Raised from Scratch

growing up outside the box: alternatives to processed food and television

Say Yes to More Cookies September 30, 2012

Filed under: Cookies,Dessert,Gluten Free,Healthy Snacks,Vegan — annalope @ 12:10 am
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Saying YES to a child always feels better than having to say NO, which is just one reason I love having healthy cookies on hand. Kids are always in the mood for cookies, and always want more than one…just like the rest of us. We could eat these for breakfast they’re so healthy, though if I actually allowed my 3 year old to do so I’d never hear the end of cookie requests at sunrise, so I’m just going to treat these as snacks and let the whole family eat as many as they want after breakfast.

Banana Coconut Almond Cookies

(gluten and sugar free, vegan if using coconut oil)

½ cup almond meal

1 ½ cups old fashioned oats

1/3 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut (Bob’s Red Mill)

1 T. golden flaxseed

½ t. ground cinnamon

½ t. sea salt

1 t. baking powder

3 ripe bananas, mashed

½ t. vanilla extract

1 t. almond extract

4 T. unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted

½ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk dry ingredients together in small bowl. In medium bowl use a sturdy whisk to mash bananas, then add extracts and butter. Stir in dry ingredients and raisins. Drop cookies on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden brown on bottom. Cool on wire rack. Makes 35 small cookies.

 

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Mini Pumpkin Bran Muffins with Chocolate Centers January 3, 2012

Filed under: Breakfast,Healthy Snacks,Muffins — annalope @ 9:34 pm
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These make a tasty snack or a healthy dessert if you make them with chocolate centers. And since nothing is more satisfying than warm chocolate coating your mouth and making an appearance all over your child’s happy face, I recommend serving them before the chocolate hardens. They are delicious and perfectly sweet enough sans chocolate should you worry about your child eating nothing but the chocolate center (surely you realized this possibility, yes?).

Mini Pumpkin Bran Muffins with Chocolate Centers

1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

¼ t. fine sea salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

1 t. cardamom

¾ cup oat bran

¼ cup brown rice syrup

3 T. pure cane sugar

15 oz pumpkin puree

2 whole eggs

¾ cup unsweetened  applesauce

Handful of large bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare mini muffin tin by lightly coating with butter or oil.In medium bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Add oat bran to flour mix.

In large bowl combine all remaining ingredients except chocolate chips, whisk until well combined. Add flour and bran mixture, stir to combine. Fill miffin tins ¾ full with batter and place a single chocolate chip in the center of each muffin cup.

Bake 12-14 minutes. Cool in pan 2-3 minutes, then move to cooling rack to cool completely.