Cookies for Breakfast

I love breakfast. It’s my favorite meal of the day. But sometimes I’m in a big hurry to get to work, so I don’t have time to sit down and eat, much less prepare anything. Because donuts and drive-throughs are really not my favorite thing, I like to have something healthy to grab and go on those busy days. Enter: Breakfast Cookies.

This breakfast cookie recipe has become a go-to item for me. It meets all of my criteria for a fast bite on the way out the door. First, it’s full of healthy stuff. It’s good, and it pairs well with coffee. And, if your kids aren’t drinking coffee yet, the cookies are very nice with a glass of milk. And what kid wouldn’t want to eat cookies for breakfast? They also make a great after-school snack.

I don’t know yet if they freeze well because my husband eats them pretty quickly. And we like to eat them for a good little energy boost before a long run.

The nice thing about this recipe is that you can tweak it to fit your taste. For example, if you don’t like walnuts, try pecans. If you don’t want to add apricots, add raisins, dates, dried cherries, cranberries, dried apple pieces or a combination. You can also stir up the batter, bake half and put the rest in a covered container in the refrigerator to make in the next day or two.

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Carrot Oat Breakfast Cookies

• ½ cup unbleached flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• ½ coconut oil, melted enough to stir
• ½ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 2/3 cup shredded carrots
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup dried apricots, cut into small bits

Preheat the oven to 375 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the flours, oats, baking powder, spices and salt until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and coconut oil until well combined. Add the coconut, carrots, walnuts and dried fruit to the syrup and oil and mix well. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until well combined and it forms a dough.

Drop Tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between cookies. Bake until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom, about 10 or 12 minutes. It depends on how big your cookies are. I like to make mine bigger – more like two tablespoons. Transfer to a wire rack to cool