When we first started feeding my daughter solid foods, I was constantly on the look out for easy, baby friendly recipes. I still am, as a matter of fact. There are so many different recipes out there, and some of them fit the bill, but there sure aren’t many!
What is baby friendly?
So what am I looking for when I say baby friendly? I’m looking for sweetener free, not a choking hazard, and low or no salt. Quite a tall task when it comes down to it. I give bonus points for the same recipe being parent friendly, too!
The need
I quickly realized as my daughter started to eat more and more that it is incredibly important to have some quick and easy options in the diaper bag when we are out at restaurants. I like to give my daughter restaurant food when appropriate, but it’s a rare case that she has the patience to sit and wait for food once we’ve sat down at a table. I also like to have these around when we go on vacations, and in my freezer for those days where I just don’t have anything planned.
The solution
Enter these “cookies”. Because let’s be honest, they aren’t really cookies. They taste nothing like a chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookie. But they look like a cookie, so we’ll call them baby cookies.
As I was trying multiple baby cookie recipes, I realized that I would be better off to adapt a recipe that I’ve been making for years. The original has a bit of sugar as well as mix-ins that can be choking hazards. So I set out to create a cookie that was appropriate for my daughter, had good texture, and one that I would want to eat, too.
By processing the fruit down to a chunky paste, I was able to get everything I was looking for. The paste acts as a sweetener throughout the dough, but also makes the fruit small enough that it isn’t a choking hazard. These cookies are by no means sweet, though! We all love them here in our house as a great quick snack, but we don’t tend to enjoy sweet things. So if you want to make them for yourself, and need things to be sweeter, you can easily add 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar to the wet ingredients. You can change up the dried fruit mix ins, but dried apricots are a great source of iron, and really the only way to get them into your baby is by processing them like this!
Making them last!
The baby cookies make for a great freezer stash, and we love to take them out and reheat them in the oven, as they taste the best warm from the oven. I almost always throw one of these in my diaper bag for emergencies, and my daughter loves them. When I was taking these pictures, I let her grab one thinking it would make a cute picture. Within a few minutes she’d eaten the whole thing!
The Recipe
A cookie specifically created for your baby, but that you can enjoy, too! Adapted from my Awesome Oat Cookies.
- 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups (250g) whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup (50g) rolled oats
- 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup grapeseed oil*
- 1/4 cup milk*
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1/2 cup dried apricots
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Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
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Add water and 2 tbsp flax seeds to a medium bowl. Set aside for 5-10 minutes
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Place apricots and dates in a bowl of hot water. Allow to soften until they are soft enough for your food processor to be able to handle them. (If your food processor is heavy duty enough to process hard fruits, you can skip this step.)
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Place apricots and dates in a food processor. Process until they form a paste-like consistency with small bits remaining. Make sure there are no pieces big enough for your baby to choke on. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, add dry ingredients and stir until combined.
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Add wet ingredients to flax and water mixture, stir to combine.
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Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients until fully combined.
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Add processed date and apricot mixture to bowl and stir until spread evenly throughout dough. You may have to use a little bit of muscle here!
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Spoon heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom.
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Allow to cool before serving. Cookies can be frozen for up to one month. For the best defrosted taste, heat in an oven or toaster oven at 350 F until thawed.
* Any flavorless oil will work here
* A non-dairy milk will work fine
I hope you enjoy, and if you try them be sure to let me know or tag me on Instagram!