Sint Nicholas - Pakjesavond recipes - Tasty & healthy!

December 5 and the days before are very exciting for many children. What could be more fun than making treats for the evening together as a distraction. Let Betty's Kitchen now also have collected recipes that will not immediately make your children go crazy because of a sugar spike.

We have selected two recipes. Which are easy to make. Without too exotic ingredients, which are not available in every supermarket.

Healthy Sinterklaas smoothie

There is no ginger nut in this smoothie with fresh fruit, but it tastes like it! Without added sugars. Lactose & gluten free. Do you want the smoothie less sweet? Then halve the number of dates

Ingredients for 2 people

• 6 dates
• 2 bananas
• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons (raw) cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of linseed
• 2 tablespoons of biscuit or gingerbread spices
• 500-600 ml almond milk
• Small handful of (gluten-free) oatmeal
• Extra : blender (hand blender is also possible)

Preparation

1. Pit the dates and chop into pieces. Peel the banana and cut into slices. Scoop out the avocado and cut the flesh into cubes.
2. Put all ingredients in the blender and grind until you have a soft Sinterklaas smoothie. Feel free to vary the amount of almond milk, because the thickness of a smoothie is a personal preference.
3. Serve this Sinterklaas smoothie immediately.

Gluten-free spice nuts with quinoa

You can hardly taste any difference with the 'real' spice nuts! With this gluten-free version from The Great Sinterklaas Cookbook by Yolanda van der Jagt. Do you want the spice nuts less sweet? For 'sweet' recipes I use 1/3 to 50% less sugar. Without me getting a reaction that the sweetness is not sweet enough. But tastes differ of course!

Ingredients (for 40-45 spice nuts)

• 100 grams quinoa flour (if necessary, grind quinoa flakes into flour)
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar baking powder or 'regular' baking powder
• 50 grams of dark caster sugar, primal sugar (unrefined dried juice of sugar cane) or coconut blossom sugar (the latter gives fewer sugar peaks in your blood)
• 1.5 tablespoon gingerbread spices
• 40 grams butter at room temperature (or coconut oil for a vegan version)
• 2 tablespoons (vegetable) milk
• Extra: a baking tray covered with baking paper,

Preparation

1. Cut the butter or coconut oil (coconut oil will normally have a solid shape in winter) into cubes. Then knead the quinoa flour, baking powder, sugar, gingerbread spices, butter/coconut oil and milk together by hand into a compact dough ball. Place the dough in a bowl and refrigerate. The dough should rest for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees / 160 convection. Cover a baking tray with baking paper.
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll into balls the size of a marble. This recipe is sufficient for about 40-45 spice nuts.
4. Place the quinoa spice nuts on the baking tray. Make sure you keep a small space in between and flatten the balls a little with your thumb.
5. Place the baking tray in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown and done. Then let the quinoa spice nuts cool down on a wire rack. Store them in an airtight container.

Look for more tasty Sinterklaas recipes on Betty's Kitchen !

For grown-ups - spelled spice nuts with a tap

For the adults a delicious recipe from @JannekeVreugdenhil: Spelled spice nuts with a (rum) tap and pure chocolate topping .

A nice Saint!