Carrot cake cookies, perfect for baby led weaning (vegan and gluten free)

Great for baby-led weaning, toddlers & older kids

In the ongoing quest to sneak extra veg into as many meals as possible, I present to you… carrot cake cookies! They are sweetened with fruit rather than sugar, and the oats, carrot and tahini make them a pretty good nutritional mix for a cookie. Nearly a complete balanced meal?! 

I used these a lot for my kids during weaning; they both loved them and the consistency just seemed to be perfect for them to be able to hold and have a good go at chewing. It’s really handy to have these kinds of recipes to hand when you are doing dairy free weaning for a baby with cmpa, as the shop bought options can feel so limiting. As a bonus these are also free from eggs, soy and wheat! They can easily be made gluten free if needed, just use GF oats. 

These work well as a healthy snack (for all ages!) and are very handy for taking out and about; perfect for a school lunchbox. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days and also freeze well, so it’s worth making a big batch. The recipe below makes between 12 and 14 cookies, depending on how large you make them, and you can easily double up the ingredients to make a bigger batch. 

For babies: These work well as baby led weaning finger food. For smaller babies just make sure to remove from the oven before they get too hard on the outside, and check none of the sultanas on top of the cookies have got too crispy. If you make the cookies a bit larger, they will be nice and soft in the middle. Just be aware that tahini (sesame) and almond butter are both potential allergens, so be sure your baby is tolerating these first. 

Ingredients and method:

Makes 12 to 14 cookies

• 2 bananas
• 1 red apple
• 1 large carrot (about 100g)
• 160g rolled oats (or gluten free oats)
• 60g raisins
• 2 tablespoons tahini or almond butter 
• 1 tablespoon olive or rapeseed oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice

Preheat the oven to 180ºc / 160ºc fan and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Add the bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash them up using a fork. Grate the carrot and apple, then squeeze out any excess moisture before adding to the mixing bowl. Add all the other ingredients and mix it up really well – I find squidging this all together with clean hands works best.

Shape the mixture into small balls (you should end up with between 12 and 14) and place them on the baking tray. Gently press each of the balls down to slightly flatten them into a cookie shape. The texture is meant to be soft and slightly cakey so don’t do them too thin – about 2cm is ideal. Try to avoid too many raisins sitting right on the top, as they can end up a bit charred!

Cook for about 25 minutes until they turn golden brown. Any raisins on the top which get a bit too crispy can easily be removed after baking.

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