Fun Recipes for the Little Ones

Children’s Day is a day that calls for lots of fun and believe me, at home, you can also have lots of it.
How about calling the little ones to have fun in the kitchen?
Plan an unforgettable day full of activities and include cooking, with colourful and tasty recipes made especially for them, which are not only fun but also educational.
Follow these delicious sweet and savoury recipes that In&Out Cooking has thoughtfully selected for this very special day and enjoy!

Mini Burgers

Difficulty Level: Easy
Duration: 40 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients:

• 8 fresh beef meatballs
• 8 mini hamburger buns
• 4 lettuce leaves
• 2 fresh tomatoes
• 8 slices of cheddar or emmental cheese
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 16 boiled kidney beans
• Mayonnaise to taste
• Ketchup to taste
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat a frying pan with olive oil and let it heat up a little. Spread out the meatballs (which will turn into a hamburger shape), season them with salt, add them to the frying pan and let them cook on both sides. Remove from heat, place half of the cheese slices on the burgers and set aside.
2. Open the buns in half, put them in the oven at 200ºC for about 2 minutes, remove, spread the bottom halves with the mayonnaise and ketchup, arrange the lettuce leaves, the sliced tomatoes and then the burgers.
3. Cut the remaining cheese slices into rounded rectangles at the ends and make a line down the centre with some ketchup. Put on the buns with one end over the meat and the other sticking out of the bun, to make the tongue, as you see in the photo. Place the other halves of the buns on top and decorate with the kidney beans to make the eyes.

If you are vegetarian or vegan, or simply prefer to make a version without animal products, here is the recipe for you.

Mini Fish Pie

Difficulty Level: Easy
Duration: 60 minutes
Servings: 3

Ingredients:

• 375 g of potatoes peeled and diced
• 50 g of butter
• 25 g of finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 125 g of cod fillets, skinned and diced
• 125 g of salmon, skinned and diced
• 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoon of milk + 75 ml
• 50 ml of vegetable stock
• 25 g of frozen peas
• 50 g of cheddar cheese
• 1 lightly beaten egg

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to boil, add the potatoes, reduce the heat and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until soft. Drain and mash them with the milk and 25 g of butter until smooth.
3. Melt the remaining butter in a pan, add the onion and saute until soft. Add the flour and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Gradually add the milk and then the stock. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the fish with the parsley and the bay leaf. Cook for about 3 minutes, then stir in the peas and cook for 1 minute. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the cheese until melted. Season with a little salt and pepper.
5. Divide the fish between the 3 plates and cover with the mashed potato. Brush with the lightly beaten egg. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes and finish for a few minutes under a preheated grill until golden.
6. Use vegetables to make a face on the pies, as you see in the picture, before serving.

Tuna and Egg Lizard Sandwiches

Difficulty Level: Easy
Duration: 35 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized pack of sliced crustless bread (approx. 500 g)
• 2 tins of tuna
• 4 cherry tomatoes
• ½ cucumber
• ¼ of onion
• 40 g of olives
• 4 eggs
• 4 tbsps. of mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp. ketchup
• Parsley to taste
• Chives to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sticks

Preparation:

1. Boil the eggs, let them boil for 12 minutes, put to cool in cold water, peel and slice thinly. Cut the slices of bread with a small round rim.
2. Pour the drained tuna into a bowl, add the mayonnaise, the ketchup, the onion and the olives finely chopped and mix well until it becomes a paste. Add chopped parsley and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread the bread circles with this paste and place a slice of hard-boiled egg on top. Place one on top of the other and secure with toothpicks, making four “lizards”.
3. Wash the cucumber, cut it into thick slices, make some smaller circles to make the eyes, cut the rest into small triangles and place them on the sides, as you see in the picture.
4. With the cherry tomatoes, the cucumber slices, the chives and some olives, make the lizard's head and fix it with a toothpick.

Watermelon Jelly

Difficulty Level: Medium
Duration: 30m + 3h
Doses: 8

Ingredients:

• 250 g of watermelon pulp
• ½ large watermelon rind
• 400 g of pineapple pulp
• 4 kiwi fruit
• 2 pitayas
• 2 packs of blueberries
• 1 sachet of watermelon gelatine
• 20 g of powdered colourless gelatine
• 300 ml of water

Preparation:

1. Remove the pulp from the watermelon (without piercing the rind), cut 250 g into cubes and reserve the rest for future use.
2. Cut the other fruits into cubes and place them together with the blueberries inside the watermelon rind.
3. Place the gelatines in a bowl, add 300 ml of hot water and mix well to dissolve.
4. Pour this also into the watermelon and refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours or until solid.
5. Serve cut into triangles.

Another thing that the little ones love with gelatine is gums. So how about healthy, sugar-free homemade gums? Check out the recipe here.

Cocoa Cookies

Difficulty Level: Easy
Duration: 30 minutes
Servings: 24

Ingredients:

• 250 g of flour
• 100 g of sugar
• 80 g of margarine
• 50 g of cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 1 beaten yolk
• Coloured granules to taste
• Flour for sprinkling

Preparation:

1. In the food processor, add the egg, sugar, margarine, cocoa and flour and turn on for 30 seconds at speed 6. Stir with the spatula halfway through.
2. Roll out the dough on a floured board, leaving it about 0.5 cm thick. Cut it into the shapes you want or as you see in the photo and place it on two baking trays dusted with flour.
3. Brush with the beaten egg yolk, sprinkle with coloured granules and bake in the preheated oven at 180ºC for about 20 minutes or until well baked. Remove from the oven, remove the cookies with a spatula, let them cool and serve.

For this recipe to be more fun and perfect for the little ones we advise the use of the Lékué Kit of 5 cookie cutters with shapes of different means of transport (like: aeroplane, train, boat, car and motorbike).

Orange Cake with Smarties

Difficulty Level: Easy
Duration: 30 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs M
• 150 g of sugar
• Juice of 2 oranges
• 200 g of yeast flour
• 1 tablespoon of butter (for greasing)
• 3 tablespoonful of honey
• 2 egg whites M
• 20 Smarties

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Break the eggs, separating the yolks and whites.
3. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until you obtain a fluffy, whitish cream.
4. Add the orange juice and the flour and finally, carefully fold in the beaten egg whites.
5. Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured mould and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
6. Put the honey in a non-stick pan, heat it until it caramelizes a little and let it cool slightly.
7. Whip the egg whites, add the honey and whip for another 30 seconds to coat everything.
8. Cover the cake with the meringue and decorate with Smarties.

Create fun memories with your little ones and enjoy these recipes.
Happy Children’s Day!