Organic Pumpkin: Good for you, your baby and the bees.
Toddler’s don’t limit seasonal goodies to just one holiday. Heck, they’ll even eat traditional dinner foods for breakfast. Good food is good food anytime of day or year! We even used this pumpkin muffin recipe for birthday “cupcakes.” Now that’s what I call a win-win!
Ingredients
1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose our
1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup pure canned pumpkin
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for topping
1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
muffin paper liners
Steps
Grown-Up: Preheat oven to 350°F.
Toddler: Place muffin paper liners in a standard 12-cup muffin pan.
Toddler: Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. (Whisk optional!)
Grown-Up and Toddler: Whisk brown sugar, pumpkin, granulated sugar, vegetable oil and eggs in a separate medium bowl and beat vigorously until smooth and combined. Add flour mixture and mix until evenly incorporated. (Probably best to use a whisk or spatula for this one!)
Grown-Up and Toddler: Divide batter evenly among muffin cups with a small scooper. Sprinkle evenly with granulated sugar.
Grown-Up: Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.
No spoons needed!
The first time I made these I accidentally used canned pumpkin pie mix (oops!). Don’t worry! They still tasted great — a little more dense, moist and spicy — in case you make the same mistake or on purpose!
Wanna take it to the next level?? Try this recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar (8 ounces)
Steps
Grown-Up: In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and confectioners’ sugar, then beat at high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.
This recipe makes a small batch of ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookies — just in case you and your toddler decide to binge eat all of them! (the sugar-high should wear off eventually!)
The tasty end result: Chocolate Chip Cookie dough
Ingredients
1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5/8 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (12 ounces)
Steps
Grown-up: Heat oven to 350° F.
Toddler: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. (Whisk optional!)
Grown-up: Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, then the vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined (do not over mix).
Toddler: Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. (Spoon optional!)
Grown-up + Toddler: Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough onto baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart.
Grown-up: Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until golden around the edges but still soft in the center, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. (If you have any left-overs!)
