Attention parents and kids! Here are 3 simple but scrumptious recipes to keep you busy all afternoon

Brought to you by Irish Dairy The Complete Natural

We're always looking for more ways to keep the kids busy.

We love spending time with them, we really do. But at the moment, it's really feeling like a LOT of time and we're finding it a bit difficult to keep those little monsters busy all the time. We feel like we've played every board game in the house, completed every jigsaw puzzle, and gone through every kid-friendly recipe book that we have at home. So, of course, what else was there to do than go searching for some more recipes? Baking has to be our favourite way to pass the time because 1. we enjoy it, 2. the kids enjoy it, 3. it takes up enough time that you feel you've been productive but not so much time that the kids get bored, and 4. you get some delicious treats out of it. (Which, of course, can then be used as bribery treats - bonus!) We knew these recipes had to be yummy but also easy to make or else the kids would be left out. We finally came across some great recipes over on The Complete Natural website that we're SO excited to try and that use all-natural dairy ingredients. Here are our three favourite recipes that we think are perfect for making with the kids (and they're delicious too!).

Shortbread

These are SO easy to make and perfect for when the kids want a little snack throughout the day. Plus, choosing what shapes you want your cookies to be always adds that bit of extra fun. Ingredients:  170g plain white flour 100g castor sugar 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 110g butter 1 tbsp icing sugar Preparation 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. 2. Sieve the flour and pour into a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you don't have a food processor, you can also mix it by hand, with a handheld whisk, or with a freestanding electric mixer. 3.  Remove the mix from the food processor and bring it all together with your hands until you have one big clump of dough. 4. Roll the dough into a thin round about 4mm in depth (you want the biscuit to be as fine as possible). 5. Cut the dough with a pastry cutter of your choice. 6. Put onto a baking tray covered with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on top. 7. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, dust with icing sugar.

Blueberry Muffins

These are made with Greek Yoghurt, milk and no extra added sugar, so they're a much healthier option than your average blueberry muffin, which means we get all the great blueberry muffin taste without feeling guilty for eating them or letting the kids eat. So understandably, we're LOVING these. Ingredients: 1 small apple, sliced 180g oats 2 eggs 100g Greek yoghurt 25g coconut oil 200ml milk 70g blueberries 5-6 vanilla drops (or 1/4 tsp vanilla extract) 1/4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon (you can add more or less depending on your preference.) Preparation:  1. Preheat oven to 175°C. 2. Grease a 12-compartment muffin tray with some of the coconut oil. 3. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Then add the apple slices to simmer for 5 minutes or until soft. Drain and set aside. 4. In a large bowl, combine the oats, cinnamon, and baking powder. 5. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, apple, yoghurt, coconut oil (this may need heating if very hard), milk, and blueberries. 6. Mix well until a batter has formed. If desired, seeds, different berries, or chocolate chips may also be added in here. 7. Spoon the batter into the tray compartments. 8. Bake for 20/25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked to the centre (test with a skewer or sharp knife - it must come out clean). 9. Allow 5-10 minutes to cool and then remove and place the muffins on a wire rack to cool further. 10. Eat! These are best served fresh but you can also freeze them or store them for up to four days in an airtight container.

Simple Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing

Here's the showstopper, ladies and gents. We couldn't really have a recipes list without a proper big treat in there. Usually, you might need an excuse to bake a cake, like someone's birthday or if someone just won their football match, but we think being isolated is a good enough reason. We have to let ourselves have those extra treats now and then and what better treat than a lovely bit of chocolate fudge cake for dessert? Yum. Ingredients: 2 tbsp cocoa powder 2 tbsp hot water 100g baking spread, from fridge (butter also works fine) 100g caster sugar 2 large eggs 100g self-raising flour 1 tsp baking powder For the icing: 25g cocoa powder, sifted 40g butter, softened 2-3 tbsp milk 100g icing sugar, sifted Preparation: 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (Fan 160°C). Grease a 20cm (8 inches) deep cake tin and line with non-stick baking paper. If using a foil container, grease this well. 2. Blend the cocoa with the hot water in a large bowl and leave to cool. 3. Add the remaining cake ingredients to the bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. 4. Spoon into the tin and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cake has shrunk slightly from the sides of the tin and springs back when lightly pressed with a finger. 5. Turn out the cake, remove the baking paper, and leave to cool on a wire rack. 6. While the cake is cooling, make the icing by mixing all the icing ingredients into a bowl and beating well until it has a light and smooth consistency. 7. Spread the icing over the top of the cake and swirl attractively with a round-bladed knife. Leave to set before serving.   So there you have it. Three yummy but easy baking ideas to try with your kids today. We know isolation can be hard so it's important to make sure that you allow yourself some treats and fun time when you can. Plus, home always feels more like home with the smell of baking wafting through the house. If you love these recipes and you want to check out some more, head over to The Complete Natural website for more scrumptious baking ideas like these. Brought to you by Irish Dairy The Complete Natural For more delicious recipes that include real, good-quality dairy, check out The Complete Natural's soda bread, their cheddar and thyme scones, their pancakes, and their amazing chocolate pecan brownie trifle with orange blossom cream. We know that the coming weeks will be challenging for families and to keep you and your children busy and entertained, so the National Dairy Council has developed a Home School section on their Moo Crew site. This section has lots of puzzles, wordsearches, videos, quizzes and much more.