***NOTE***edited to add this important info on 2-6-07****There has been a recall on the most recent version of the Easy Bake Oven. Please check out this link for info: CNN Money Article and Easy Bake Website. There is a free retrofit kit to fix the problem.
Well, Princess wanted an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas. Since I always wanted, yet never got one (well, ok, last year Yankee Bill finally bought me one as my Christmas tree ornament-you even plug a little light into it and it smells like vanilla) I knew I was going to cave. However, I didn’t have to cave because Cici did WAY before I had a chance to. How come the same mother who wouldn’t buy one for me doesn’t think twice about buying one for the grandbaby?
Ah, the vagrancies of life. . .
Anyway-being the true frugalite that you all know I am, I refuse to buy any of those little packaged mixes for the thing-after all there is this wonderful thing called the internet where you can find just about anything recipe-wise for free. (although of course Cici already bought an extra 2 mixes besides what came with the oven so that Princess can bake right away if she so chooses). You can Google “Easy Bake Oven Recipe” and come up with tons of sites, but I just went to Recipezaar, my favorite recipe site.
****Frugal Upstate Disclaimer-I have yet to try any of these recipes myself! If you try any please post and let us all know!****
The easiest, although not necessarily cheapest, recipe called for using a few tablespoons of boxed cake mix and adding some milk. Since I can buy box cake mix at Aldi’s or Save-a-Lot for about $.89 each, and each one of those mixes probably will make 4 or 5 “cakes” that’s pretty cheap.
You can get a lot fancier and make the cake from scratch, make cookies, Brownies, Candy, and much more (as in 54 recipes listed!).
Of course, you may get to the point where it just seems to make more sense to haul out the mixer and the measuring cups and teach them how to use the regular oven. . . . but hey, there is something so cool and cute about it being your own (and PINK) when you are a young girl.
Also, since there seems to be a big lack of basic homemaking skills these days (hello, dinner doesn’t have to come in a paper bag or from a microwave!) fostering a love of cooking, even in a goofy pink oven, probably isn’t a bad thing at all.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
That is so cool!
I remember when I was REALLY little and, of course, I wanted an Easy Bake Oven. That Christmas, when they brought out a really big box I naturally assumed it was for my dad or my Grandpa (they were the biggest ones there). But it was for me!
Funny thing is, I don’t remember making alot of cakes in it. Hmmm…
I think grandparents forget what it was like to be parents! How fun for Princess! I do have to say though I am glad it is at your house and not mine!
Lydia (4) doesn’t know about these yet and I am not telling! I can’t imagine what she and Nolan (2) could do with one of those! YIKES!
rebecca-there is probably a reason why you didn’t use it ofen. I wonder if your mom hid it. . .
Stephanie-I plan on storing it in the kitchen or pantry. It will be a Mama supervised toy ONLY. No unsupervised baking at 5 years old. . . . we already think we are old enough to do these sorts of thigns on our own. . .
Oh, I am so jealous
When I was little, I wanted one of those so bad. As an adult, I actually found a shirt with an Easy Bake Oven on it that said, “What’s Cookin Good Lookin.” I snatched it up. It is the closest thing I ever got to an easy bake oven.
When our Emily is big enough we are *so* getting one of these.
Thanks so much for sharing about the cake mixes. I would not have known that.
Happy Holidays!!
My youngest (6) son wanted an easy bake oven this year and we got him one, much to his delight. Now that we are armed with 54 recipes, I think he’ll be quite busy.
Edward-glad to be of help.
I had one, but we never got the Easy Bake mixes – my mum made them up from scratch for me to mix and bake. Chocolate cake, mostly.
Gosh, I actually had the Holly Hobby Oven when I was little. Then when my daughter asked for the Easy Bake Oven, I had such fond memories that I made sure she got one. We had fun baking together. I would just mix up a box of cake mix and leave 1/2 for her and cooked the rest for us. Nikki loved it so much that she never let me get rid of the oven. Now some 10 years later, she is 18 and away at college and the Easy Bake Oven has been discovered by my two young sons (8 and 6). Guess what? I am looking for recipes because they insist on baking! What fun awaits us!
Hi im Sidney and i have a easy bake oven. I got it when i was 8 years old but now im 11. I make a lot of cakes and mixes but the thing is I really want to make a recipe that wont cost my mom and dad a lot of money. So what do I do?
My daughter always wanted an easy-bake oven, but since I always baked a lot I figured that was good enough. She feels differently and is always commenting on the fact that she never had an easy-bake of her own. Now she is 18 and will be heading to college in the fall and guess what … an easy-bake oven is allowed in a dorm room. Guess what I’m getting her for her high school graduation!! I think she’ll enjoy using it for a frequent sweet treat while she’s studying and socializing. These recipes should keep her busy for a while. Thanks for sharing.
My DH wants one of these for our daughter, so I’m glad I ran across this!