Banana Oat Drops

When we could tell Wyatt was ready for some food of the teething biscuit variety I started looking for recipes. I found some recipes on this baby food website which is also where we got the info on making the rice cereal.  I wanted a non-wheat recipe, no extra sugar, and having no eggs was a good thing too.

The recipe we tried out recently --Oat and Banana Drops-- was a hit.  It made a biscuit that was soft and mushy in the baby's mouth (as opposed to the type that is hard and dissolves as the baby sucks on it).  They were delicious--tasting similar to a banana-walnut-type muffin but with 753 less calories a piece (estimated) and containing only happy baby ingredients.  And they made for one satisfied baby.

This is the only picture I have because the entire family ate up the half batch within 12 hours.  (Had to let the baby share his nourishing snack with the rest of us--we need it too!)


Oat and Banana Drops -- Baby Biscuit Recipe:


1 c old-fashioned oats
1 c ground oats (oat flour)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 t baking powder
1 c (2-3) ripe bananas, mashed
1 t vanilla extract
3 T oil


Mix dry ingredients together, set aside.  Mix wet ingredients, pour into to dry mixture. Drop by the spoonful onto parchment paper or greased baking sheet, or use a piping bag to make long bars. Bake 12-15 min at 350.

This is (before cooking) how I made mine.  I piped them into bars because Wyatt likes to be able to grab on and have something sticking out of his fist to chew on.  This was a half batch and made 16.  A full batch should make about 32 bars or 64 drops and should hopefully last more than a day. 

Sugar Cookies with Frosting

Though sugar-cookies and frosting are definitely junk food--it still infinitely better to make them from scratch both for the body, and for the children.


Owen wanted to have a cookie-decorating party and invite friends.  I said, "yes".


We had about a billion heart-shaped cookies (and a nice selection of rocket ships and rabbits and other random shapes Owen wanted) white, pink, and purple frosting, lots of toppings and sprinkles.


Shake, shake shake--who needs some sprinkles?


The cookies were eaten as fast as they were decorated.

"Bulk" Sugar Cookies-
Makes: a billion

2 C (1 lb) butter
2 C sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon or almond extract
1 t. baking soda
6-7 C flour

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and extracts until light and fluffy. Add the baking soda in with a few cups of the flour into the egg mixture. Gradually stir remaining flour. The recipe called for 6 cups flour, I used at least 6 and a half. There just can be more variation with large recipes. The dough will be really soft still, but should hold together (it hardens when you chill it).

Divide dough into four portions. Wrap in plastic. If you are going to roll the dough for shaped cookies mush it into a disk-shape on the plastic wrap, that way the rolling is already started. You can also shape this into logs and do slice and bake cookies with it. Chill dough at least an hour. Or wrap again in foil and freeze up to three months. (We froze one of the four portions.)

Double Batch of Buttercream Frosting-
Makes: enough to frost the billion cookies

1 cup (1/2 lb) butter
1 cup vegetable shortening
2 Tbl milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 lb bag of powdered sugar

Cream the butter and shortening together. Add milk and vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar. (I draped a kitchen towel over my mixer as a hood and still got sugar everywhere!) Add colorings-use less milk if you are going to use liquid food color.