Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Did You Know Tuesday - The Easy Bake Oven


Did you have an Easy Bake Oven as a child?  I had one as a little girl.  I remember adding water to the little baking mixes and sliding them on a tray inside the oven, where they baked with an incandescent bulb.  It was great fun, although I will admit the baked goods were never as delicious as the ones my Mom and I baked in the kitchen.  As a little girl, I loved anything related to cooking, whether playing with cooking toys, reading cookbooks for children, or cutting out colorful recipes from my Mom's magazines.

The Easy Bake Oven was invented by James O. "Jeep" Kuhn, and first introduced in 1963 by Kenner toys.  It was originally heated by two 100-watt incandescent bulbs, and was available in pale blue or butter yellow color.  The oven heated up to 350 degrees.


This 1965 Sears catalog page features an Easy Bake Oven with a corn popper!  Other 1960's Easy Bake Ovens included a Bubble Gum Recipe and a Potato Chip Maker.  I do not recall any of these variations ... my Easy Bake made little cakes and brownies.


The colors were updated in 1969 to avocado green and red, and later, in 1971, to yellow or mint green.  In 1973 the ovens were once again red, and featured Betty Crocker branding.  In 1981, the oven was bright yellow and resembled a little microwave.

Kenner merged with Hasbro, and the Easy Bake Oven was marketed by Hasbro beginning in 1993.

Over the years, 23 million Easy Bake Ovens have been sold.  This toy entered the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2006.
Here's a 1963 vintage commercial:



Do you remember the Easy Bake Oven?   I'd love to hear your memories in the comments, below.

12 comments:

ilona said...

I didn't have it, but it looks so cool!

Godly Homemaker (Andrea) said...

and for those of us who are over 50 and remember... :)

Unknown said...

Interesting :D. I always wanted one but they were too expensive

Birdhouse Books said...

Thanks for stopping by! I enjoyed reading your comments. I had fun learning more about Easy Bake history for this blog post.

Trish

Unknown said...

Fun info! I always wanted an Easy Bake Oven as a child and never got one. So my parents, to be silly, bought me one for Christmas... When I as 18! I seriously cooked all sorts of little cakes and things in it though :-)

Katie said...

I always wanted an Easy Bake Oven as a girl. Now I have two girls of my own and an Easy Bake Oven is on my list! ;) Thanks for these fun facts!

Birdhouse Books said...

Thanks for the visits! Carissa, that is a fun and nostalgic gift. I would have baked the little cakes, too. :-)

Katie, that sounds fun for your girls!

Trish

Diane said...

I had a Easy bake oven as a little girl and I just loved it. I bought my oldest granddaughter one 16 yrs ago and now my 8 yr old granddaughter still uses it. They last forever if you take care of it. I received my oven as a Christmas gift in 1967.

Birdhouse Books said...

Diane, that is so neat! I had an Easy Bake as a little girl and loved it too. It is so neat that your granddaughter still enjoys one too. - Trish

Anonymous said...

I could swear I read years ago that the girl on the original box was a famous movie stars kid....Anyone have info???

Anonymous said...

I still have my yellow Easy Bake from the 60’s

Birdhouse Books said...

That is very neat! I have mine too.