Easy-Bake Oven: a history, from scratch

Incandescent light bulbs may be on the outs, but that's not stopping the Easy-Bake oven--the toy that's made baking accessible to kiddos for nearly five decades. Back in 1963, Ronald Howes--the same man responsible for the invention of such childhood delights as Play-Doh, Spirograph and the Give-a-Show Projector--created the Easy-Bake oven. It was a pretty little turquoise number designed to look like a real range with a faux stovetop and carrying handle. Howes sold the idea to Kenner toys (now a division of Hasbro), which officially unveiled the first Easy-Bake oven at the 1964 Toy Fair. The toy that would win the hearts of generations of aspiring chefs quickly began flying off the shelves.

The evolution of the Easy-Bake Oven

Over the years, the Easy-Bake has undergone many makeovers, keeping the oven up-to-date with current trends. Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

• In 1968, the turquoise Easy-Bake was rereleased in avocado green and included a range hood and high-tech gadgets, like a fake clock and dials.
• In 1970, the Easy-Bake went harvest gold and super-sized, baking cakes up to twice as large as the original.
• Sales of microwave ovens surpassed traditional ovens for the first time in 1975, and in 1978, the Easy-Bake Mini-Wave Oven reflected the switcheroo with its microwave-like styling.
• The Easy-Bake of the '80s lost the disco-era colors and went white. This version also included "high" and "low" temperature options--Ooh! Aah!
• Much to feminists' (and jealous brothers') chagrin, the 1993 Easy-Bake Oven and Snack Center was released in pink.
• A decade later, the Real Meal Oven allowed kids to bake many of their other favorite foods--pizza and mac & cheese included.
• The 2007 model turned back time with a turquoise, retro-inspired design.
• In 2011, the most current model, the Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven, was released. This purple version is the first to rely on a non-light bulb heating element.

How does the modern Easy-Bake stack up?

Within a year of its initial release, more than half a million Easy-Bake Ovens were sold at a mere $15.99 a pop, according to Hasbro. The most obvious difference parents today may notice is the pricetag--the Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven retails for more than triple the original at $49.99 (a $20 hike since the 2007 model).

Nostalgic parents may be happy to know, though, the fare little cooks are prepping in the Easy-Bake has remained largely the same. For the most part, Easy-Bake has focused its efforts on baking cakes and cookies, and as early as the 1970s, Kenner teamed up with Betty Crocker to give them exactly what they wanted. "Be a Betty Crocker baker, bake a Betty Crocker cake in your Betty Crocker Easy-Bake Oven," as the commercial, embedded below, goes. While the newest Easy-Bake Ultimate doesn't come with Betty Crocker mixes, they're still widely available from outside retailers. But the Easy-Bake isn't just about the sweets. Easy-Bake briefly offered TV dinner-like Kid Dinners back in the 1960s, which included such gourmet offerings as beef and peas and carrots. In 2003, Hasbro reintroduced the concept with the Real Meal Oven and still sells kits for making pizzas and pretzels.

But the big news in the Easy-Bake world isn't what's on the table, it's what's under the hood. Through its many iterations, the Easy-Bake has always relied on the efficiency of a traditional light bulb to heat the oven. Due to recent legislation, however, 100-watt light bulbs will no longer be available for purchase. So Easy-Bake headed back to the kitchen to cook up a solution--a heating element similar to real ovens, which heats up to 375 degrees.

In reviews of the newest Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven at Amazon.com, complaints are pretty much the same complaints that have always existed for the Easy-Bake oven: The finished baked-goods are tiny, and it's a long process to heat the oven, prepare the mix, and bake the items. One complaint that's specific to the Ultimate version -- even though owners say the baked products taste good -- is that there's no viewing window, so you can't watch your pastry's progress. Several users report needing to fish the pan out of the oven, only to push it back in for more baking.

Overall, however, these issues don't diminish the fun.

Fun for all ages

While the Easy-Bake Oven is still spreading joy to kids and tweens across the country, there are plenty of grown-ups who wouldn't mind turning back the clock to simpler days. Grown-up chefs have even reminisced about the Easy-Bake in the form of gourmet recipes and cook books. And for those who may not have the option to "borrow" the kids' Easy-Bake, there's an app for that. Easy-Bake's free app allows users to mix, bake and decorate cupcakes. It even requires shaking the cupcakes out of the pan, just like the real deal. Decorating the cakes is obviously the best part, with plenty of frosting and sprinkle options to choose from, though eating the imaginary cakes left something to be desired (we were still left with a grumbling tummy, dang it!).