These delicious and crunchy little beetroot and pea crackers are taken from my fourth book, The Ultimate Weaning and Toddler Cookbook. They’re so flavourful and full of nutrients and great ones for babies and toddlers to try. A really lovely little on-the-go option!
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Cook time: 20- 25 minutes
Makes: around 30 crackers
Ingredients
- 85g vacuum-packed beetroot in natural juice, drained
- 25g frozen peas, defrosted
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 20g Parmesan, grated (optional)
- 165g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 15g unsalted butter or dairy-free spread
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180 fan. Line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- Add the beetroot, peas, sunflower seeds and cumin to a food processor (or a stick blender or bullet work well too) and blend to create a thick purple mix.
- Add the Parmesan (if using), flour and baking powder. Slowly pulse until it comes together.
- Add the butter (or DF spread) and pulse to a blend, then slowly add 20-30 millilitres of water, a little at a time, pulsing the mix until the dough just comes together (the dough should be coming away from the sides of the bowl and not be sticky).
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll it around to form a nice ball.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is around ½ cm thick and cut using whatever cutters you fancy (round shapes are good for younger babies as they don’t have the crispy corners) or just cut with a knife into 4-cam wide squares. Place the crackers onto the lined trays, spaces 1cm apart. Price each with a fork a couple of times.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.
- Leave to cool on the trays for 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Serve as they are or with a simple dip.
These are great for babies who are a little older – 10+ months ideally as they can be quite crisp and “crackery”. Make them a little thicker to create more doughy biscuits that might be easier for younger babies to manage.
You may like to view some of my baby and toddler-friendly dip recipes to go with these crackers, including my butterbean hummus recipe and my three iron-rich dips. For more baby and toddler friendly recipes, you can pre order my complete recipe blog.
The Ultimate Weaning and Toddler Cookbook
Following on from her bestselling books How to Wean Your Baby, How to Feed Your Toddler and How to Feed Your Family, this book is packed with 100 simple yet nutritionally balanced recipes designed to make feeding your baby and toddler not only easy but also a truly enjoyable experience for the whole family.