These baked mozzarella sticks are deliciously goo-ey and make a great snack food for older babies to eat with their fingers!
We recommend these from about 12 months plus, as they have rather a crunch to them (we actually served them as a party food on our youngest daughter’s first birthday!).
Traditionally considered to be rather an unhealthy food, our mozzarella sticks are baked (rather than fried) and we’ve incorporated some whole grain goodness into the coating.
If you would like to prepare this recipe for children older than two years, then it’s a good idea to substitute the cheese for a lower fat variety.
We used store-bought mozzarella sticks (the ‘string cheese’ type) to make these. I must admit, we usually avoid processed cheese – finding it horribly bland and distinctly lacking in ‘yum’ factor compared to ‘real’ cheese – but string cheese works really well in this recipe. The moisture content of the cheese is spot on and it melts very quickly, which is important!
To Make Herby Baked Mozzarella Sticks for Baby You Will Need…
4 mozzarella sticks
1 egg, beaten
3 oz (3/4 cup) whole wheat bread crumbs
2 tbsp wheat germ
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried parsley
good pinch of garlic powder
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Mix the bread crumbs with the wheat germ, herbs, pepper and garlic powder in a shallow dish.
Take a mozzarella stick and dip it into the egg, making sure it’s coated all over, then roll it in the bread crumbs. Dip it in the egg again, then coat it with the crumbs again – repeating this step gives the good, thick coating you need.
Place the sticks in a single layer on a baking sheet, cover loosely with foil and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
About 10 minutes before the hour is up, preheat the oven to 350 def F (180 deg C).
Spray the sticks lightly with olive oil and bake for around 7-8 minutes (keep a close eye on the sticks so they don’t melt completely!).
Cool and serve with a simple homemade tomato sauce (we just saute a couple of fresh tomatoes with a little olive oil… mmm!).
If you like to cook ahead, freeze the mozzarella sticks AFTER coating them but BEFORE baking.
Catherine Forbes
Tuesday 2nd of October 2012
sounds delicious - just don't want to turn the cooker on until December! trying to stay cool x