Baby girl is about to celebrate her 1st birthday, it’s hard to believe! Long gone are her days of eating pureed foods, well, weeks gone anyhow. If I try to feed her baby food now she openly scoffs. As baby girl is still a legally our foster she gets WIC, which means she gets A LOT of baby food each month. Baby food that she won’t eat but I have to get because of her foster status.
Every day when I reach for the coffee I see the jars of unused baby food and am conflicted. I can’t donate the food because she’s supposed to eat it. And frankly, I want the empty jars for homeschooling purposes ;) So what is a person to do?
When life gives you baby food, make crackers!!
Homeade crackers are way cheaper than buying boxed and those made from baby food are naturally sweet and contain fruits & veggies. Your whole family will love them, if they can get over the fact that they are made with baby food.
My husband and teens won’t eat these crackers, even though one of them admitted that they were delicious. I don’t get it, it’s just pureed fruits & veggies…but whatever.
TIP: Any flavor of baby food will work in these crackers. I developed this recipe using sweet potato and banana baby food, which are a little thicker than most types. When using something thinner, like carrot or apple, you may need to add in an extra tablespoon or three of flour.
Baby Crackers
2 cups flour (whole wheat or all purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
6 ounces baby fruit or veggie (one of the large glass jars or 1 1/2 small jars)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the butter and dry ingredients in a food processor and process for about 30 seconds, until the flour is crumbly. Add the baby food and process until the mixture turns into a ball of dough, about two minutes.
You may need to adjust the recipe with a little bit of water if too dry, or a little bit of flour if it’s too wet.
Optional: Chill the dough for 30 minutes for easier rolling
For older babies and toddlers: Roll the dough out to about 1/4″. Cut into strips about 2″ long. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 8 minutes, flip, then bake for 4 minutes. Store in an air-tight container for 2-3 days. You can refrigerate them for about a week or freeze whatever you don’t plan on using right away.
For the rest of the family: Roll the dough out as thin as you can, to about 1/8″ if possible. Cut the dough into 1″ squares. Place the squares directly on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, flip, then bake another 8-10 minutes until they are browned and crispy. Store in an air-tight container for about a week.
