keelyblog

Not much. Trying to keep busy while simultaneously avoiding meeting any new people. Pretty tricky thing to do without acreage. My husband suggested weeks ago that I share our new favorite “cookie” recipe. I put cookie in quotations because it is healthier and has less sugar that some meals the kids eat, and they taste more like a biscuit. Anyway, everyone likes them, even my Mom. That is really saying something since Mom is not a fan of healthy food.

Spinach Almond-Butter Cookies
a recipe to make with toddlers

Ingredients:
a bunch or box of spinach or baby spinach
1/2 cup Almond milk (unsweetened)
1 cup Almond Butter (no added sugar)
2 eggs
1/2 cup Blackstrap molasses
1/2 cup honey
4 tbls softened butter
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
whole wheat flour
all purpose flour

You may notice that I do not give measurements on the flour. The reason for this will become clear in the directions. If any of the almondy ingredients come pre-sweetened, it will throw off the whole recipe.

Directions:

1. Pour 1/2 cup of Almond Milk in a blender, then fill the rest of the blender with spinach. Fill it up to the top with just a little packing. Blend. You will have to poke through the hole at the top a bit to get all the spinach to blend into the liquid. The end result will be a bright green liquid. Set aside.

2. Put the Almond Butter, Blackstrap, and Honey into a medium mixing bowl. Let your kids have either, or both, a little bit of blackstrap and a little bit of honey on their fingers! Mix together using a whisk. This is a tough part and best to have an adult or proto-adult do this–hence the fingers of blackstrap and honey to keep toddlers busy. Then crack an egg into a cup and let one toddler pour that into the mixing bowl. Now crack the second egg into the cup and let the other toddler mix that into the mixing bowl. If you have a third toddler, let them pour the butter. Otherwise someone needs to put the softened butter in. Whisk. Now mix in the spinach liquid, baking powder and salt. When it is creamy and consistent, move the mixing bowl and the 2 types of flour to, or near, the floor. I usually sit on a stool and hold the mixing bowl in my lap while each kid is in charge of a bag of flour.

3. Let kids throw handfuls of flour into the mixing bowl while you continue to whisk. Unless your kids have big hands, or scoops, you will have to help out. Also, try to keep an eye on how much of each flour makes it into the bowl. You want about equal quantities. Continue this until you have a thick, but still very sticky and soft, dough. Now cover (or not) and stick in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease some cookie sheets. Take the now stiffer dough out of the fridge and let kids make 1in balls and put them on the cookie sheets. These cookies don’t tend to spread, but if you put them too close it could effect cooking times/results. Place the balls about 4 inches apart. Make a little bowl of ice water and get a fork. Dip the fork in the ice water and smoosh down the cookie balls like you would a peanut butter cooking. You will need to dip the fork into the ice water between every cookie or it will stick and make a mess of your next cookie. Don’t be alarmed by the cookies closely resembling poop at this stage. Block it from your mind and just keep dipping and smooshing.

5. Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes and let cool before eating. They keep really well for several days in a jar on the counter top. Be careful having them sitting out, though, because you may find yourself eating them continually all day. Usually the day we make these, I let the kids have them for lunch. They surely have more nutrients and less sugar than the almond butter and jelly sandwiches the kids usually have for lunch! And yes, we get 100% fruit, unsweetened jelly. Still, though. Less sugar in the cookies!