CEiMB: Breakfast Cookies

Cookies for breakfast? Yes please!

I've always been a breakfast cookie fan. Erin Baker's Breakfast Cookies are from the town where I grew up. In fact, I was a personal assistant for a short time and would almost weekly drive to their little production kitchen (when they were still a small company) and pick up 4 dozen for my boss. Yes, he ate that many.

Of course, Baker's Breakfast Cookies are all over the place these days (even Costco!). I've always wanted to try my hand at making breakfast cookies - because seriously, who wants to drop $1.50 per cookie? Not me.

I have to say, I am SO happy with how these cookies turned out. I was a little skeptical, as I always am with anything perceived to be a 'healthy' baked good. But really, these are REALLY good.

I did make a couple of substitutions - I used chocolate chunks and dried cranberries in lieu of raisins and walnuts. My son hasn't tried nuts yet and I wanted him to be able to have a cookie or two without the worry of sending him into anaphylactic shock. Plus, HELLO? Chocolate. Always necessary in most cookies involving oatmeal.

I also used some baby puree from the freezer leftover from when G was still eating strained foods. There were a few varieties to choose from - yams were tempting - but I settled on a pear and carrot mix.

The original recipe is here. And the recipe with my substitutions is below:

Gather:

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup carrot and pear puree (you could used jarred baby food)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes (I used Wheaties, I had them in the house)
1/3 cup chocolate chunks
1/3 cup dried cranberries (I bet dried cherries would be FANTASTIC!)

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

A few notes:

- Double the recipe and freeze the cookies for a quick and healthy breakfast
- Please try the freshly grated nutmeg. It is SO much better than the pre-ground stuff, and whole nutmeg keeps FOREVER in you cupboard. Just sayin.
- These are good enough to pass for a real cookie - not just for breakfast!

Head on over to Craving Ellie in My Belly for more reviews and recipes.