Pancake "Cookies"

These are Breck’s all time favorite freezer treat (he points to the freezer, then to the microwave, since these need microwaved for about 15-20 seconds before eating!)

This recipe is highly adapted from a waffle recipe for babies that I found a while back.  I love waffles, and so does Breck, but they’re time consuming!  I tried this recipe as pancakes too, which works GREAT (they’re thick pancakes), but is also time consuming.  But cookies?  Much faster!  And they taste just as delicious as the waffles or pancakes!  

This makes a large batch (about 24 cookies), so you’ll have plenty in the freezer for when your toddler needs a nutritious snack (or breakfast, lunch, or dinner!)

Pancake “Cookies”

Wet ingredients:

2 eggs (OR 2 T flaxseed! Works just as well!)

1 ripe banana (OR ¼ c date paste OR ¼ c sweetener like honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar)

1 c canned pumpkin (this is ½ a can- save the rest for smoothies OR mix in to mac and cheese for added nutrition!)

1 ⅔ c whole milk (I have also successfully used 1 ⅔ c milk plus ⅓ c nonfat milk powder, plus ¼ c natural peanut butter/almond butter)

4 T melted butter (OR coconut oil)

Dry ingredients:

1 ½ c flour (I have used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour and Namaste gluten free flour-COSTCO- with great success)

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger (or just cinnamon is great too)

Pinch salt

1-2 c fresh/frozen blueberries (raspberries are great too!  You could also leave the fruit out if you wanted.  I just like the nutrients the fruit adds to the cookies, but they make them admittedly a bit messier.)

Mix wet ingredients together.  Add dry ingredients and mix until everything is incorporated and there are no dry pockets.  Stir in blueberries.  Use ¼ c cookie scoop to scoop onto parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they don't immediately deflate when you touch the tops.  Once cool, freeze cookies (using your parchment paper from baking between layers of cookies so they don’t stick together in the freezer) for up to 3 months or store in the fridge for up to 5 days.  

Quinoa Pizza "Cookies"

My toddler LOVES food in handheld cookie form.  These quinoa cookies were an instant hit with him.  They taste like pizza yet are arguably more nutritious!  

Quinoa Pizza “Cookies”

1 c uncooked quinoa

2 c liquid (water/chicken broth)

Matchstick carrots, mushrooms, finely chopped onion

Cook all above ingredients according to directions on quinoa package (put in put, bring to oil, simmer with lid on 15 minutes)

1 jar tomato paste (5 oz)

1 egg

4 large pepperonis, diced (*I like applegate farms)

4 sliced provolone cheese, diced

2 large roasted red peppers, diced

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

1 tsp each garlic powder, oregano, basil

Stir all ingredients together.  Use a ¼ c cookie scoop (or measuring cup) to drop mixture onto parchment lined baking sheet (you will end up making 2 batches, and can reuse the baking sheet for the second batch, or just use 2 sheets and cook them at the same time).  They don’t need to be too far apart because they don’t “grow” much or spread.  Once dropped onto sheet, flatten slightly with palm (they’ll be about and inch thick).  Bake 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees.  Cookies should hold together when they’re done.

Broccoli, Potato, Cheddar "Cookies" and a Formula for Savory Toddler "Cookies"

A few months ago, I discovered that Breck (my now 18 month old toddler!!) would eat anything in the shape of a “cookie” (patty/cake/whatever you want to call it!).  I just think calling something a cookie makes it somehow more exciting, and have been trying to think of ways to get veggies and protein into these cookies for my toddler who is becoming more and more discerning about what he eats by the DAY.  (He just started shaking his head “no” to just about every suggestion we make- about anything, lol).  Use whatever veggies you think your toddler might like (or that YOU like, in case they reject them, because with toddlers, you NEVER KNOW what they will and will not like) in place of the broccoli in this recipe.  My husband and I LOVE this recipe just as much as Breck!

Broccoli, Potato, Cheddar “Cookies”

flesh from 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, roasted in the oven OR microwaved on potato setting til soft (OR regular potatoes!)

1 c steamed broccoli, mashed/chopped into small pieces after steaming

½ c shredded cheddar cheese (I highly recommend shredding your own- tastes so much better!)

1 egg

About ½ c breadcrumbs/oats/oat flour/panko- add until mixture easily stays together and isn’t super wet anymore (*I like to use 4c gluten free seasoned breadcrumbs).

Stir all ingredients together.  Use a ¼ c cookie scoop (or measuring cup) to drop mixture onto parchment lined baking sheet.  They don’t need to be too far apart because they don’t “grow” much or spread.  Once dropped onto sheet, flatten slightly with palm (they’ll be about and inch thick).  Bake 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees.  Cookies should hold together when they’re done. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.  To reheat, microwave for about 15 seconds.   

*This recipe is one of our favorite variations on a basic formula for toddler "cookies." Here's my formula:

Savory Toddler "Cookies"

1 c cooked/leftover rice of any kind OR 1 c cooked sweet potato/potato OR 1 c cooked quinoa
1 c steamed and mashed/chopped veggies
1/2 c shredded cheese
1 egg
1/2-1 c breadcrumbs (as needed to achieve a thick consistency that holds together slightly and is not completely runny)
Seasoning (salt, pepper, spices)

Stir all ingredients together.  Use a ¼ c cookie scoop (or measuring cup) to drop mixture onto parchment lined baking sheet.  They don’t need to be too far apart because they don’t “grow” much or spread.  Once dropped onto sheet, flatten slightly with palm (they’ll be about and inch thick).  Bake 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees.  Cookies should hold together when they’re done. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.  To reheat, microwave for about 15 seconds.