You love to eat cake and brownies, of course, and so do your kids but making them yourself? If baking a fancy-looking dessert sometimes seems messy/daunting/intimidating, you’re not alone, and you’re also in luck. The following baking boxes supply you with everything you need to make a treat worthy of Instagram, minus the anxiety. Plus, your little bakers can pitch right in! Read on to see which one (it could be all of them, we’re not judging) you want to try today.
I'm the Chef, Too
We love this kit because it combines science with cooking! Each adventure kit is filled with a recipe, pre-measured dry ingredients and 2-3 STEAM based projects that are all theme related. Uncover a new adventure and learning experience every time! In the Galaxy Donuts kit, you'll learn about the constellations and how to calculate the weight of planets.
Online: imthecheftoo.com
Skill Level Required: 2 spoons
Unicorn Cookie Cup Baking Kit
Make 24 mini-cookie cups with this fun unicorn-themed kit. It even comes with an apron and all the measuring cups and baking pans you'll need.
Online: etsy.com
Skill Level Required: Two spoons
Bake Eat Love
Subscription baking box company, Bake Eat Love now has kids kits! The three-box kit comes with everything you need to whip up Campfire Cupcakes, Sandcastle Cake and Galactic Ice Cream Sandwiches. Each kit includes nonperishable ingredients to make the treat, educational activities and a kitchen gift surprise.
Online: eatbakelove.com
Skill Level Required: 3 spoons
Our Beautiful Earth Kit from Kidstir
Join Kidstir for exciting monthly cooking adventures for your budding chef! Each month, Kidstir will send your child a brand new cooking kit filled with three delicious, nutritious recipes, kid-size cooking tools, games and activities! With a focus on fresh, nutritious food and hands-on fun, Kidstir was created by moms who know that through cooking, children will gain important life skills in the kitchen — and cook up some fun family memories, as well!
Online: kidstir.com
Skill Level Required: 2 spoons
Confetti Cakes
This brand-new baking kit is designed by Elisa Strauss, the pastry chef behind Confetti Cakes. The first one is a conversation heart, and Strauss has plans for future kits as well. If you’re worried about procuring fancy cake-baking ingredients, don’t be. You’ll get almost everything you need to make the giant conversation hearts: vanilla or chocolate cake mix, buttercream frosting mix, stencils, cake molds, fondant and more. You just need to provide the eggs, milk, oil and butter!
Cost: $65 per kit.
Online: confetticakes.com/thecakekit
Skill Level Required: 3 spoons
Bakery Bling Designer Cookie Kit
To decorate with ease (and without the mess), turn to Bakery Bling. Their boxes come with everything you need to make your family's decorating dreams come true. From pre-baked cookies to icing to their special glittery sugars, Bakery Bling is a legit mom hack for those of us wanting the fun of decorating cookies with our kids, but without the hassle. Choose from kits with themes like Valentine's Day hearts, firetrucks, unicorns and so much more. They even sell just the glitter sprinkles and even cake decorating kits to boot.
Cost: starts at $9.99 per kit
Online: bakerybling.com
Skill Level Required: 1 spoon
Sprinkles Cupcakes' Holiday Baking Kit
Available for national delivery, this new holiday baking kit from iconic cupcake shop Sprinkles. This all-in-one kit comes with everything you'll need to make red velvet cupcakes, including frosting and festive toppings. For an added treat, for $25 you can get the best-selling The Sprinkles Baking Book.
Cost: $55.
Online: catering.sprinkles.com
Skill Level Required: 1-2 spoons
Banana Pudding Kit from Magnolia Bakery
Now you make Magnolia Bakery’s legendary banana pudding at home! This brand new baking-kit includes important ingredients like Nilla wafers and pudding—all you have to provide is the cream and bananas. It serves sixteen people and is Kosher certified.
Good to know: You can choose a gluten-free version of the kit as well.
Cost: $29.99
Online: magnoliabakery.goldbelly.com
Skill Level Required: 1-2 spoons
Holiday Baking Kit from eat2explore
Just in time for the holidays, the eat2explore baking kit comes with treats from three different countries: Japan, Croatia and Austria. Make Japanese mochi/Daifuku, Croatian gingerbread or Austrian Linzer cookies. Your box comes with an easy-to-follow recipe card, a shopping list and non-perishable ingredients. Kids will also learn the history behind each cultural dessert with the included educational activity sheets and country explorer brochures.
Cost: $24.95
Online: eat2explore.com/specialtyboxes/exploreworldtreats
Skill level required: 2-3 spoons
Little GF Chefs
This baking club for kids has all the sweetness of your typical baking club, but everything is gluten free. Each box arrives with all the dry ingredients needed to make the included recipe and a baking tool perfect for kids. There are all sorts of fun baking projects from pretzel bites to a rainbow pop tart kit and even and Under the Sea Cookie Kit.
Good to know: The kits are also free of most of the eight leading allergens and are considered vegan friendly as well.
Cost: Choose from individual kits at $35 each or opt for a subscription ($330 a year, $168 every 6 months, $89.97 every three months).
Online: littlegfchefs.com
Skill Level Required: 1-2 spoons.
Fortune Cookie Kit from Global Grub
Learn how to fold up this iconic Chinese takeout treat at home! You’ll have 60 fortunes to choose from (plus a few blank strips of paper for personalized fortunes), and you’ll get all the ingredients you need to make up to four batches, which is 12 cookies each. You also get a silicone baking mat, an edible ink pen and step-by-step instructions.
Good to know: It’s recommended that beginners try two cookies at a time. Once they’ve come out of the oven, you’ll need to fold and shape them ASAP to avoid cracking.
Cost: Choose between one kit for $27.99 or three kits for $73.97 plus free shipping.
Online: globalgrub.com
Skill Level Required: Four Spoons
Baketivity
Baketivity boxes are sure to put a smile on your little baker's face! Each themed box comes with pre-measured ingredients, kid-friendly instructions, colorful lessons and games to play while your treats bake and a shopping list if you need to add anything extra. All the included ingredients are vacuum-packed fresh, and when you sign up for a subscription, your kiddo will get a Baketivity hat and apron! You can buy a one-time kit or subscribe to receive one on a monthly basis, and each month is different: emoji cookies, whoopie pies, cake pops and even a Panda pull apart!
Cost: Prices range depending on which plan you choose (yearly: $25.95 per month, six months: $29.17 per month, 3 months: $30.95, monthly: $32.95). There are also individual kits you can buy, like this Positivity Cookie Kit!
Online: baketivity.com
Skill Level Required: 2-3 spoons
Cakest
If birthday cake is your game, this is the box for you. Select your cake from the website—choose from a large array of classic looks and themes including panda, rocketship, firetruck and princess. When it arrives, you’ll find all of the baking tools (cake pan, cake board, rolling pin, decorating tools and spatula) and cake ingredients (gluten-free cake mix and fondant). This kit does not contain frosting so you’ll want to buy or make it in advance (check out this no-fail recipe). You’ll also need 4 eggs, 2 sticks of unsalted butter and 2/3 cup of oil—to add to the mix (just like with any cake mix) along with your basic mixer and measuring cups. Follow the simple, step-by-step instructions to create your masterpiece. While the fondant is not for the faint of heart, this is your foray into the world of professional-looking cakes and it gets easier each time you do it. Your first time it will probably take you a couple of hours. Plus, the kiddos LOVE rolling it out. Pinterest, look out!
Good to know: Bake the cake the day or two before the party, and frost it up in advance too. Do the fondant the day of or evening before but allow yourself at least 2 hours. You don’t actually want to refrigerate the fondant at too low of a temp and it shouldn’t get too hot once it’s on the cake—room temperature is perfect.
Cost: All kits are $55 and they ship anywhere in the continental US. Shipping time is about 1-1 ½ weeks but because the boxes do not need to be refrigerated upon arrival and are fine to sit for a few days, we suggest you order at least 2 weeks prior to your party. While you're waiting for your cake to arrive, read their baking tips and watch the "how to cover a cake with fondant" video.
Online: cakest.co
Skill level required: 3-4 spoons
Foodstirs
Co-founded by actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, Foodstirs baking mixes and kits are all organic and GMO-free. Their aim? Take the guesswork out of baking for modern parents and make it easy and enjoyable to bake. Each kit or mix has just six to ten ingredients and six steps or less, so you can actually eat your creation within an hour or so of making it. They offer themed kits, including cupcakes and cookies for holidays like 4th of July, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Their kits are especially creative: think rainbow cakes, brownie pops and cookie bouquets and they are always adding new options. The best part? All those bright colors come from fruits and veggies so there’s no artificial coloring.
Cost: Individual baking kits range from $14.99-$18.99 and arrive typically within one week of ordering. Subscription boxes arrive every other month, a 3-kit subscription is $59, 6-kit is $119. The subscription kits ship around the 10th of every even-numbered month (Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct and Dec). U.S. only.
Online: foodstirs.com
Skill level: 1 to 3 spoons (depends on your kit)
—Amber Guetebier with Gabby Cullen
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