Butternutty-Apple Fritters – An nice experimental finger food for babies

Last night I had one little butternut in the bin, hardly enough to bake up as a side dish.  I also had a Macintosh apple sitting on the counter that I pulled from the crisper because it was a bit bruised.

My intention was to make parsnip and carrot fritters but instead, I made use of the squash and apple and created some butternutty-apple fritters.

I made these “sweet” in that I used pumpkin pie spice but I think making them savory with thyme, ginger and sage would be super tasty.
I would serve these to babies 10 months+ only because the texture might be a bit difficult for younger babies to gum-up; Please use your own best judgement.

Butternutty-Apple Fritters

Ingredients
1 small-ish butternut squash, peeled & grated (about 3-4 cups)
1 medium macintosh apple, peeled & grated
1/3 cup flour
2 eggs – whisk them together (If you are staying away from egg whites, use 4 yolks)
2 tablespoons olive oil – for frying or baking
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice mix

Directions:
Grate the grate the butternut squash then grate the apple.  Be sure to grate the butternut semi-fine so that the “shavings” will cook to tender; I grated a bit too large on this go-round and the butternut was a rather al dente.

You can use a food processor to shred the squash and apple, just be sure to remove seeds/core.

Toss the squash and apple in a large bowl then add the flour and the spices – mix to combine
Stir in the eggs and mix to combint
Fold in the breadcrumbs then cook using either method below.

Frying:
In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat.
Drop 4-5 rounded tablespoonfuls of the fritter mixture into the skillet then flatten a bit.  Fry for approximately 5 minutes then turn the fritters over.  Fry for an additional 5 minutes, until golden all over and a bit crispy.
Remove from skillet to a plate covered with paper towels
Serve warm.

Baking:
Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil.  Bake in a 375F degree oven for 15-20 minutes, turning the fritters halfway through cooking time.  Fritters will be a golden color and may be a bit crispy around the edges.

Having made these both methods, I think I prefer the baked texture for little ones and the fried texture for older kids.

Serve with

a bit of maple syrup
yogurt mixed with cinnamon
sour cream
cottage cheese

Alternatively – skip the rest of the prep work and just steam the grated squash and apples & serve

Enjoy

Tags: apples, butternut squash, Fall, featured, finger food, fruits, More Baby Food Recipes, vegetables

Category: featured, Finger Foods, More Baby Food Recipes