I posted some recipes above, but then I remembered this post I once read on DCUM that I wanted to repost. It describes how one DCUMer taught her kids not only cooking expertise, but broader skills as well. I was awed when I read it and wished that I’d read it when my kids were still young.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/legacy/posts/list/15/901600.page#17790406

Homemade play dough

Smoothies
No-bake protein bites
Pudding
Ice cream in a bag
Shaking heavy cream in a jar to make butter
Pancake batter
Fresh Lemonade

What's a muddy buddy?

Rice krispy treats or oatmeal energy bites

Any recipe if you pre-measure the ingredients.
Kids love to dump things out of measuring cups or smaller bowls and stir things together.

Rice Krispies treats
cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches

Taco Soup, it’s just a bunch of cans dumped in a pot. Recipe was from Girl Scouts

I'm a preschool teacher and I love "cooking" with my class. Cutting fruit is something easy - use a table/dinner/butter knife and soft fruit like bananas, strawberries. If you give them a large piece of pineapple, cantelope or watermelon, they can cut it into smaller slices. The children love using a peeler, corer, slicer with apples. They could scoop out the avocado after you cut it in half. English muffin pizzas are fun or a bobli pizza or any other type of pizza. A child can easily spread the shell/dough with the pizza sauce, add the cheese and whatever toppings you want.

french yogurt cake made by measuring a yogurt cup.

Seven-Layer Cookies:

Spread in 9 x 13 pan:
1. 1 stick melted margarine
2. 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3. 1 pkg. (12 oz) chocolate chips
4. 1 pkg. (12 oz) butterscotch chips
5. 1 cup coconut
6. 1 cup chopped walnuts
7. 1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
Bake at 350 degrees F 25-30 minutes (until top starts to turn golden). Cut into squares. Cool and chill.

Frozen Yogurt Pie

Mix 2 fruit yogurt containers with one tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip. If desired, you can add jam for extra fruit flavor. Spoon into graham cracker crust. Freeze. (Note: yogurt containing gelatin will result in a spongey, Chiffon-like? pie. I prefer using yogurt/Greek yogurt that doesn't contain gelatin.) Please note that the foil pie tin the crust cones in can be a little bit sharp.

Monkey bread

4 cans biscuits - the traditional kind, not Grands, not layers (40 biscuits total).
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick margarine
1 tsp. vanilla

Cut (or tear) biscuits into fourths. Mix together 2/3 cups sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Roll each piece in mixture. Drop biscuits into greased 12-cup Bundt pan. Combine remaining sugar, cinnamon, margarine, and vanilla. Boil. Pour over biscuits. Bake in 350 degree oven 40 minutes. Turn immediately out onto a plate and served warm. Can be wrapped in foil and reheated.

For more of a traditional baking experience you might try Bisquick’s strawberry shortcake, boxed brownies, or a boxed cake that you enhance - our family likes Gooey Butter cake, Piña Colada cake (non-alcoholic), and Strawberry cake. I can provide these recipes if you wish.

Pancakes, brownie and cookie mix, anything really that involves dumping and stirring in a bowl

My kids also were really big about helping with everything at that age. Anything that involved stirring or mixing. Mashing bananas for oatmeal/banana bread was a favorite. They also liked to slice things- I just started them with a butter knife and easy things like bananas, avocado, etc. Operating the food processor was also a coveted task.

We don't do a lot of baking, so the trick was breaking down food prep into tasks they could accomplish. Sorry I don't have a specific recipe to recommend. My mom started making sugar cookies with them around age 2 and they still do it together every Christmas in late elementary.

I let my kid help with most things, for baking she either helps measure or mix or dumps the ingredients in. She knows how to crack eggs and I'll even let her stir when scrambling with close supervision. She has little PK knives and is obsessed with helping with the cutting so I let her cut up her strawberries or bananas or whatever for snack.

Everything takes 5x as long, but it's cute and keeps her occupied.

My kid loves making Muddy Buddies with me. Any advice for similar easy recipes to make with small kids?