I made these baby cakes for my teething 9-month-old son who always seems to have the munchies. Made with whole wheat flour and a jar of strained prunes for sweetness, these little cuties are tasty as well as healthy so I don't need to feel badly about reaching for the treat jar a few times a day. This recipe makes about two dozen scone-like cakes, which can be kept in a sealed container for up to three days or frozen to enjoy another day.
Here's how I made them:
1 128 ml/4.5 fl oz jar of strained prunes baby food (or 1/2 a cup of homemade fruit puree)
1 egg
2 tbsp canola oil
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
While my oven preheated to 375 degrees (F), I emptied the jar of prunes into a large mixing bowl and added the egg and canola oil, mixing well. In a separate small mixing bowl, I mixed the flour, baking soda and cinnamon. The dry ingredients were gradually added to the wet ingredients, mixing well to form a ball of dough.
Using a floured rolling pin, I rolled out the dough on a floured surface to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using a sharp knife, I cut away the edges to leave myself a large rectangle. Then I cut smaller rectangles, about 1-inch by 3-inches, and dotted them with a fork in the centre. The scraps were balled and rolled out again until I had about two dozen baby cakes.
I put the baby cakes on a parchment lined cookie sheet, about an inch apart, and popped them in the oven for 15 minutes until golden and puffy. They cooled on a wire rack.
I have a feeling these baby cakes won't last long with my hungry little kiddo! I'll be making another batch again soon.
What sort of baking have you done for your babies? Got a good baby food recipe to share? Leave a comment and your links!
I'll have to make these for my own teething baby! She loves prunes.
ReplyDeleteI love that you posted this. I swear I was just looking in the pantry yesterday and noticed 2 lone jars of prunes and thought, "what on earth am I going to do with these now that we're done with baby food". Perfect solution!
ReplyDeleteOh these look great! I will definitely be whipping up a batch for my little teether this week ~ I will definitely be happier to give her these than mum-mums!
ReplyDeleteOm nom nom!
ReplyDeleteAs per our agreement on Saturday, I think baking your recipes is as close as I'll get to you cooking for me full-time... I will be stopping in at the grocery store on the way home for baby food!
24-year-old cakes?!
Wow, prunes were hard to find around here! Got them and am planning on making these. Thanks, Amy!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Most teething biscuit recipes have sugar, this is just what I was looking for! I make my own baby food, I don't have any plums so ill try applesauce!
ReplyDeletewould love to pin this recipe if possible! =)
ReplyDeleteMy sons first fruit was prunes...I give him Plasmon biscotti...and he loves them! But I would love to make a batch of my own type of teething biscotti since I do make all of his food...
ReplyDeleteCan I use a different type of fruit, maybe blended fresh fruit, banana???
I like the way you think, Lisa - I bet you COULD make these with mashed banana. The only way to find out is to try it. The reason I used prunes is that they are very sweet and sticky. Bananas are too! Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!
DeleteI made these with homemade pureed pumpkin, and they turned out great! I also cut minr out with a biscuit cutter and halved them with a butter knife for a small, moon shaped biscuit.
ReplyDeleteOhhh...pumpkin! Great idea!
DeleteThis sounds like a good recipe, minus the prunes (& baby food), & instead use fresh apple sauce. I think I'll try making these for my DD would is in the process of cutting 7 new teeth at once :-S.
ReplyDeleteJust made these and they look, smell and taste great! Question though: I took mine out after about 12 minutes as they looked done... they are still a bit soft (like a dense scone). Are they meant to be harder for teething, or is this right? My 8 month old is enjoying them, but wonder if they would harden more if in the oven longer, to give more of a teething bicky texture?
ReplyDeleteHi Laura. Yes, they're like a firm scone in texture. I didn't want them too hard because if a piece broke off it could be a choking hazard and I didn't want to put anyone (or myself) in that position! It sounds like you made them just right :)
DeleteI made these last night but I used veggie oil and gerber baby food and they were gross! Lol ill have to try again tonight!
ReplyDeleteI am going to try to make these however any suggestions on how you store these. Can you freeze them?
ReplyDeleteYes, you can freeze them!
DeleteI just made these, they were fantastic! Thanks for posting this. Two small changes I made: I was also making carrot cake at the time so I threw in a handful (maybe 2/3 cup?) of grated carrot - seemed to work really well. Also, I didn't have prune baby food, so I cooked some prunes in water, then pureed them. They were too thin and I was worried the dough was going to be too wet, so I added a tbsp of ground flax. They turned out really well. My 10 month old loves them!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking all over for Gerber's Biter Biscuits (the ones for toddlers just crumble if you look at them it seems so definitely not trying those) and I've been told they stopped making them. My 4 month old is starting on cereal and baby food, constantly gnawing and won't take her teethers AT ALL. Are these comparable? Has anyone tried to use them with a younger child? I know the risks and would obviously be with her at all times if she had one but just wondered...
ReplyDeleteHi Skylar - These biscuits are not hard. They are scone-like in texture. I know which Gerber's biscuits you mean. A friend of mine's son used to LOVE those! I didn't know they were discontinued.
DeleteThank you for this recipe! I will be making these tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteWe've made this three times now! I've used applesauce, mashed banana, and a combo of applesauce with a little spinach blended in. Each fruit produces a slightly different texture, but my son has loved every version!
ReplyDeleteThose sound like lovely combinations, Lacey! Thanks for the feedback and sharing your ideas.
DeleteI was just about to ask about different baby foods :-)
DeleteOkay, I know these are for babies...but I think they are good! I replaced 1/2 cup of flour with 1/2 cup of wheat germ. I also used pumpkin pie spice (1/2 tsp) instead of plain cinnamon. Great recipe! Thanks a bunch for making a baby food recipe without SUGAR and SALT!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, Diana. Thanks for sharing how you played with the recipe! Sounds yummy.
DeleteNo sugar, fresh fruit, and whole wheat? These sound wonderful! I am definitely going to have to try these for my little one. Thanks for sharing this recipe. :)
ReplyDeleteMade these with apple prune baby food and gingerbread man cookie cutters. They turned out soooo cute! Thanks for the recipie :).
ReplyDeleteI made these over a year ago but wanted to thank you for the great recipe! I loved that my daughter had a delicious homemade treat to eat.
ReplyDeleteDo you think they would hold together without the egg? Baby is allergic to egg (and dairy) and I struggle to find things to make.
ReplyDeleteHi, I just made these but I might ave done something wrong as they taste only like wholewheat flour, nothing else. Maybe I didnt lut enough prunes? I pureed my own ... Thanks
ReplyDeleteI made these and followed the directions but they were really dry.....any suggestions???
ReplyDeleteI had the same issue...really dry...
DeleteI'm also wondering about an egg-free version since LO is allergic to eggs. I guess I'll just try a flax 'egg' and hope for the best!
ReplyDeleteMade these for my granddaughter but added 2 jars of baby food meat. Great way to add protein to her diet. I love the suggestions to use pumpkin and add other spices. A wonderful healthy recipe for little ones!
ReplyDeleteExcellent recipe! I made these cookies with spelled flour and applesauce with 2 dates for sweetness (next time i will try with xylitol). Egg-free version - maybe with potato flour (1 Tbsp flour for 3 Tbsp water) or ground flax?
ReplyDeletehow many eggs added?
ReplyDeleteI just made these and added some mashed banana and about a tablespoon of honey. Turned out yummy - the honey added the perfect amount of sweetness to make my toddler interested.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same peter rabbit bowels!! Where did you get yours? My mom saved ours from when we were little :)
ReplyDeleteThis is the best recipe I have found so far for teething biscuits, my little guy loved them! I used coconut oil in place of canola for a healthier version.
ReplyDelete