Nothing beats a bit of baking with the kids... especially when the outcome is these yummy cookies.
I love cooking with the kids. I find that when they get stuck in with me in the kitchen they are more amenable to then eating the food I give them. They helped me make cheese and spinach muffins for their baby sister the other day. Can I get them eat spinach normally? Not a chance!! But they devoured the muffins. So much for my plan of having a stash in the freezer for some quick weaning lunches.
But I don't want sugar to be a forbidden food as it simply makes them want it more! So we also do plenty of baking where they get to make cookies and muffins and pancakes. These are one of our favourites. The kids love them because they are tasty. I love them because they are lower in sugar than cookies you'd find in your local bakery or supermarket. They store pretty well too. They don't last long enough to test out if they would freeze well but I'm pretty sure they would!
Poppy seeds add a little hit of fibre, healthy fats and calcium
These can easily be made gluten free by swapping the flour for a gluten free flour and dairy free by swapping the butter for a dairy free alternative. I use coconut sugar, but because I like the taste not because it's 'healthier'. At the end of the day sugar in all forms (coconut, honey, brown sugar, fruit puree) is sugar. If you don't have this then you could use light muscovado or light brown sugar instead.
Recipe
Servings: 20 cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
350g wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
60g coconut sugar
60g honey
125g unsalted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
10g poppy seeds
2 lemons
1 free range egg
Method
Preheat the oven to 150°C (fan) and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper
Combine flour, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, cinnamon and poppy seeds in a mixing bowl
Grate the zest of both lemons and add to the bowl
In a small pan melt the butter and honey over a low heat then stir it into the dry ingredients
Beat the egg then add to the mixture and stir to combine well
Use your hands to make sure all the ingredients are mixed in well and combine them all into one big ball of cookie dough
Take a small portion of dough (about 1tsp size) and roll it into a ball in your hands before placing on the baking tray and gently flattening down.
Repeat until all the dough has been used up. This should make around 20 cookies.
Bake for around 15 minutes until they are golden
Leave them to cool (if you can resist!) and then enjoy