Infant Cereal Cookies
(no added sugar & flour-free option)
With many moms on WIC (Women, Infants & Children), the accumulation of baby food can get a little bit overwhelming. Here in Ohio they offer infant cereals and jarred foods starting at 6 months of age. The cereals they allow are Gerber brand only (Rice, Oatmeal, Whole Wheat and MultiGrain). And a little goes a long way. Which means wasted or unwanted cereal. The picky stages of solid food feeding. My little Ems got teeth around 7 months and not long after that I tried more chunky foods with her, putting purées out of commission..mostly. And cereals until recently (before the cookie find). I would add whole milk and a fruit purée with a small dash of cinnamon in with her cereal and she seemed to love it.
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So with that said...
Baby Ems has a crap ton of infant cereal (and jarred food). Since she eats more solid solids, the jarred Stage 2 variety have become unwanted, though I still try. Mainly I go the cereal and jarred fruit route + milk for the liquid, or to thicken some of her other foods.
I have been searching all over for some ways to use up some of the dozens of cereals and jars we have collected. I feel bad we have so many, but she can be picky, which is frustratingly normal.
I found two cookie recipes and made a few adjustments to each. I doubled each recipe and knocked out only one cereal container (which equals about 4 cups) and 3 jars of apples (equals about 1 cup). But even if I don't use even a quarter of them up by her first birthday (the end of February is around the corner) I will be donating them. I wanted to try these out and pass this along to anyone out there with these items collecting dust (not really) in their pantries.
I also adjusted the bake time and oven temperature according to my oven, but I will post links to the original versions.
Cookie #1 (not doubled)
<< Original Recipe >>
1 cup Infant cereal - (your choice, I used whole wheat)
1 cup flour - (of your choice)
1/2 cup fruit or vegetable purée/mash - (bananas, apples, sweet potato..etc.)
2 tsp coconut oil - (or vegetable oil/substitute of your choice)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg - (or any spice/herb of your choice that goes well with the fruit/vegetable you chose)
1/2 cup water - (or milk)
>> Original oven temperature is 400*
>> Original bake time is about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
**Adjust according to your baby, especially if there are known/possible allergies.**
These cookies are firmer, but by no means a teething cookie (neither of these are hard enough in my opinion). They aren't as soft and moist as the 2nd cookie, so they take a bit more effort. I like that I don't have to add sugar. I don't care for the flour, unless I go with whole wheat or a nut flour.
But little Emi seems to like them.
Cookie #2 (not doubled)
**My personal favorite**
<< The recipe I followed was written in the description from a pin here >>
(The image used for the pin is actually this cookie cereal recipe)
>> Contains eggs <<
1 cup infant cereal
2 mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 tbsp butter, unsalted (I used coconut oil)
>> Original oven temperature is 350*
>> Original bake time is 7-10 minutes
I liked these a lot better. More moist, almost muffin like, because of the egg and bananas. I added the same spices as the other recipe (cinnamon and nutmeg). Mommy and Daddy both thought these were yummy. And no added sugar! I ended up baking these in the bottom part of a cupcake tin, worked well to keep the size I wanted.
