Build Your Own Breakfast Cookie

This past week I purchased carob chips for the first time in my life, as I was making a treat for a friend's dog and learned that chocolate is a no-no for pooches. I gave some of the chips to the kids on a whim, fully expecting that they would be promptly spat upon the table as my children dealt with the treachery of being given imitation chocolate. Imagine my surprise when they begged for more and continued to ask for carob chips every day since.  I was raised by a wonderful mother who was and is fiercely loyal to chocolate and all things sugar, who taught me at a young age that carob was an unpalatable chocolate imitation that only self-punishing "no-sugar moms" would eat. Who would have thought that I would so betray my roots and raise these carob-loving children and be feeding them sugar-free breakfast cookies. I hope my mother does not think of me as her own worst kitchen nightmare.

In my defense, I am not so pure as to be a "no-sugar mom," but I do always want my cookies to be healthier than everyone else in the family seems to prefer.  If I call my creations "breakfast cookies,"though, then everyone recognizes that they are not dessert cookies and is just happy that they are eating cookies for breakfast. I have seen a number of breakfast cookie recipes on various blogs, but they always seem to be more on the cookie side and less on the breakfast side to me. So, be warned: my idea of a breakfast cookie is like portable oatmeal, not a cookie that you eat for breakfast just because someone added flax seed and maple syrup to a Tollhouse cookie or some nonsense like that. Believe it or not, a breakfast-y treat like this can be tasty and kid-approved without any added sugar or oil.

Here is the basic formula, with some variations we have enjoyed. This makes 10-12 standard size cookies.

Basic Recipe
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. stevia powder
1/4 cup dried fruit (If the fruit is not particularly soft, soak it in boiling water for 10 mins. and then drain)
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup applesauce, mashed banana, pumpkin, cooked sweet potato, or other fresh fruit or a combination thereof
1 Tbsp. tahini or sunflower seed butter
optional add-ins: 2-3 Tbsp. additional dried fruit, carob chips, mini-chocolate chips, hemp or sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the quinoa, oats, stevia, salt, and cinnamon, if using,  to your food processor and pulse just until combined and oats are ground up some but not quite flour. Add your wet ingredients and buzz until combined. Your batter will be a bit thinner than regular cookies but thicker than muffin batter. Stir in any optional add-ins. Drop large spoonfuls onto your prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottoms. Let cool on wire racks for 5-10 mins. before enjoying.

Apple-Sweet Potato Variation
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. stevia powder
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water for 10 mins. and drained
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup cooked sweet potato,
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. hemp seeds

Carob-Berry Variation 

1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. stevia powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup prunes
1/2 cup blackberries and/or blueberries
1/4 cup applesauce or pumpkin
1 Tbsp. sunflower seed butter
2 Tbsp. carob powder
3 Tbsp. carob chips

My little cookie-munchers, loving life!

This recipe is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesday Whole Food Fridays Wellness Weekend Healthy Vegan Fridays