Broccoli and Cottage Cheese Baby Muffins — Finger Food for 12 Months and Older

Boil the broccoli florets in water for six minutes, then drain, rinse with cold water, and drain thoroughly. Finely chop them with a knife into pieces roughly 2 mm across. Do not blend them: pureed broccoli releases water into the batter and makes the muffins collapse in the oven.

Beat the eggs until foamy. Mix in the cottage cheese and olive oil, then sift in the flour. Fold in the chopped broccoli last. No baking powder is used; air trapped in the beaten eggs lifts the batter, so do not overmix it.

Fill each well of a twelve-well mini muffin tin three-quarters full. If you use paper liners, remove them before serving to a baby; the paper liner could be put in the mouth.

Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C / 355°F for twenty-two minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, and the top should spring back when pressed with a finger. If the tops are browned but the centers are still wet, bake for five more minutes.

Once cool, remove the muffins from the tin and transfer them to a wire rack. Serve the baby a whole muffin; do not cut it in half, as cut muffins crumble in the hand.