You know those cute little melt-in-your-mouth cereal puffs you see in the store? The ones that help babies master their pincer grasp?
Though I’d rather give her whole foods to snack on, these have been an absolute life saver for us in the car. Instead of crying the entire time, she concentrates on enjoying her puffs while we’re driving.
These puffs are organic and full of good stuff like kale, sweet potatoes, beets, etc., but the packaging is wasteful and we’ve been going through a lot of them lately, so I wanted to try and make them at home.
I found a couple recipes online but one was extremely bland and the other called for a ton of sugar, so I came up with a variation of the two. After a few test runs, I’ve settled on this recipe. I made three batches today and i have to say…they’re pretty yummy. They taste mostly of coconut oil, so if you leave that out, or used refined coconut oil (which has no flavor), they will just taste like baby cereal.
Homemade purees would be even healthier and better for the environment, but I got these pouches for $0.50 each because they were about to expire, so I wanted to use them up. This is a great way to sneak veggies into the puffs because the coconut oil and apple sauce give the puffs most of their flavor. So don’t be afraid to use whatever you have on hand!
Disclaimer: If you like my recipe, click the links below and I’ll get a little dough. (When you click on the affiliate links below, I will receive an itty bitty commission from Amazon.com.)
HOMEMADE BABY PUFFS RECIPE
(c=cup; t=teaspoon; T=tablespoon)
INGREDIENTS:
1 c happy bellies organic brown rice cereal with probiotics
1 T unrefined coconut oil
1/2 pouch of apple sauce (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)
1/2 of veggie pouch (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)
2 egg whites
1 t baking powder
2-4 T filtered water
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, line a few baking sheets with parchment paper, and line a glass with a quart size ziplock bag.
1.) Melt coconut oil on low heat and pour in a small mixing bowl.
2.) Add 1/2 pouch of apple sauce, 1/2 pouch of veggies, and egg whites to the oil and mix.
3.) Add wet ingredients to rice cereal in a large mixing bowl and combine.
4.) Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 2-4 tablespoons of water and mix. (Amount of water needed may vary based on type of rice cereal used and the consistency of your vegetable puree. Add each tablespoon one at atime. If too watery, please add more rice cereal.)
5.) Put your mixture into the ziplock bag, twist the top to push the mixture down into one corner of the bag, cut off the tip, and pipe pea-sized dots onto parchment paper.
6.) Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes (rotating pan half way so they cook evenly).
7.) Remove puffs from the oven and turn the oven down to 250 degrees.
8.) Bake again until crisped through (30-60 minutes).
9.) Let cool completely and store in an air tight container for 5-7 days.
*Cook time may vary. Cooling puffs completely before storing them will help prolong their crispiness.
Makes about 300 pea sized puffs.
FOR MY VISUAL LEARNERS:
UPDATE MARCH 20, 2015:
In an effort to answer some of your questions, I baked four more batches yesterday using oatmeal cereal without coconut oil or applesauce. Here’s the recipe that worked best for me. (I will say, without the applesauce and the coconut oil, these puffs are very bland. However, they bake faster and have a more airy texture so that’s nice.)
MAKES ABOUT 175 PUFFS:
(c=cup; t=teaspoon; T=tablespoon)
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 c happy bellies organic oatmeal cereal with probiotics
1/2 t baking powder
2 T filtered water
1/2 veggie pouch (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)
2 egg whites, beaten until frothy
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper, and line a glass with a quart size ziplock bag.
1.) Combine oatmeal cereal and baking powder in a medium bowl.
2.) Add water and vegetable puree to dry ingredients and combine.
3.) Whisk egg whites in a bowl until frothy (60 seconds).
4.) Gently mix in egg whites until combined.
5.) Scoop batter into a piping bag, and pipe pea sized dots onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
6.) Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until crispy. (Rotate baking sheet halfway through so they bake evenly.)
7.) Cool completely and store in an air tight container for 7-10 days.
*Cook time may vary. Cooling puffs completely before storing them will help prolong their crispiness.
<3,
L, M, & R
Thanks for posting! Do you think ground oatmeal would work in place of brown rice cereal?
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Absolutely! Do you ground the oats yourself, or is it store bought? If the consistency is very fine like the rice cereal, you should be able to follow this recipe exactly. I would just add each tablespoon of water at a time so you can control the texture of the batter.
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My LO is sensitive to eggs. Anything I can use as a substitute?
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Absolutely! Egg substitute:
1 T ground flax seed
3T water [per egg]
Stir with a fork and let sit in fridge for at least 15 minutes before using in place of an egg
Sidenote: I use my coffee grinder to grind the flax seed
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How long can one store these for? Most food pouches call to be thrown out after 24-72hrs…but they are baked so?
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Yes, they’re baked, so they’re good as long as any other homemade cookie, cracker, or baked good would be 🙂 One week max. You can store in the fridge if you’re more comfortable with that, but I just keep mine in a Tupperware on the counter. Those pouches can harbor bacteria and cause molding inside so that’s why they recommend you eat them within a couple days of opening. Thanks for the asking!!
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is it ok to use coconut oil? What about nut allergies? Any substitutes?
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Coconut is a fruit so you’re all clear! 🙂
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Thanks for this!
How old would you start feeding these to your baby?
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I would say once they have at least one tooth 🙂
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This is such a good idea! We did a taste test this morning, happy poofs vs homemade poofs, and homemade poofs won!
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That’s so awesome! I’m so glad to hear it!!!
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I don’t think my baby could gobble down 400 puffs in a week! Could you bake half of the dough and then freeze the rest and bake at a later time?
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I would try cutting the recipe in half. Or just put baking soda in the one half that you will bake. You have 20 minutes to bake the batter before the baking soda becomes inactive. Thaw the frozen batter, then add 1/2 of what the original recipe calls for of baking soda, mix, and pipe.
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when you say turn half way through do you mean flip the puffs over or turn the cookie sheet?
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Sorry I should have been clear…rotate cookie sheets. They are too soft after 5 mins to flip, sorry! They’re usually crisp enough to flip after baking for 10 minutes and once completely cooled before you put them back in at 200-250*. Thanks for the question!
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Any subs for apple sauce? I’m all out..😢
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Last time I was out too, so I just used a full “pouch” of vegetable puree 🙂
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Do you have to use the coconut oil i dont have any
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You can use one egg white in place of the tablespoon of coconut oil, but you may have to use more cereal. Please see my update above to see how I made the puffs without coconut oil or applesauce 🙂 Thanks!
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Do you have to use the coconut oil or is there something else to use?
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I’ve been meaning to try it with just one full egg in place of the coconut oil, but haven’t yet. So maybe one egg and one egg white? I’ll let you know when I do!
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How would you do if using 2nd stage baby food in jars verses the pouches
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I finally measured…each pouch is 5 tablespoons so if you’re using baby food jars, you would need 2 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable puree and 2 1/2 tablespoons of applesauce.
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You can use one egg white in place of the tablespoon of coconut oil, but you may have to use more cereal. Please see my update above to see how I made the puffs without coconut oil or applesauce 🙂 Thanks!
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thank you for this recipe! My baby boy loves these💚
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Do these melt in the mouth? Will the recipe change if I beat more air into the dough?
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They definitely break down nicely. They’re not as airy as the store bought stuff. You could maybe try beating the egg whites and folding them into the rest of the batter to make them more airy? Perhaps omit the coconut oil and use more egg whites or Apple sauce? The oil does kind of weigh them down a bit but I love the flavor and health benefits it gives them 🙂
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You really mean to bake for another 30-60 minutes?
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Yes. I found baking them low and slow helps prevent them from cooking the outside before the inside is done. That being said, I just did three batches today without the apple sauce or the coconut oil and I beat the egg white until frothy before folding them into the batter, and they cooked up at 350 degrees in 30 minutes without turning the oven down to 250.
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Thank you so much for sharing this!! We are giving it a try tonight along with another few DIY puff recipes I found on the internet. Yours looks like it will be the perfect texture for my 8 month old, and I’m relieved to see healthy ingredients! 🙂
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Good luck! Hope your LO likes them!
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