no-bake cookies is a great kitchen activity for toddlers and can be an awesome way to bond, teach, learn, and grow. Do you have a favorite kitchen activity for toddlers? Share them in the comments below! I love hearing new ideas that encourage growth and thoughtful, appropriate independence.

If you enjoyed this post, you’ll also like some of my other DIY Montessori Activity posts:

• Seasonal Science Fun: Kids Planting Seeds
• Seasonal Science Fun: Making Colored Ice
• DIY: Authentic Montessori Nomenclature Color Cards + FREE Printable
• Montessori Preschool Learning Checklist and FREE Printable

Please like, share, or comment if you found this tutorial helpful!