Preschool Cooking Activities: Healthy, Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

In: Activities for Spirited Kids, Toddler Activities

For some reason, I frequently find myself with 3 overripe bananas. I know I am not the only one. Even though they are still OK to eat, I don’t want to pack them in Edison’s lunch because I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for the kid that has to eat black bananas.

I am also sick and tired of banana bread. Typically, we get all excited right when it comes out of the oven, and then we can hardly stand to choke it down over the next week.

So…This time, I wised up and searched for “things to do with ripe bananas aside from banana bread”. I found a great recipe for banana cookies that actually had half the sugar of our normal banana bread recipe. Yay!

The first batch turned out kind of bland, so we added fresh blueberries to the second batch and they were to die for. The best part was, my preschooler and I baked them together, so it was tons of fun and he got to work on his cooking skills.

Practice these Preschool Cooking Skills

  • Cutting: I gave him a butter knife and he had a great time cutting the bananas into small chunks
  • Cracking Eggs: Messy, but you never learn unless you practice
  • Measuring: Edison got to practice using measuring cups and measuring spoons.
  • Stirring: I haven’t let him use the mixer yet, but he got to stir and learned how to scrape the bottom.
  • Folding-in Blueberries: This is a little different than stirring. With folding-in, you have to be very gentle, a skill that seems to be extra hard for a preschool boy. 🙂

The Recipe for this Preschool Cooking Activity

Banana Blueberry Cookies

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
2 large ripe bananas, in chunks
1½ cups rolled oats
1¼ cups flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon soda
Fresh blueberries (Use your judgement on the amount.)

Beat butter with sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in bananas. Stir in remaining ingredients until well combined. Drop by level tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart. Bake at 375º for 15-18 minutes. Makes 40.

Resources for Preschool Cooking Activities