Head over to Mindful Mum for my baked quinoa balls. They’re great finger food for little hands with the added surprise of mozzarella inside.
Tag Archives: finger food
Banana teething biscuits (take two and sugar-free)
Exactly two months ago I made my first attempt at teething biscuits from a recipe I found on Kids Spot. I’m a bit ashamed now to look at the photos of my very crisp (some would say burnt) biscuits! I’ve been playing around with the recipe since then and am finally happy. I’ve also made them sugar-free!
You’re really making a banana loaf, slicing it and then cooking it again. I’m sure there are lots of other flavours you could try this technique with; a carrot loaf immediately springs to mind… hmmm, I don’t think my experimenting with teething biscuits has finished! Also because you’re making a loaf or cake, you can substitute the sugar with applesauce/apple puree, which you can’t do if you’re baking traditional biscuits (they won’t crisp up).
Look at my original post if my instructions aren’t clear in terms of cutting the loaf to make the biscuits or you aren’t sure how to line the tin, as I included more photos there.
These biscuits aren’t super sweet, but certainly sweet enough for most babies and toddlers. My discerning client is very happy with them 😉
SUGAR-FREE BANANA TEETHING BISCUITS
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 1hr 30 mins
Makes about 20
Freezable
2 tbsp applesauce/apple puree
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 1/2 bananas)
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Preheat oven to 180C and line a slice tin with baking paper.
Mix all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl until well combined.
Pour into prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown on top and cooked through when tested with a skewer.
Take the banana loaf out of the oven, remove from the tin and let cool a little. Leave the oven door open to cool and drop the temperature to 150C.
Once cool enough to handle, cut the loaf into slices about 1 cm in width (using a bread knife is easier). Lay the slices on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for another 20-30 minutes.
Leave the biscuits to cool on a wire rack and they will harden as they cool.
Tip: if your biscuits start to soften being kept in an airtight container, pop them into the oven at 150C and bake them again (10-15 mins should be enough).
Quiche muffins
Thinking of something light I could make for a friend dropping in for lunch that would also be fine for Nicholas, I remembered coming across a recipe for making mini quiches without pastry. For some strange reason I hadn’t saved it on my Pinterest cooking board, so I had to make it up. Thankfully not that difficult.
Instead of pastry, the muffin ‘cases’ are made with ham. One of those brilliant ideas you wonder why you never thought of it yourself. Even if you buy ready-made pastry you need to cut it out and prebake it just to make sure it cooks through. Not that I’m a lazy cook (well…) but I do love a super quick recipe that requires very little thinking. Also not having pastry means it’s great if you happen to be following the Dukan diet.
I tried using prosciutto for some and slices of peppered cooked ham for others. While the ham was yummy, the prosciutto was nicer because it crisps up, especially around the edges. If you use prosciutto, be careful not to add too much salt to the egg mixture as the prosciutto is salty.
Like traditional quiches you can really add almost anything you want. Fry up some onion and pop it in the bottom before you pour in the egg mixture, do they same with mushrooms or asparagus tips, add a slice of tomato or, my favourite, add a dollop of creme fraiche.
I have yet to master lining the cups so the egg mixture doesn’t run out (you can see in my photo that it looks more like the prosciutto is through the muffin rather than encasing it), but so long as you grease the cups beforehand and then run a knife around the edge after they’re done, it doesn’t really matter.
They’d be great in lunch boxes or to take on a picnic. I can also see them smaller as party finger food. Definitely versatile! I haven’t tried freezing them yet; they’d probably need a bit of time in the oven to crisp up after thawing.
QUICHE MUFFINS
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15-18 mins
Makes 6 large muffins
6 slices prosciutto (Parma ham)
6 eggs
2 tbsp milk
20g cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
Oil for greasing muffin tray
Preheat oven to 175C.
Lightly grease a 6-cup muffin tray and line each muffin cup with prosciutto.
Lightly beat the eggs and milk together and season. Pour evenly into each cup (don’t worry if it doesn’t seem enough mixture as it will rise as it cooks). Sprinkle over the grated cheese.
Cook for 15-18 mins until egg mixture has set.
Variations:
- Add a dollop of creme fraiche to each cup before pouring in the egg mixture.
- Put lightly fried onion in each cup before pouring in the egg mixture.
- Add cooked mushroom or asparagus tips, or sliced tomato
French toast soldiers (sugar-free)
Breakfast. I’m never that creative with my own so I guess it’s logical that I struggle to be creative with Nicholas’. Mashed banana and yogurt has been our staple since his early days of weaning. He still eats it about three times a week, it never fails (he starts chanting ‘nana!, nana!’ as soon as I pick up a banana), and I can prepare it while still half asleep. But regardless of whether or not he gets bored of it, I get bored preparing it and also feel guilty that I should be giving him more of a variety of food to start the day.
In the early months of weaning I did grated apple, grated pear, grated apple and pear (!), and baby porridge. I don’t know why I never thought of French toast then. Slightly crispy on the outside, and lovely and soft inside, it’s certainly something a baby can tackle with their super strong gums, and a great baby-led weaning food. It’s also a nice way to introduce baby to other flavours like cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.
Thanks to Once a Month Mom, I discovered you can freeze French toast after you make it (saves you throwing away the unused egg mixture), make it into kabobs, and, more surprisingly, you can hide vegetables in it (she adds butternut squash puree!). I haven’t tried adding vegetables, but I have tried adding some mashed banana and also applesauce to the mixture before dunking the bread and these additions both work well.
You can dunk your soldiers in applesauce or a warm berry compote, drizzle with golden syrup or maple syrup, or serve them with fruit on the side (raw or stewed). Nicholas seems to like them as I do – plain with a drizzle of honey.
FRENCH TOAST SOLDIERS (SUGAR-FREE)
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Makes 1 toddler serving
Freezable
1 slice of bread, cut into 4 or 5 ‘soldiers’
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg
1 tsp honey (optional)
a couple of drops of vanilla essence (optional)
1 tsp butter
In a bowl large enough for your ‘soldiers’ to lie down in, lightly beat the egg, milk, and cinnamon or nutmeg (and honey and vanilla, if using).
Lay your ‘soldiers’ in the eggy mixture and let them soak on both sides while you heat the butter in a small frying pan over a med-low heat.
Fry the bread for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown.
Variations:
- add mashed banana or applesauce (or even pureed butternut squash or sweet potato!) to the mixture before dunking
- use cute cookie cutters to make different shapes of ‘soldiers’ to surprise your little one
Sugar-free berry bread pudding
I’m very lucky not to have a fussy eater. Nicholas not wanting to eat is usually a sign he’s not feeling well. However he has a mixed response to berries. Strawberries were amongst the first fruit he ate and he loved them (I read after that the recommendation is to introduce them to babies later), but after a few months he started spitting them out even when I mixed them in other things. I now mush them up as much as I can and put them in yogurt and he’s ok. He likes blueberries and loves squeezing blackberries. Is it just a boy-thing wanting to squeeze stuff? He grits his teeth and strains with the effort of testing his strength. Food is the most fun to squeeze because all the juice comes out down your hand and arm and papa’ says ‘Why are you making all that mess?! Don’t do that!’ It’s so much fun! 😉
Anyway, back to eating berries. I wanted to make Nicholas something with berries for dessert apart from just mushing them up into yogurt. I thought why not add them to a simple bread pudding; their sweetness plus some honey would mean I could leave out the sugar. And the great thing about bread pudding is that it can also be served cold, cut into fingers for a snack or even for breakfast. It also freezes well and it’s a great way to use up stale bread.
This really is a dessert for the whole family and you can use pretty much any fruit you have on hand. For babies, use fruit they’ve already been introduced to. Mashed banana or grated apple would work well. A grated sweet apple or some applesauce/apple puree adds more sweetness if you think the fruit you’re using isn’t sweet enough. Sultanas and raisins are also a great addition, but they need to be softened for babies (soak them in warm water for about half an hour before adding them).
I used a small casserole dish and cut my bread in half diagonally to spread it over the bottom of the dish a bit more. You could also make individual puddings in ovenproof ramekins. You need the bread to soak in the custard mixture to get all soft and gooey so choose a dish not much bigger than your bread slices.
SUGAR-FREE BERRY BREAD PUDDING
Prep time: 10 mins plus soaking time (30 mins or overnight)
Cook time: 30-40 mins
Makes 4 toddler servings (or 1 toddler and 2 adult servings)
Freezable
2 slices of bread, crusts removed
3/4 cup mixed berries, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp honey
Small piece of butter
Butter a small ovenproof dish and lay one slice of bread in the bottom. Sprinkle the berries over the bread and then sprinkle over the cinnamon. Top with the second slice of bread.
Lightly beat the egg, milk, vanilla and honey together. Slowly pour over the bread soaking it all over. Leave to rest for about 30 mins for the bread to soak up the liquid (or overnight).
Cook at 170C for 30-40 mins until the egg mixture has set (you’ll still have some liquid from the berries) and the top is a light golden brown.
Variations:
- try different fruit such as mashed or sliced banana, grated or sliced apple, cubes of pear, etc.
- add a grated sweet apple or some applesauce/apple puree for extra sweetness
- add sultanas or raisins
- try different types of bread (white, wholemeal, raisin bread, brioche etc.)
- add a pinch of ground ginger or nutmeg
- add some chopped chocolate to be more indulgent (and not sugar-free!)
Other uses:
- cut into fingers and have cold for breakfast
Tip: use the leftover bread crusts for French toast skinny fingers or toast them to dip into hummus as a snack. If you’re not going to use the crusts immediately, just pop them in a bag and freeze them for later.
Olympic fruit platter
If you’re loving watching the Olympics and can tear yourself away from the television, why not make this easy fruit platter for your munchkin? I can imagine having fun with older kids, first finding fruit in the five different colours and then preparing it together. I’m sure you’ll be better than me at linking your rings (I just gave up!).
The five rings represent the five continents. The five colours of the rings (blue, black, red, yellow and green) plus the background colour of white, come from the colours of the flags of the countries which competed in the first modern games.
I used blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, bananas and kiwi, but of course there are lots of other possibilities. You could also try a mixed fruit and vegetable platter.
For a less healthy treat, you can try my Olympic biscuits using coloured sugar on Mindful Mum; a nice cooking activity to do together with older little ones.
Banana chips
Bananas. What baby or toddler doesn’t love them? Well I’m sure there must be some who don’t, but on the whole they’re probably one of the favourite fruits of little ones. Firm enough to hold, yet easy to eat even without teeth. The only time bananas aren’t any good is if your munchkin is constipated (but they’re great if things need firming up!).
One of Nicholas’ favourite snacks are banana chips. I buy the ones that are as natural as possible, making sure they haven’t been coated in sugar or fried, but when I came across Sweet Road’s recipe, I knew I had to try making them!
This is yet another way to use up very ripe bananas (remember the riper they are, the sweeter they’ll be). And while the cooking time is long (you’re using your oven as a dehydrator), you can leave them to do their drying and go do something else.
The only issue with this recipe is that you really have to try it a few times to understand what temperature and timing your oven needs to produce your desired level of crispiness. Ovens unfortunately do differ from each other in terms of temperature. Nicholas prefers the chewy banana chips so I have been trying to achieve a nice balance of chewiness and crispness.
An important point to add: if you make your chips chewy rather than completely crisp, tear them up into pieces before giving them to your little one to avoid any possibility of choking.
The results of my first two tries:
1. Oven 80C, cooked for 1 hr 45 mins
- I cut the banana too thin (about 3mm thick) so they were very difficult to take off the baking paper even when they were cool. I should have read Jaime’s original recipe more closely!
- I lay the banana slices on baking paper on a baking tray.
- The chips were too soft and sticky, the underside being softer than the top.
2. Oven 95C, cooked 1 hr 30 mins then turned each banana slice over and cooked for another 30mins
- I cut the banana following the original recipe’s suggestion (about 5mm thick) and was much happier with the result.
- I lay the banana slices on baking paper on a baking tray.
- Turning them helped crisp both top and bottom, but they were still too soft for my liking, sticking too easily to each other when put in a container.
After my third try I was happy with the results, and I’ll be sticking to this method (below) from now on. A slightly higher temperature, but the main difference is that I don’t put the banana slices on a baking tray, but put the baking paper directly onto the oven’s wire shelf. The edges become crispy while the middle is chewy yet firm. The surface is drier than the previous tries and so they don’t stick to each other when stored. Looking at the last packet of chewy banana I bought at the supermarket, one of the ingredients is rice flour which I’m assuming isn’t used in the cooking stage but tossed through at the end to keep them from sticking – perhaps something else to try if they ever last that long in the container.
Perhaps I’ll experiment some more in the future using a lower temperature and a much longer cooking time, as probably my method is less dehydrating and more cooking the banana slices.
Anyway, the verdict from Nicholas? He liked all of them… a lot!
SLIGHTLY CHEWY BANANA CHIPS
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 2 hrs (no need to check during this time)
Makes about 60 chips
2 ripe bananas
1/2 lemon, squeezed
Take out one of your oven’s wire shelves and lay a piece of baking paper over it. Preheat the oven to 100C.
Cut your bananas into slices about 5mm thick and lay them on the baking paper. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the banana with the lemon juice (or you can just dip your fingers in the juice and rub the banana!).
Cook the banana for two hours (you don’t need to check or turn them or do anything else during this time).
Take them out of the oven and leave to cool on the baking paper. They’ll become firmer as they cool.
Store in an airtight container.
Spending so much time with banana slices (!) has made me appreciate their beauty. Look at their lovely pansy-like patterns!
thegingerbreadmum 