Baking With Toddlers: Gluten & Refined Sugar-Free Easter Cookies

On 26/03/2013 by Selena With 0 Comments - At Our Table, Baked, Health & Wellness, Holidays, Motherhood, Toddler Food

This recipe is all about the toddlers and all about the coconut. It was messy yes, I mean obviously. Honestly? We had a ton of fun doing it and tossed the youngest in the tub afterward (you’ll soon see why). Toddlers + Messes Everywhere All The Time = normal.

These are the type of cut-out cookies that you can feed your little ones (and yourself), whenever an occasion calls for cut-out cookies. Without the guilt or the worry of hyped-up moods, sugar-crashes and fatty fatness. I mean – there’s still some of that (FAT!) in here, but without all of the processed white flour and refined sugar, there is a whole heck of a lot less. I love doing seasonal, themed activities that revolve around the holidays that are special to us. Enjoy the recipe and the pictures…

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What You’ll Need (not all shown above):

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, creamed (or melted coconut oil)
1/2 cup cream cheese, creamed (or greek yogurt!)
1 cup of organic coconut sugar
1 cup of amber maple syrup (the real stuff yo! Or honey)
4 eggs, whisked
1 1/2 teas. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 teas. Almond Extract
2 teas. Baking Soda
1 teas. Salt
3 cups of organic coconut flour

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How You Do:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 F.
Step 2: With a hand mixer or a Daddy (or fancy stand-mixer of which I don’t have, *CLEARS THROAT*) blend together the wet ingredients. Butter (or coconut oil), sugar and maple syrup (or honey), eggs, vanilla, almond extract cream cheese.

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Step 3: In another bowl sift together the dry ingredients. Coconut flour, salt and baking soda.

Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients 1 cup at a time and blend that action up. Hollering at one’s toddler to, “Stir, stir, stir! Faster! That’s it! Whip that dough up really good! OOOFff! Use your muscles! That’s right!” All totally optional and good for your soul and the exertion of their energy. Just sayin’. (Dough should be stiff and maleable, not too sticky.)

Step 5: Halve and roll into 2 balls. Wrap with parchment and chill for at least 1 hour.
Step 6: Roll out onto floured surface about 1/2 – 3/4 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters of choice. (My guy LOVED the rolling part and was quite good at it.) We used a combo of Easter-y ones that I found in a discount bin at Home Sense and some Ikea woodland animal shape cutters. Next time we will roll between two pieces of parchment paper. That’s what I usually do, as gluten free doughs tend to crack more – and in the ruckus I forgot.

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Step 7: Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 – 10 minutes depending on your oven. Set your timer for 8 min. and check – they’ll cook a little more as they cool and also harden when cooled – so remember that when you think they might be too soft to the touch. Let them cool then frost. (You can freeze these frosted or unfrosted!)

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While they’re baking whip up some of this quick frosting – or – make it when the kids aren’t around ahead of time and have it ready for them to add colours in.

Cream Cheese Frosting – What You’ll Need:

1 pkg (1 cup) of cream cheese, creamed
1 cup of unsalted butter
2 cups of sugar free-powdered sugar (oxy-moron right? Wait till you try it!) *you can totally forgo this if you don’t care about having a stiffer icing or don’t want the prep. These cookies aren’t for show. They are a fun activity to do with your kids and they are for eating! Royal icing may look beautiful but if you ask me it’s way to sweet. Blech!
1/4 cup of maple syrup *to taste, especially if you aren’t using the powdered sugar
1 teas. Vanilla Extract

How You Do:

Step 1: Cream the butter and cream cheese together, then add in the vanilla and maple syrup. Beat until puffed up and creamy.

Step 2: If using the powdered sugar (sugar-free!), whip this in last until uber creamy. You can leave it the nice creamy colour it is, or use all natural vegetable and fruit based food colouring for fun!

Step 3: Fill up some icing bags for decorating fun and pop them in the freezer for 5 – 10 minutes to firm them up a bit. (We iced ours in the wee early hours of the next morning. Special breakfast treat! (After some strawberries and cheerios of course.)