Cookeez Makery is so much more than a one hit wonder, it's the toy I wish I had as a kid - here's why

We called in some mini product testers to help us put the Cookeez Makery Baked Treatz Oven through its paces, to see if it really lives up to the hype, and if it's ultimately worth your money.

One of a raft of mix and make toys that form some of the best toys for 5 year olds and best toys for six year olds, it's no wonder that Cookeez Makery is soaring in popularity.

First launched in July 2023, and aimed at kids aged five and over, the Cookeez Makery Oven comes in two different assortments, the Baked Treatz set, which is turquoise and purple, and the Cinnamon Treatz assortment that is pink and purple.

Both playsets have exactly the same functionality where they allow kids to effectively bake their own interactive plush toy. The toy they bake is a surprise - they'll get either Wheatney Bunny, Barky Bun, a dog or Ciacatta bake, a cat.

To bake their little plush pal, kids simply prepare their own dough provided in the kit, which is then put in a mold and decorated with eyes, mouth, paws and ears before being popped in the oven. Once the dough is ready, kids turn the timer and wait 90 seconds for their dough to 'cook', and when the time is up, they open the oven door to discover which plush toy they've 'baked'

Each playset comes with all you need to bake your own plush toy, including batteries, and it is possible to repeat the play experience, so it's not just a one-hit wonder.

In the playset, you get:

• 1 x toy oven
• 1 x mystery interactive plush toy (either bunny, cat or dog)
• 2 x toy ingredient sachets to make the dough (single use)
• Measuring cup
• Dough mold
• Spatula tool
• Resealable storage bag for the dough
• Instruction manual
• 4 x AAA batteries (already installed)

Cookeez Makery Packaging & Set Up

There is minimal packaging with the Cookeez Makery oven, and the majority of the packaging there is is recyclable cardboard. It looks like there has been a concerted effort to minimise the amount of plastic, and apart from a piece of clear plastic to protect the dial on the front of the oven, the sachets and the five plastic screws that help stabilise the toy in transit, the rest of the packaging is cardboard which can be recycled.

The packaging is easy to remove, and as the batteries are already included in the plush toy, you just need to open the oven door to remove the ingredients. The ingredients box includes two single use sachets of ingredients, a measuring cup, a dough mold, a spatula and a resealable bag to prevent the dough from drying out.

Design

Similarly to the packaging, there has been a clear effort to minimise plastic in the design of the toy too - it has a cardboard outer, with plastic used for the structure, and mechanism, the oven top and the dial. But it still feels sturdy enough to withstand even the most enthusiastic players. However, it wouldn't be strong enough for a little one to sit or stand on.

It's easy to reset the oven for repeat play, you simply return the plush toy into the oven and push up the platform, and you'll see the dough reappear. We found it needed quite a firm push until we heard the platform click into place, so it might take little hands a couple of attempts to reset it.

It's a smart idea too to provide a resealable plastic bag that you can use to store the dough to keep it fresh for repeat use. However, if it did dry out, you could easily (and inexpensively) make your own fresh dough if you needed to.

The fact it comes in a couple of different colours also helps broaden its appeal, but while some toys come in stereotypically gendered packaging, toys are unisex.

What age is the Cookeez Makery Oven suitable for?

The manufacturer's recommended age for this toy is five years and over, and we performed our tests with the help of a six and a nine year old. They were both really engrossed in it, were excited to guess which plushie they were going to make and loved adding the personal touches to the dough, so we definitely think it has longer-term appeal as your child grows.

They were both enamoured with the plushie (they baked Wheatney Bunny), and they both loved trying to figure out how their dough went from dough to a plushie.

What's it like to play with the Cookeez Makery Oven?

With very little needed in terms of set-up, kids can get stuck into the play. There were really clear instructions to follow, and our oldest tester, aged nine, easily managed to read and communicate with our younger tester, aged six.

Firstly, our testers mixed the two powder sachets together, along with a measuring cup's worth of water in a mixing bowl before getting their hands involved to form it into a dough. Kids who love a bit of sensory play might really enjoy this part, but our testers weren't fans of their hands getting dirty, and they definitely won't be the only ones. However, once the dough is formed, it's much less messy, and the girls really enjoyed forming the dough into the mould and adding the paw prints and other cute features. It felt like their imaginations were running wild as they chatted to each other about which plush toy they hoped they would create.

Mixing the dough from scratch does mean there is a little bit of cleanup required, but it's minimal.

Once the dough was ready to 'cook', the placed it on the shelf in the oven, shut the door and turned the dial. Once the dial is turned, there is an audible ticking noise that goes on for 90 seconds. But there is also a loud thunk as the mechanism to reveal the plush toy is activated. As an adult, this initially made me wonder whether our young testers would even wait the 90 seconds before they tried to open the oven door, but they didn't seem to notice this in the same way I did. Result!

There is an alarm sound when the 90 seconds is complete (a gentle introduction to delayed gratification) and when our testers opened the door, the dough was gone and there was a warm (not hot), sweet-smelling plushie in its place. Our little testers were hugely excited by this, and couldn't quite figure out how it had happened, and it was lovely to witness their wonder at the 'magic'.

Testers were engrossed, they loved trying to guess which plushie they would get, and initially couldn't quite tell how it worked and where the plushie had come from.

The Wheatney Bunny plush smelled like a very pleasant and authentic sweet vanilla rather than the synthetic scents we grown ups may have encountered when we were younger.

How does the Cookeez Makery Oven actually work?

Within the Cookeez Makery unit, there are two internal platforms, one that holds the plush toy and that sits above the oven door opening at the beginning of play, and a second that sits at the bottom of the oven door opening. Its on this second platform that the dough is placed.

When the timer dial is turned, it causes the lower platform with the dough to drop below the bottom of the oven door, and the upper platform to drop down in line with the base of the oven door to reveal the plush toy.

There is a finger tip sized notch on the plush's platform to allow you to lift it back up to the top of the oven to reveal the dough again.

Can you play with Cookeez Makery Oven again?

My biggest concern before testing out this oven playset, was whether it would still be fun to play with, after the initial reveal. In order to encourage repeat independent play, you have to show your child how the reveal mechanism works and how it's reset, so I was worried that the magic would be lost.

But that didn't seem to deter our kid testers, who seemed even more fascinated after they found out how it worked, and were excited to show their friends the magic trick. It seems that they enjoyed being 'in on the trick' and found that just as engaging as the initial mystery surprise.

Resetting the oven is easy, you simply place the plushie back in and push the platform up, and then the dough reappears and ready to be reformed, remoulded and 'cooked' time and time again. But to get the timer to sound again, you need to reset the plush toy to oven mode (which you can do by opening the Velcro on the plushie's underside and flipping the switch).

Can you buy refills for the Cookeez Makery Oven?

You can't buy refills for the Cookeez Makery playset, but in all honesty, you don't really need them. You are given a little plastic resealable bag to put the dough in to keep it fresh for repeat play, but if worst comes to worst and your first batch of dough becomes unusable, or your little one really wants to recreate the dough mixing part, you could easily make your own dough (using 40g of flour and a bit of water).

Value for money

With an RRP of £39.99, it's not inexpensive, but the fact that repeat play is so easy, makes this toy gives plenty of the play for the price. Our little testers were asked how they could play with it again, and as well as cooking the plushie again, they said they could cook things on the top of the oven, and even use the oven as a secret hiding place for other toys.

The only downside for me is that the plushies are marketed as collectibles, but they can't be purchased outside of the oven playset, so to collect all three would cost the best part of £120. However, there is a more affordable, and therefore more collectible, toy in the Cookeez Makery range - Toasty Treatz, available from the likes of Very, Amazon, The Works and Tesco. These have an RRP of £9.99, and there are 12 variations to collect.

Is it worth it?

When we asked out testers what they would score this toy out of ten, there was a resounding ten out of ten. But we do have to factor in their excitement and the fact they weren't fans of the messy dough making part.

But our verdict is that this toy is worth every penny. For little ones, it genuinely feels like some kind of magic. The clever design of the oven unit means that it's not immediately obvious how the mystery transformation takes place, so it's all the more fascinating when the dough is turned into an adorable and deliciously-scented plush toy. And it's hard not to get caught up in the mystery when you're watching kids play with it. This is genuinely a toy that I wish that I'd had when I was a kid.

Some reviews call it a bit of a one-hit-wonder, but in our experience, it's just as engaging to play again and again, especially when children get to grips with the mechanics of it. They'll love being able to show their friends how to bake their plush toy. Even without the oven playset, the interactive plush pet was a big hit with our testers. They loved feeling the warmth and smelling its sweet scent, as well as discovering the sounds it makes when the squeeze it.

The only drawback is that, in reality (for most at least), it doesn't really lend itself to being collectible, especially when it's a mystery which plush pet you get.

With thanks to Moose Toys for sending us the Cookeez Makery Baked Treatz Oven Playset to review.

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