Bath resident Beth Kaczmar, who was a finalist in a Mrs. Fields cookie-baking contest in 2007, is shown baking with her daughter Emma.

Photo: Ken Crisafi

Bath resident Beth Kaczmar, who was a finalist in a Mrs. Fields cookie-baking contest in 2007, said she grew up baking and now she shares that tradition with her own children.

“We do lots of cookie decorating, and we always make a gingerbread house every year,” Kaczmar said. “That’s a lot of fun. It usually takes a lot of time and patience.”

Those are two virtues the baker suggested adults have plenty of when it comes to having a little helper. She also said you’ve got to approach the task with a light heart.

“Don’t take it too seriously,” she said.

Kaczmar’s four children range in age from 3 to 9. She finds that there is something that each of them can do in the baking process.

“I try to find age-appropriate tasks for each of them,” she said. “With the younger age group, simple is best.”

For the littlest baker, she suggests making decorated cutout cookies. The adult should make the cookies and bake them and let the child do the decorating. It works for Kaczmar’s youngest child, Lucy.

“They are prebaked, but she thinks she made the cookies,” Kaczmar said. “That’s her way of contributing.”

Other children enjoy rolling dough into balls for other recipes.

“I try to get my kids in the kitchen as much as possible, even my boys,” Kaczmar said. “I teach them how to measure, which is a great way to help them in school, too. A lot of times they can scoop out flour and pour it into the bowl. If I crack the eggs open, they can stir it.”

Older children that have spent time in the kitchen, like Kaczmar’s oldest child, then can take on other responsibilities.

“I really like to let her be creative, and with a little bit of guidance I can give her a basic recipe and she can help me add to that recipe,” Kaczmar said.

Whatever the age of children, Kaczmar suggests reinforcing some rules about baking as you do it.

“We are very, very cautious in the kitchen with hand washing,” she said.

She added she makes sure cleaning up becomes part of the activity.

“I want them to think it’s an entire process,” she said. “They need to see how it starts and how it finishes.”

For those who would like to make holiday baking a tradition but don’t have much experience, Kaczmar offers advice.

“Start with a recipe that isn’t too complex,” she said. “If you are someone who has not taken on baking before, if you do it and take on something too difficult, it may flop and then you’ll be frustrated. And if you’re putting children into it, a lot of times it doesn’t go as planned, and that can lead to frustration, too. You have to think of it as being fun.”

Kaczmar, who recently started her own cookie company, Kaczmar Cookies, recommended the following recipe for those bakers looking to start simple:

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Antlers

2 cups chow mein noodles

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1 6 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 6 oz. package butterscotch chips

12 maraschino cherries, cut in half.

• Depending on the ages of your children, you can divide the tasks among the children so everyone can participate.

• Have everyone wash their hands and be assigned a specific task.

• First, line a cookie sheet with wax paper. You will need separate bowls for every ingredient listed. For the younger child (ages 2-4), you can help measure out the directed amount of ingredients to be placed in each bowl. For instance, they may be guided by placing 2 cups of chow mein noodles in the first bowl, 1 cup of rice cereal in the second bowl, 6 ozs. of chocolate chips in the third bowl, 6 ozs. of butterscotch chips in the fourth bowl and 12 cherries in the fifth bowl (an adult will need to cut the cherries).

• The chocolate and butterscotch will need to be melted. They can simply be melted by an adult by placing each separately in a bowl in the microwave, and setting your microwave to a defrost setting for about two minutes. Check the consistency and stir well. When all the morsels are melted and smooth, they will be cooked enough. An older child (ages 4-6) could stir the morsels for you while you are melting the next bowl.

• Once both chocolates and butterscotch are melted, add together and stir well.

• If there is an older child (6 or older), they can add all the ingredients, except cherries, together in a large bowl and stir throughout.

• Then you can have all the children take turns spooning out the mixture and forming V-shaped cookies onto the wax paper. Lastly, top the center with a cherry for the nose.

• Chill for one to two hours until firm. This makes two to three dozen cookies.