Cooking with Kids: Pizza Party

Kids love making messes. My boys deserve an Olympic medal for their epic messes. Cooking in the kitchen is a fun way to be messy and have a delicious treat. I love involving my kids in as many activities as possible. The kitchen is a great place to get your kids involved. Cooking allows your kids to feel needed and valued while learning great life lessons. It is fun and results in a delicous treat!

Cooking pizza with kids can be a fun and educational experience. Here are some steps to make it fun and easy:

1. Prepare the ingredients in advance: Pre-cut vegetables, prepare pizza dough, and have sauce and toppings ready. I love to use a muffin pan like this one to keep all the ingredients separate and easy to reach for little hands.

2. Let kids participate: Allow them to spread sauce, sprinkle cheese, and choose their favorite toppings. I love dividing the dough into personal pan-size pizzas, so every kid can make their own pizza with toppings of their choice.

3. Teach food safety: Explain the importance of washing hands and handling ingredients safely. Show them how to spread the sauce with the back of the spoon and clean up after they are done.

4. Make it creative: Encourage kids to create their own pizza designs and shapes. This is the fun part! My son asked if he could put pineapples and mandarin oranges on his. Absolutely! Let their creativity take hold and see what creations result.

5. Use simple recipes: Opt for easy-to-follow recipes or store-bought pizza dough for convenience. Store-bought pizza is best for your first attempt to keep things simple. I have included my favorite homemade recipe below. I cheat and make my dough in this bread machine to simplify the process and the results are just as delicious. It has a programmable feature to make pizza dough and has a delay timer so you can make it ahead of time and have it ready for dinner.

6. Supervise closely: Keep an eye on them around hot surfaces and ovens.

7. Enjoy the process: Emphasize that cooking is about having fun and spending time together. We practiced writing our names in the leftover flour and used cookie cutters to make our pizza into fun shapes.

8. Share the results: Once the pizza is cooked, savor your homemade creation together.

Cooking with kids can foster their love for food and cooking while creating lasting memories.

Here is the pizza dough recipe I love and all the ingredients can be added to a bread machine to make it even easier. If you are using a bread machine, add all the ingredients, turn it on to the pizza dough setting, and skip to step 7:

Ingredients:

- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast

- 1 teaspoon sugar

- 1 cup warm water (110°F or 43°C)

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, and active dry yeast. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until it becomes frothy.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.

3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil.

4. Stir the ingredients together until a dough forms.

5. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5-7 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.

6. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1-1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

7. Preheat your oven to the highest temperature (usually around 500°F or 260°C) and place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven while it preheats. I prefer a pizza stone because the dough is crispier and has a much better flavor. Here is the one I use.

8. Once the dough has risen, punch it down to release any air bubbles and then divide it into two equal portions. This makes two 12-inch pizzas.

9. Roll out each portion of dough on a floured surface to your desired thickness.

10. Transfer the rolled-out dough to a piece of parchment paper, which will make it easier to transfer to the preheated pizza stone or baking sheet.

11. Add your favorite pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings.

12. Carefully slide the parchment paper with the pizza onto the preheated stone or baking sheet in the oven.

13. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

14. Remove from the oven, let it cool for a minute, slice, and enjoy your homemade pizza!

Feel free to customize your pizza dough by adding herbs, garlic, or other seasonings to the dough for extra flavor.

Get messy! What pizza toppings are your kids requesting? Comment below.

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