Baking Toys--Good or Bad?

Well I should start by saying my daughter is only 5. And these toys are SO annoying!! They are gross and messy, and it tastes aweful! I would much rather bake real cookies or brownies with her!

I had an easy bake and loved it! My cousin outgrew it, so she passed it to me. I didn't use the special mixes, just bought jiffy muffin or brownie mixes. I used that thing for YEARS, then passed it on to my little sister. It does take forever to make stuff since you use a light bulb to cook, but I enjoyed it.

She is 9.... she can use the real baking/cooking things.
That is what my kids use. They are 4 and 8 years old.
The "toy" baking 'toys'... are really crappy.

Nowadays, they have real cute baking/cooking things... in cooking specialty stores.

all the best,
Susan

I agree that a real oven is just as good as the smaller version, but your daughter probably doesn't see it that way. She wants her own thing, which is natural. Whether or not you should get it depends on how much she really wants it - and what kind of person she is. If she is the type that would say she wants something and then let it collect dust: don't get it. That's what happened with my easy bake oven. On the other hand, if she really loves baking and wouldn't waste it, then by all means get her one. If she loves it, its worth it. If you do, I would recommend the easy bake oven. It's the most unspecified.
But remember that these things are just commercial, and honestly quite overrated. You don't NEED to get her one of those for her to feel like a responsible 'baker.' Just get her some of her own cooking supplies and a cute apron. That would probably feel even more realistic than a small plastic oven.
If you do, however, get the easy bake oven, I would recommend looking up recipes for it that can be made from scratch. They taste better, and aren't full of preservatives.

My daughter got an easy bake oven as a gift a few years back. The mixes are okay but truthfully take quite a bit of time to make something so tiny. These types of items of course aren't supposed to be used without supervision so I would honestly just keep baking in your oven with her. I can't remember the last time my daughter actually wanted to use her easy bake oven over the traditional one. I don't know anything about the others.

My mom's attitude was the same as yours towards those kinds of toys. We also baked together all the time or I would back with my friends. I also knew the mixes tasted nowhere near as good as the real thing. That never stopped me from wanting an Easybake Oven or the like. I say go for the Dippin' Dots or the ice cream maker. It will make her happy. Good luck!

They are all junk, junk, junk! Definitely not worth the money. My daughter has been through two Easy Bake Ovens (both gifts). The light bulbs burn out constantly, the pans are really hard to put in an take out with the cheap plastic thingy that it comes with now, and the mixes don't taste that good. My friend's daughter had the cupcake maker and she said it was cheap, and a major disappointment. I like the suggestion to get her some pans, utensils, apron, and a cookbook of her very own with a special place to keep it. My daughter is 8, and that sounds like a perfect thing for her too.

My younger daughters, now in their late teens, used an Easy Bake for years, as well as baking "for real". They LOVED it. We were able to find extra mixes after the original ones ran out. No, the quality isn't as good as real baking but it was something they could totally control and wasn't intimidating (my 17-year old is still concerned about burning herself in the real oven even though she's a relatively experienced, accident-free cook for her age). I think they liked switching back & forth from their own cookbook and the real kitchen to the Easy Bake. It truly depends on the child -- but we will all fondly remember eating out of those little pans for a very long time.

2 things:

1. No the mixes are actually not good at all.
2. I have the BEST and fondest memories of my easy bake oven. I was younger but I totally loved the heck out of that thing.

Best of luck and Happy Thanksgiving!
T.

I'm late to answer this question, but I just thought I would let you know our experience just getting one. I got on my for daughter and I was able to get it for $10 so I figured why not? Honestly, it's not that great. The cookies were so tiny they looked doll sized, nothing like they are pictured on the box. And the cake is just as small, feeding one child, not enough for more than one, and not very satisfying for one either. My daughter enjoys baking her own stuff, but I'd rather mix my ingredients from scratch and let her add colored frostings and sprinkles. I don't even know what the ingredients are in these mixes! And it's hard to get the little pans out sometimes, and I worry about burning fingers. Needless to say, we will be selling our Easy Bake Oven, it's just not living up to all the hype.

I wanted an Easy Bake Oven desperately, as a little girl. My mom didn't get me one, but she got me some great stuff instead!! She got me all my own utensils, mixing bowls, apron, cupcake pans, a rolling pin, cookie cutters, mini cake pans, cookie sheets, and everything a little baker could want!! She cleared out a cabinet just for my stuff and nothing else. She also gave me a cookbook. We flipped though it on Christmas and picked a couple of recipes, to make the next day. I still have that recipe book and some of the supplies.
I seriously thought, it was the coolest thing ever! I never thought about the easy bake again.

I would buy her an apron and some kid utensils. I think the prepackaged baking stuff that comes with those kits is gross. I bake all the time and my daughter has always helped or sat by and played with the eggs and stuff in her own bowl set (she is only 4). Personally if you bake and liek to do it, I say get her kids baking stuff, not those baking "kit toys".

At 9 years old, she's beyond all that stuff - she can work with you in the real kitchen instead. How about signing her up for a kid's cooking class as a Christmas gift instead? Or getting her some cook books that are specifically for kids with easy simple recipes?

Nah, if she's nine she's old enough for the real thing. My neice has been baking cakes and such all by herself since she was 7 or 8.

Maybe get her some nice mixing bowls or some other baking needs of her 'own'. Maybe even clear a spot in the cupboard for her. Or a bin in the pantry. (don't forget some cool potholders! and no you CAN'T use them either!)

I had the oven and my daughter had one. The mixes are fine, but expensive.
Plus, it is really just more fun to make a whole cake. There are some sites that tell you how to use full-sized mixes in the minioven. Personally, we sold her oven and unopened mixes after one time because she prefers REAL baking with me.

Today's Easy Bake Oven is junk, in my opinion. Messy and hard to clean. The mixes we had provided a super tiny amount of mix, did not work well or taste very good. My kids had one when they were younger, and they wanted to use it all the time, but they were too young to use it without my constant assistance. I guess if they were older and it was something they could have done independently, or with their friends, I can see them having more fun with it. I had a Holly Hobbie oven that I LOVED when I was about 9, but I just don't think today's products measure up. Today's kids ovens seem smaller, cheaper, and more plastic.

My son got an easy bake oven as a gift a few years back. We made the mixes it came with and never bought any more. The ones it came with turned out pretty nasty and we were less than impressed. It took nearly as long to bake something in it as it would have to bake a full size cake in the oven. It took ages. The pans it came with got all rusty and stuff as well. It's still sitting on a shelf untouched for a couple years now. I've wanted to get rid of it but the fight is horrible but that's another story. It will find it's way out soon though..

My daughter wanted the Easy Bake oven last year so my MIL bought it for her. She's played with it about 5 times. I'm with you, just use the real oven with me, we bake alot. One food gadget that we have is a snow cone maker. It basically just shaves the ice. Get one that takes any size cubes, some have special ice trays for special forms that you have to use. Our also has instructions for making smoothies in it, but I think it would be a pain to clean out, so we only make the shaved ice. It's also good for when the kids are sick - you can give them shaved ice with juice!

I can still remember the Christmas I got my easy bake oven. Of course it didn't bake right, didn't taste good, and was messy. No, they don't taste good, so much so I didn't even eat what I baked. My family was a good sport though.
How about going down the cake decorating aisle at the craft store instead. I love my decorating tips and always get compliments on what I create. The kits usually come with instructions but you can always look for "how-to" videos online.
Good Luck. =)

I grew up when the original easy bake oven came out. My friend had one and we got so board with it. It was fun at first but soon just collected dust on the shelf. Oh and the food wasn't all that good. She also had a ice cream one too and we couldn't ever get to work all that good.

If she like cooking maybe a better gift would be a cook book (the type with fun foods you can cook together) A cute apron, her own cooking tools (cheap from the dollar store) and a mixing bowl. That way you get to play together. Have fun.

Personally I think she's old enough to do her own baking in your kitchen oven. Rather than waste all the money on the toy gadgets, maybe you'd want to get her some of her own items (apron, a cookbook). How about a real ice cream maker?

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In my experience, the mixes are loaded with chemicals and preservatives, and it takes a while for the lightbulb to cook the food. I'm with you-- baking is more fun when done with a grown-up, in a real kitchen. :)

A cute apron and a simple book of snack recipes might be just what your daughter needs. There's a couple great ones by Mollie Katzen (the "Moosewood" author) that are simple, delicious and kid-friendly.

What about a mini crockpot to melt chocolate? Maybe you could make chocolate covered strawberries or pretzels together.
When my son was around 5, I got him a Chucky Cheese pizza oven, which cooks with a lightbulb just like the easy bake. He's not interested in it now(age 8) but it was worth it at the time. I bought it used and never bought the mixes. My son enjoyed making quesadillas and other things that didn't require much baking, especially the part where he kept looking in the little window to see if it was done. It was never about making good tasting food, but more like a craft project. I also bought him a crayola oven that melts crayon scraps and molds them into new crayons, which he still uses. I've also seen little ovens for shrinky dinks and polymer clay.