Weekday mornings can be a bit hectic at our house. We seem to always be short on time, but I am definitely one of those people who needs a few precious minutes for coffee and something to eat. Or else. To put it nicely, without them, I'm not exactly a joy to be around in the morning. My husband will gladly verify that fact. So I'm always trying to come up with easy ideas to keep things interesting. Because no one wants a boring breakfast!
So these Breakfast Cookies have quickly become a go-to option. You can whip up a batch whenever you have time so they're ready to go during the week. All you need are two bowls and a wooden spoon or spatula. No need to get out the mixer or anything fancy. They keep well for several days in a sealed container at room temperature, or freeze them and then just pop one in the microwave whenever you need one.
And now for the fun part! There are so many options for the dried fruit and nut mix-ins. The possibilities for building your own mix and match breakfast cookies are endless -- so play around with the recipe until you've got the perfect formula for you! Here are a few of our favorite combinations:
These cookies are kind of like a cross between a muffin and a chewy oatmeal cookie, but they're packed full of good-for-you ingredients, like oats, flaxseed and banana, so you can feel good about eating them for breakfast. I made them nice and big, so they keep me full for quite some time. However, depending on your own preferences, you can absolutely make them smaller. Just start checking a few minutes earlier while in the oven so that you don't over-bake them.
Cookies for breakfast? I'll take it!
This post was originally published on June 23, 2014
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 ¼ cups rolled oats
- ⅓ cup ground flaxseeds, also known as flaxseed meal
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt, like sea salt or kosher salt
- ⅓ cup mashed banana, about 1 medium ripe banana
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ½ cup honey
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ½ cup dried fruit or dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- ½ cup nuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, ground flaxseeds, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, add the mashed banana, egg, honey, coconut oil, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Fold in the chia seeds along with the dried fruit and nuts of your choice. The dough will be thick.
- Scoop ¼ cup of dough and drop it onto the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten the cookies to about 3 inches wide (they will not spread much during baking). Bake until golden brown and set, 13 to 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for several days, or freeze in a zipper bag.
lalf says
I’ve made this recipe about 20 times now. The first two times, I made it exactly according to the instructions, using a LARGE pan and parchment paper. The dough always turned out more loose than the recipe describes or shows, and in baking — with 1.5+ inches between them — the cookies spread enough to run into each other. I cook a lot, and this kind of thing rarely happens, so I was perplexed, but not defeated. Slightly mounding the dry ingredients in measurement helped some with the spreading. But allowing the dough to sit for a bit so that the chia seeds could do their 'magical thickening thing’ has also helped.
Since I make these once a week (my husband loves them with coffee), I’m now trying out a muffin-top pan for the baking so that I’m not using such a huge amount of (expensive) parchment paper — and to help to contain the spread.
Also, since the cookies bake for a relatively short time, I’ve found that roasting the nuts (I use a combination of hazelnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds) before adding them to the dough gives a much more flavorful cookie.
So healthy, these cookies! — they remind me very much of Clotilde Dusoulier’s "Healthy Breakfast Oatmeal Cookies Recipe" from her blog, Chocolate & Zucchini.
Ashley Jennings says
Well I'm certainly glad you like them enough to make them 20 times!! Roasting the nuts sounds like a great addition!
That's strange that they are spreading so much for you during baking, I haven't had that happen to me (and I've made them a ton too!). My only other thought is to maybe let the coconut oil cool down some after melting so it's not hot (if you aren't already doing that). Or even chill the dough for a bit. I haven't tried it with these cookies, but I do it with others to help them bake up thicker.
lalf says
Thanks, Ashley, I might try chilling the dough a bit beforehand. I think the chia seeds as a thickening agent seem to be doing the best job, though, if I let the dough sit for 5 or 10 minutes before forming the cookies. Also, It's warm where I live, so I haven't had to melt my coconut oil; it's often already liquid in the jar when I buy it.
Along with the well-roasted hazelnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds i use in the cookies, I add a dried fruit combination of cherries, blueberries and snipped apricots. I also sub 1/2 tsp of my pumpkin pie spice for the 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Thanks again for this recipe. Love the many possible iterations!
Terri says
Hi - These look wonderful and healthy but have a question. Have you tried a gluten free version? Wondered if you could use coconut flour for the wheat flour? Thanks!!!
Ashley Jennings says
Hi Terri! I've made a slightly different (but pretty similar) recipe with almond flour in place of the wheat flour and that worked out well for me. I think oat flour could also work here (although I haven't tried that myself).
Coconut flour tends to be super absorbent and requires a lot more moisture, so I don't think that would be a great sub in this case (without changing other ingredients as well). Hope that helps!
Anie says
To all busy parents out there, this is THE breakfast cookie recipe! To save on dish washing, I beat all wet ingredients in a big bowl and SPRINKLE the dry ingredient on top. Mix again (not too much) and add nuts and fruit. If your kids are going to a nut free school, it is easy to use seeds. Also, for special occasions, I add one or two tablespoon of good Dutch process cacao powder. Finally, if like me, you cut down sugar, use a bigger banana and add only 1/3 cup of honey. Kids happy, Mom happy!!! 🙂
Ashley Jennings says
Oh I'm so glad to hear you enjoy them! I love the sound of adding the cocoa powder - I'm going to have to try that next time I make them.
Corey Cananza says
I’ve tried all three diets- veganism, vegetarianism, and a meat diet and I’ve always felt the healthiest with a vegan diet. Eating meat always made my energy levels decline and milk and eggs did the same but to a lesser degree. Plenty of protein can be found in so many natural vegan sources so the myth that vegans don’t get enough protein is wrong too. Keep up your good work.
Kim says
What did you use in place of the egg? I'm recently vegan too, but not an experienced cook.
Ashley Jennings says
Hey Kim! While we haven't tested it ourselves in this recipe, you could try using a flax egg in place of the egg (it should work here). So to replace one regular egg, use 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal and mix it with 3 tablespoons water. Let it sit for about 5 minutes and it will thicken up.