It’s dark and cold outside, but bright and cosy in your kitchen - the perfect time to bake with your kids!

We’ve rounded up some of our favourite recipes from our community archives to help your family get in the kitchen and get baking during the winter holidays. New to cooking with your kids? No problem! Check out our guide on how to get your kitchen ready for cooking safely with kids. 

While you bake, consider this: cooking and enjoying food together is a terrific boost to a family’s well being -- and you don’t have to be physically together to benefit from it! Connect with grandparents or other loved ones over a video call, get the ingredients to prepare the same recipe, and then bake together while you chat. Or, enjoy a tea party together over video call (read up on fika if you need inspiration!). Just make your favourite tea and baked goods, and settle down for a good video chat with your favourite people.  

Are your cookie monsters roaring to get baking? Here are just a few of our favourite cookie recipes to get you started: 

• Grandma Chang’s Cookies: Studded with coconut and chunks of chocolate, these satisfying no-fuss cookies are easy to make and enjoy together. 
• Sugar Cookies: Soft, sweet, and a total classic, sugar cookies are great for older kids to roll out and decorate with icing and sprinkles.  If you’re crunched for time, or you’re baking with a younger kid who doesn’t quite have the hand strength to roll out cookies, consider making this recipe into “birthday cake” cookies -- simply mix in a half cup of sprinkles in your favourite colour right into the dough, and then roll in walnut sized balls before placing on a cookie sheet to bake. 
• Lemon Pecan Cookies: These cookies require a longer chilling time, but the glorious rich lemon-pecan flavour is worth it.
• Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies: These cookies are heaven for chocolate and peanut butter lovers, and they’re really fun for younger children to fill and pinch closed. 
• Grandma Evelyn’s Gingerbread Cookies: Just the smell of these cookies filling your house will put everyone in a holiday mood. 
• Thimble Cookies: These pretty little cookies are a great choice for younger children as they involve rolling cookies into balls, and spooning jam into warm cookies. Eggnog Cookies also are based on rolling the dough into balls, and they’re absolutely delicious. 
• Gluten-free Peanut Butter Bars: If you’re looking for a toddler-friendly recipe, this is it (and we have more recipes where that one came from!). This no-bake recipe is super easy - mix the ingredients, drop on a cookie tray, freeze and enjoy. And as a bonus, these sweets are gluten free! For another delicious gluten-free holiday cookie, try this Gluten-Free Shortbread!
• Cranberry Lemon Whole Grain Cookies: This is another classic holiday cookie but this time with a twist of whole grain. Tart flavours of cranberry and lemon balance out the sweetness of this cookie beautifully. 

Have you got a cookie recipe you’d like to see on our site? Add it! It’s easy to upload your recipes or search for other family friendly recipes on our site. And for more winter inspiration, please join our communities on Facebook and Instagram! We’re sharing lots of fun ideas daily, and we’d love to hear from you.