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Everyday English · Baking cookies at home: reading a recipe, measuring and mixing ingredients, using the oven safely, and letting the cookies cool.

Baking Cookies at Home: 14 Everyday English Words

Learn everyday baking words such as recipe, ingredient, measure, mix, dough, oven and timer, and describe how to bake cookies safely at home in simple English.

Suggested Grades 3–514 everyday words10 light-review questions
Learning objectiveRecognise everyday baking words, follow the order of steps in a simple recipe, and explain in two or three sentences how to bake cookies.

What to do

Baking cookies at home starts with a recipe. The recipe lists the ingredients, such as flour and sugar, and tells you the steps in order. First you measure each ingredient with a cup or a spoon.

Next you mix the ingredients in a bowl and stir until you have soft dough. While you work, you preheat the oven so that it is hot when the cookies are ready to go in.

You put the dough on a baking sheet and bake it. A timer tells you when the time is up. The pan is hot, so an adult should take it out with oven mitts. Then let the cookies cool before you eat them.

You do not need to memorise every word today. Listen for them the next time someone bakes at home, and you will meet them again in other lessons.

Core everyday words

recipe

noun · RES-ih-pee

instructions that tell you how to make food

Example: We followed the recipe to bake cookies.

ingredient

noun · in-GREE-dee-unt

one of the foods you put into a recipe

Example: Flour is the first ingredient on the list.

flour

noun · FLOW-ur

a fine powder made from grain, used for baking

Example: Mom added two cups of flour.

sugar

noun · SHUG-ur

a sweet white or brown food used in baking

Example: The cookies need a little sugar.

measure

verb · MEZH-ur

to find out how much of something you have, using a cup, spoon or scale

Example: Measure the flour carefully.

mix

verb · miks

to put things together and stir them until they are combined

Example: Mix the flour and sugar in a bowl.

stir

verb · stur

to move a spoon around in a bowl or pot

Example: Stir the dough slowly.

dough

noun · doh

a thick, soft mixture of flour and other ingredients that you can shape

Example: The cookie dough is sticky.

cookie

noun · KUK-ee

a small, flat, sweet baked treat

Example: I ate one chocolate chip cookie.

oven

noun · UV-un

a closed space in a kitchen that heats food

Example: The oven is very hot.

preheat

verb · pree-HEET

to turn the oven on early so that it is hot before you bake

Example: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

bake

verb · bayk

to cook food in an oven with dry heat

Example: We bake the cookies for ten minutes.

timer

noun · TY-mur

a clock that rings after a set amount of time

Example: The timer rang after ten minutes.

cool

verb · kool

to become less hot

Example: Let the cookies cool before you eat them.

Recognise the word

Recognise the word

Choose the meaning of the word.

Multiple choice

1. What is a recipe?

  1. a machine that bakes bread
  2. instructions that tell you how to make food
  3. a clock that rings
  4. a bowl for mixing
Multiple choice

2. What is an ingredient?

  1. a tool for stirring
  2. a hot pan
  3. a time on the clock
  4. one of the foods that goes into a recipe
Multiple choice

3. What is dough?

  1. a thick, soft mixture you can shape
  2. a very hot oven
  3. a small sweet treat
  4. a spoon for measuring
Multiple choice

4. What does “preheat” mean?

  1. let the cookies cool
  2. measure the flour
  3. turn the oven on early so it is hot before baking
  4. mix the dough hard
Multiple choice

5. What does “bake” mean?

  1. cut food into pieces
  2. cook food in an oven
  3. pour a drink
  4. wash a bowl

Use the word in a situation

Use the word in a situation

Pick the word that fits the sentence.

Fill in the word

6. “Please ___ one cup of flour before you add it to the bowl.”

  1. bake
  2. cool
  3. measure
  4. preheat
Fill in the word

7. “___ the flour and sugar together until there are no lumps.”

  1. Mix
  2. Cool
  3. Bake
  4. Measure
Fill in the word

8. “The ___ rang, so the cookies were ready to come out.”

  1. recipe
  2. flour
  3. dough
  4. timer
Fill in the word

9. “Let the cookies ___ before you eat them, because they are hot.”

  1. stir
  2. cool
  3. measure
  4. mix
Fill in the word

10. “Turn on the ___ and preheat it before you bake.”

  1. timer
  2. sugar
  3. oven
  4. cookie

Quick-check answers

  1. 1. instructions that tell you how to make food
    A recipe lists the ingredients and the steps. A machine, a clock and a bowl are other things in a kitchen.
  2. 2. one of the foods that goes into a recipe
    Flour, sugar and eggs are ingredients. A tool, a pan and a clock time are not food.
  3. 3. a thick, soft mixture you can shape
    Dough is the mixture before it is baked. The baked treat is the cookie, and the oven and spoon are equipment.
  4. 4. turn the oven on early so it is hot before baking
    Preheat means to heat the oven first. Cooling, measuring and mixing are other steps.
  5. 5. cook food in an oven
    To bake is to cook with the dry heat of an oven. Cutting, pouring and washing do not cook the food.
  6. 6. measure
    To measure is to find the amount with a cup or spoon. Bake, cool and preheat are oven steps.
  7. 7. Mix
    Mix means to combine ingredients. Cool and bake come later, and measure comes before mixing.
  8. 8. timer
    A timer rings after a set time. A recipe is instructions, and flour and dough are ingredients.
  9. 9. cool
    Cool means to become less hot. Stir, measure and mix do not make food cooler.
  10. 10. oven
    An oven is the kitchen machine that heats food. A timer, sugar and a cookie are not the thing you preheat.

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