Egg and Nut Free Cookie Cake

Want something a little more special than just plain cookies, but don't have a lot of time to bake? Let me introduce you to....the cookie cake! Fun, but simple, it is the perfect treat to serve the next time you have company or a birthday. It is also incredibly easy to throw together. Enjoy!

Egg and Nut Free Cookie Cake
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup grade b maple syrup
3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup allergy friendly chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Put butter in bowl of a stand mixer and beat until fluffy (you can also do this with a hand mixer). Add maple syrup, applesauce and vanilla and beat until combined. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl with a wire whisk and then add to the wet ingredients and mix. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread batter into a greased pie pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Egg and Nut Free Pancakes

We try to make pancakes whenever we are home together on a Saturday morning. This is the pancake recipe I stick to, but usually I try to come up with fun variations and flavors to add in. This morning we added a sliced banana, but if you scroll to the bottom you'll see some other fun ideas. It's important to have a basic pancake recipe because a child with food allergies will really only be able to enjoy pancakes at home.

Egg and Nut Free Pancakes
2 cups white whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp. water
4 Tbsp. coconut oil (melted and cooled)
1 Tbsp. grade b maple syrup
Extra coconut oil for the pan
Syrup, berries, etc for serving

Preheat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat until hot.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with a wire whisk.  In a liquid measuring cup, combine the milk, water, oil and syrup. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. As my husband always says....don't mix too hard! A few lumps are fine :)

Add some coconut oil to the hot pan and swirl around to coat. Drop about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the hot pan and allow to cook until bubbles form on the top and the bottom side seems firm. Flip and cook the other side until it's brown and firm. You can serve the pancakes right away or transfer them to a warmed oven until you're finished with the batter.

Here are some optional add-ins/flavors:
Banana slices
Apples and cinnamon
Blueberries
Chocolate chips
Gingerbread (add some cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice and ginger)
Raisins
Bacon (so delicious!)
Cranberries (dried or fresh)
Strawberries
Shredded coconut
Grape Nuts
And....my toddler's favorite way to eat a pancake....with cream cheese! Just make a little sandwich with two pancakes and some cream cheese. He loves it!

Egg and Nut Free Zucchini Bread

I know this is an off-season ingredient to be using right now, but I purchased zucchini for something else and needed to use it up. I also have been trying to think of ways to get my toddler to eat more greens, and although a sweet bread isn't exactly ideal, it was better than nothing. He's been so picky lately and I've just been able to get him to eat small snack type meals, so I'm trying to add in more nutrition to each little thing he will eat. He loved this bread served with some plain cream cheese and since it has whole wheat flour and a natural sweetener, it was a pretty decent snack!

Any other ideas for feeding a picky eater?

Egg and Nut Free Zucchini Bread
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup grade b maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. water
1 cup grated zucchini
2 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
 1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch loaf pan. Combine the oil, applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla and water in a bowl. Stir in the zucchini and set aside. In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt with a wire whisk. Stir the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Batter will be thick and you might need to use your hands. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.