As a mum of a toddler, I like to make stuff that even Baby Doll can eat, along with us, or else I inevitably get guilted into giving her morsels of goodies what we eat and she should technically NOT be indulging it, quite yet at least! To tackle this, I’ve come up simple yet effective meals for her and us, that actually taste great to all palates of all ages. Some examples are: grated carrot salad with an orange juice dressing, tomato basil salad with some extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper, asparagus risotto (without the wine, of course!), grilled paneer with lime and coriander, whole wheat spaghetti pomodoro, guacamole sans the jalepeno – you get the drift! So when it comes to desert, whyever not have a desert that is baby friendly, diet friendly and daddy friendly? 
My recipe for the oat and nut cookies are pretty flexible when it comes to the nut you want to use (or maybe even a mix thereof) as well as the mix ins that you want to add – often you can add things that baby doesn’t want to eat independently. My version includes a little apricot, 60% chocolate chips, soaked and chopped almonds, and the all time favourite oat and raisin union! Other great options would be walnuts, hazelnuts, seeds, cranberries, dried fig, dates. The subtle sweetness of the bananas is the perfect binder to these not too crunchy – not too dense – not to sweet cookies. Perfect for a quick pick me up, a coffee time treat, a sneaky mid night dessert and obviously, for a baby breakfast, dessert or snack!
- 1.5 cups oats
- 2 large / 6 small ripe or overripe bananas, smashed up
- 1/4 cup mix-ins of choice (see above)
- 1/4 cup nut butter of choice, I used almond butter
- Preheat oven to 180*c and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix together the oats, banana and nut better until everything is moist. Then fold in the mix-ins.
- Scoop onto the lined baking sheet using a 1" scoop or a heaped tablespoon. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are browned and the top looks dry and toasty. Leave to cool on a cooling rack and transfer to an airtight container.
- This should keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
