It’s proving a stop-start summer, but there’s enough sunshine out there to mean plenty of picnics. With children in tow (I’ve three) it can be hard work keeping them entertained between the showers, but I’ve discovered a failsafe activity that also doubles up as a picnic treat. I’ve been making Yummy Dough cookies, and it’s good creative fun, and the resulting cookies are robust enough to survive being bumped around in a picnic basket.

The Yummy Dough kit comes with easy to follow instructions. You have to be precise when adding water to the dough mix, so the kit comes with a syringe to ensure you add the exact amount. As you can see here, the mix goes from pale to brightly coloured as if by magic – something that has kept my three enthralled as they try and guess the colour.

Children of any age can have a go mixing the dough, but parental help is definitely needed when pulling the dough together. You need strong hands to get it to a modelling consistency, and it takes around five minutes squeezing and squashing to get it right. Afterwards, my mitts felt as though they’d had something of a work-out! And then it’s up to you. There are no limits to what you can create, and my strange ensemble included a tree and a flower (not that you can necessarily see that that’s what they are!)

We’ll be adding lots more activities to the blog this summer, and as ever, would love to hear what you’re up to. Oh, and happy cooking!