Baking with my kids usually starts with my 2 boys (5 and 2.5) fighting over standing in our kitchen helper and then fighting over who's turn it is to stir. All this leads to a giant disaster as everything flies out of the bowl. I'm a bit territorial in the kitchen and hate cleaning so we don't cook/bake together too often. I know I need to let some of that go as I want to start baking with my kids at Christmas. Any suggestions on some good recipes that are relatively easy? Otherwise, it's going to be mommy making some cut out cookies and just letting them help decorate. I can sort of contain the mess there. Sort of. 
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Peanut butter blossoms are easy and they could both put the hershey kisses in. Or could you make a double batch of something so each could be in charge of one bowl?
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I use two bowls, otherwise my two boys (age 3 and almost 2)--who are generally very good at sharing--would have utter meltdowns and fights over whose turn it was.
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@Mommy Finger:
Get a stool or something so that both kids can be elevated at the counter.
Get one big mixing bowl, but split up the ingredients into 2 sets of measuring utensils. For example, if a recipe calls for 2 cups of flour and 2 eggs, each kid gets 1 cup of flour and 1 egg pre-cracked into a bowl. Them mommy mixes the dough and each boy can scoop a portion out into their parchment to roll and chill for slicing.
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For actual hands on help with the baking I like snickerdoodles and molasses cookies. They help me dump things in the bowl, and then get to roll the cookies into balls.
We also do cracker brittle, and my older daughter (4) gets to help me spread the chocolate.
For cut outs...I keep GFS pre-made cutouts in the freezer during the holidays. You put them straight from the freezer into the oven and they are surprisingly good! Good for occupying an afternoon - or a last minute what to bring food item!
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7-layer cookies! No mixing, just dumping. I melt the butter in the bottom of the pan, then D helps me dump in the layers - graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, walnuts, coconut - and then I do the sweetened condensed milk on top. It's a stick of butter, a cup of the other layers, and then 1 can of the sweetened condensed milk. Seriously, so easy. D's been helping me with them since he was 18 months old. Your kids could take turns dumping the layers!
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@littlebug: Well that's just genius! I haven't heard about this before.
@Dahlia: @Mrs. Dolphin: @gingerbebe: The having a second bowl is a game changer! Not sure why I didn't think about that. And I think we'll have to just not use the kitchen helper. They're big enough that I trust them on our chairs at the counter but they want to use the "standing thing".
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@Mommy Finger: Easy and SO GOOD. They're my favorite cookies!
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You could also do cupcakes/cake. Just give each kid a box of cake mix and a bowl. You could do a chocolate for one and a white cake for another and then let them run a toothpick through the batter to marble it and they can marvel at it once its baked. You can then let them each frost and decorate the cupcakes.
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@littlebug: What a great recipe!!!!! How long and what temp do you bake? And any idea what size can of S/C Milk?
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@Mrs D: @Mommy Finger: Bake for 25 minutes at 325!
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I second peanut butter blossoms! So easy!
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Maybe consider getting a cookie press?
That's the only way my dad ever made cookies because clean up was easy. We'd load it with premade pilsbury sugar cookie dough that was already tube shaped. It can take a delicate touch on the trigger (we had an electric one), so if the kids aren't very good at that yet, you can always spritz them and then let them put sprinkles on them before you bake them.
No bowls, measuring cups, spoons to clean up! No flour everywhere!
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I make regular chocolate chip but do Christmas m&ms, choc chips, and white choc chips. Easy recipe and DD can pour in lots of things. And get distracted swiping m&ms
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I think the best top I have is to pre measure everything into small bowls etc., It's a pain during clean up but giving each kid something to dump is helpful.
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@MaryM: Using the pre-tubed sugar cookie dough is freaking GENIUS!
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@littlebug: It also works better because they tend to hold their shape best if the dough is cold
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@littlebug: Thanks for this! I am going to make this the next time I need to bring a dessert somewhere.
Also, rice krispies treats or similar cereal mash ups are fun for kids. My son had a blast making the cereal mix (regular and cocoa was what I had on hand) and we also planned to make a batch using fruit loops.
I am a fan of using the stand mixer when I bake with my son, even if it's just to mix brownie batter. It's a giant pain to take the machine out, but I don't have to worry about the bowl slipping all over the place and spilling.
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@Mommy Finger: in our house, involving the kids in cooking/baking no matter how easy or difficult usually results in the kids fighting or whining a little. So I just have to mentally gear myself up for it before I let them help--which is like, daily lately. They always want to "help" to the point that sometimes I try to sneak the beginning of the dinner making process just so I can quickly prep some things without all the "help". So I understand your problem.
Giving them their own bowls is a good idea--I don't think my 2 year old is ready for that, but maybe yours are? We made "holly" lately and it was easy for the kids to help with, but it involves a stove, not sure how you feel about that.
https://www.recipegirl.com/2008/08/02/holly-cookies/
They aren't really cookies, more like rice crispy treats. They also involve fake food coloring and red hots candy, haha. So not a very healthy treat.
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I bought the tubes of sugar cookie dough for cut-outs. I'm going to ice with white royal icing (the kind that hardens as it dries) and let my 5 year old "color" on them with food coloring pens. We did this last year and it was not very messy and he absolutely loved it.
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I prep the stuff and do it kitchen show style on their little table sometimes. except that DS1 really really wants to measure everything now, so that's not working as well...
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