As promised in my snack post, here is my favorite recipe for teething cookies (I wish I had a picture to show you, but I haven’t made them recently, as my son is still a little too young for them).
Teething Cookies for Baby
Yield 4 dozen
From Better Food for Better Babies, a small, older book with some great wisdom and whole foods recipes)
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp honey (not suitable for babies under one year of age)
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 2 Tbsp oil (I would use coconut oil or butter)
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- 1/2 cup rice or millet flour
- 3/4 cup flour of your choice (spelt, wheat, kamut, barley)
Instructions
- Stir together the honey, molasses, oil and egg yolk. Mix the flours, and add to make a stiff dough. Since flours differ, if it is too thick, add a Tbsp of milk. If too soft, add a bit more rice or millet flour.
- Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into rectangles 1 x 1 1/2 inches. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 F until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
Courses Baked Goods
Due to the use of grains and honey, I would avoid these cookies until baby is over a year old, and until you have successfully introduced each ingredient in this recipe. If your baby cannot have gluten, I think that they could be adapted to use a gluten free flour mix instead of the other flour options I listed.
I like these cookies because they are simple to make, use wholesome sweeteners and a variety of flours, and my daughter just loved them. They are quite firm, which makes them excellent for teething, yet they gum up well so they are not dangerous for baby.
Notice that they don’t have any instructions for soaking. This is because I haven’t made them since I have been soaking my grains (only this past year). I was thinking that I might make them using sprouted flour (that is, grains that I sprouted, and dehydrated, and can now grind up to use as flour that doesn’t require soaking).
However, I also think that you could add a bit of buttermilk or yogurt to the mix (keeping the egg yolk out), make the dough and let it sit overnight, and then add the eggs and bake them in the morning. You would probably need to up the flour amount slightly to make the dough thick enough. I will let you know when I try it, but if you beat me to it, please let me know how it worked for you!
Raising Healthy Eaters- Simple and nutritious snack ideas for kids
Great tip! I will have to remember this! 🙂 Thanks!
Even though my girls are way past teething…12 and 9 when my youngest was little, someone gave me a recipe for a biscotti teething cookie that I loved and she loved. THey lasted forever, and they didn’t turn to mush all over her and my house!!!
Finally a recipe with alternative sweeteners and grains. I’ll try them tomorrow! Thanks.
Stephanie, I’m curious if you have ever tried to soak these since you originally posted the recipe?