Gluten Free Breakfast Cookies Recipe
Happy 2013! I hope your year is off to a good start. Personally, I have a very good feeling about this coming year and I look forward to seeing how it all unfolds.
The beginning of a year is typically the time for resolutions. Mine have been pretty much the same year after year so I have decided I am not really a resolution person. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about setting goals and working towards the achievement of those goals. But resolutions? Not so much.
The word “resolution” seems so absolute. You resolve to do something or stop doing something. And then if one does not achieve that absolute, one feels like a failure. So I take a different approach. I look at areas in my life I feel could use improvement and I strive to make changes towards the better. This way I set myself up to win, not lose. (And just for the record, I hate losing!)
Eating breakfast is an area in my life that could use a little improvement. I tend to hit the ground running, fueled with coffee and confidence. All starts out OK but then the crash comes; I feel tired and hungry and grumpy and I know it could have all been avoided if I had just eaten some breakfast!
In my effort to improve on this aspect of my life I decided to make things for breakfast that are simple to prepare and simple to consume; things that could be consumed either on the run or leisurely over a cup of coffee. I also decided to re-think my breakfast options; try to get good nutrition in ways that I find more acceptable in the morning. So of course I thought of cookies!
I like cookies. I like cookies for breakfast. In fact I would probably eat breakfast everyday if I could just have cookies. Well, now I can!
The basic ingredients of these gluten free breakfast cookies are gluten-free oats, smashed bananas, unsweetened applesauce, freeze dried fruit, and a touch of honey or maple syrup. From there you can create any flavor combination you can dream of.
I like to combine freeze dried raspberries and mango and throw in some roasted, salted pumpkin seeds. My husband likes the combination of freeze dried pineapple and coconut. The g-kids like freeze dried strawberries with slivered almonds and a small touch of chopped dark chocolate (of course!)
Cookies that are high in fiber, gluten, dairy and refined sugar free, easy to make, guilt-free, and yummy to boot? I can’t think of a better way to start my day!
Gluten Free Breakfast Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 bananas
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1½ cups certified gluten-free oats
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups freeze dried fruit
- ½ cup seeds nuts, or coconut flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Put the bananas in a large mixing bowl and smash with a fork. Stir in the apple sauce. Add the oats, salt, honey or maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Put the freeze dried fruit in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin until the largest pieces are about ¼ inch big. Stir the crushed fruit and seeds, nuts, or coconut flakes into the mixture and let sit from 10 – 30 minutes.
- Drop about 2 tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets for each cookie (I use a # 40 ice cream scoop for this), spacing them about an inch and a half apart. Flatten the cookies and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until browned and fragrant. Let cool on the pans for 10 minutes.
- Store cookies in an air tight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
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Carol – thank you so much for your wonderful emails. As I have stumbled my way through being gluten free (and feeling like I was in the dark most of the time!) you have truly been a shining ray of hope that maybe eating this way can actually be delicious without having to eat strange foods that are unknown to man! (or at least to me!) Thank you Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Aww Pam, thank you for your lovely words! The journey gets easier, trust me!
Hi Carol, Happy New Year! These cookies sound really great and so tasty but I cannot eat the GF Oats. Could I replace them with Quinoa Flakes or something else? I too love cookies, they are so easy to eat and run. Thanks. Lynne
Hi Lynne, I think that quinoa flakes would be my first choice of substitution. I haven’t tried it but I think it will work. Happy New Year to you too!
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Cookies for breakfast? Sign me up!!!
OK, done! :)
Hi Carol. Can regular dried fruit be substituted? I don’t have freeze dried fruit on hand.
Sure! Use any kind you have on hand or like.
carol, if you could create the cookie, I spoke to your secretary at magazine often about I would be so grateful, whole foods, nutmeal raisin cookies, I’d love to bake these they are being discontinued, and my favorite!
Hi Judith! Yes, she did mention it. I have the ingredients I just haven’t had a chance since I’ve been just swamped! But I will get to it, don’t worry. :)
xo,
Carol
These sound so great! I am wondering though, do they taste like banana?? I do not like banana, so wish I did! Would there be another fruit you would suggest that I could use to replace the banana? Thanks :)
Hi Genevieve,
They do taste like banana…the banana gives them moisture and sort of holds them together. I would say you could try maybe peanut butter or another pureed fruit or possibly pumpkin. I’ve never tried any of those myself but if you do let me know how they turn out! xo, Carol
how many calories per cookie?
Hi Raeann,
The calorie count may depend on a few things, such as whether you use seeds, nuts, or coconut flakes, whether you use honey or maple syrup, and possibly on the brand of freeze-dried fruit. But, I used a handy calorie calculator and plugged in coconut flakes, honey, and “tropical freeze dried crunchies” (the closest thing to what I used), and got 106 calories each. Click here to see the results and then you can edit this depending on the specific ingredients you use. Hope this helps!
xo,
Carol
Hi, wondering how much peanut butter I would use in place of bananas
Hi Pam,
I’ve never tried it with peanut butter in place of bananas, but 2 mashed bananas is about 2/3 cup, so maybe start with 1/3 cup and mix it up, then add another 1/3 cup if you find you need more. Better to start with less and add then start with too much!