Ever since Mini SGCC’s accident, it has been a crazy, hectic time around here! Most of my time has been filled up with driving her back and forth to school, taking her to doctor’s appointments, physical therapy and everywhere else she needs to go. In the midst of all that, Mr. SGCC had the audacity to develop pneumonia. Can you imagine? What nerve! And, let’s not forget that we also had to get through the Holidays, which managed to pop up at the most inconvenient time. Just between you and me, I feel like I’m living in a house of cards.
Cooking these days has consisted of throwing things together and dropping them on the table. Trust me, there hasn’t been much I’ve wanted to share with you. Those leisurely days of simmering, braising and roasting as I snapped photos along the way seem like a distant memory. I know that eventually I’ll be able to get back into my normal routine, but it ain’t happening anytime soon. And, boy is it frustrating!
One interesting thing that I did manage to make are these healthy and delicious breakfast cookies. They’re made with whole wheat flour, and are chock full of great breakfast-type ingredients like rolled oats, Cheerios, peanut butter and bananas. To keep them a little healthier, I only used a minimal amount of butter, adding moisture with mashed bananas and applesauce. Of course, the benefit of that was probably canceled out when I decided to add chocolate chips. Oh well. It’s the thought that counts… isn’t it?
Breakfast cookies are a great alternative to packaged granola bars. They’re self-contained and portable, so you can grab one on the go. They’re also full of wholesome, all natural ingredients, which you can customize according to your own tastes. Plus, who doesn’t love the idea of having cookies for breakfast?
These breakfast cookies are very easy to make. All you do is mix together your wet ingredients, mix together your dry ingredients, then put them all together and bake. The cookies are dense and chewy, with a little crunch from the cereal. I’m not saying that they’ll ever edge out a gooey glazed doughnut as my breakfast of choice, but they’re a satisfying alternative. And honestly, at 6:00 in the morning, I could chew on a cardboard box and not really know the difference!
Peanut Butter and Banana Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 medium ripe banana, mashed
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup whole grain cheerios or brown crisped rice cereal
- 1 cup additional add-ins like dried fruits, nuts, coconut or chocolate chips
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cream butter, brown sugar, banana and applesauce together in an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and mix until combined.
3. Add vanilla and peanut butter and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
5. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix just until combined.
6. Stir in rolled oats, cheerios and other add-ins.
7. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop out 1/4 cup portions and place two inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat. Press down on each cookie to slightly flatten. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.
8. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
Cookies will keep up to three days in an airtight container, or up to one month in the freezer.
Makes approximately 18 hefty cookies.
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• 32 Comments
Filed Under: Baking, Breakfast and Brunch, Cookies and Brownies, Grains, Healthy Eating, Recipes
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On January 13, 2012 at 11:15am, Erin said...
Any excuse to eat cookies for breakfast is fine by me!
On January 13, 2012 at 11:17am, Rosa said...
A marvelous idea! those reakfast cookies look irresistible.
Cheers,
Rosa
On January 13, 2012 at 12:52pm, mrsblocko said...
No, chocolate is healthy too. Antioxidants, doncha know!
Hang in there, this too shall pass. I hope everyone recovers quickly!
Ps These cookies look awesome!
On January 13, 2012 at 3:43pm, Susan said...
Ah ha! I didn’t think of that. Good point!
On January 13, 2012 at 1:07pm, Joanna said...
Susan, I miss your frequent posts, BUT! it is certainly right for you to be spending your energies around the mini and Mr. I only regret for you the busy-ness and hectic days you’re plowing thru. It will pass and you’ll get your life back. Patience. Perseverance. You have those tools within you. Just getting practiced a lot! I saved this to Evernote. Looks like a winner for both kids and myself. I hope to get these baked this week-end!
On January 13, 2012 at 3:45pm, Susan said...
Thanks, Joanna. I keep telling myself the same things.
On January 15, 2012 at 7:43pm, Joanna said...
My second batch is in the oven. I considered doubling the batch, but decided 18 were plenty, even with plans to share them at work tomorrow. Well, the raw batter was so very good, I decided before putting everything away and cleaning the dishes, to make a second batch for the freezer. The first batch, I used dark chocolate chips as my add in. The second batch is mixture of coconut, sunflower seeds, and blueberry flavored craisins (simply because that’s what other options I had on hand). These are definitely making me smile. Just a surprise- when picking up cheerios, I discovered they now make peanut butter cheerios. Who knew?! Nice plus for this recipe. Thanks, Susan. Another winner from your kitchen to mine - appreciate it.
On January 13, 2012 at 1:12pm, LyB said...
I love that you put Cheerios in your cookies, such a great idea! I know a few kiddos who would love these in the morning!
On January 13, 2012 at 1:19pm, Blog is the New Black said...
“Breakfast” cookie reeled me in! 😉
On January 13, 2012 at 1:31pm, Rachel (S[d]OC) said...
What a great idea. Much better than a boring bowl of cold cereal!
On January 13, 2012 at 1:39pm, Nancy G. said...
You pictures look like you topped the cookies with either turbinado sugar or sea salt? I think either would be tasty, but was curious what you used.
On January 13, 2012 at 3:47pm, Susan said...
Come to think of it, I did sprinkle some turbinado sugar on a few of the cookies to see if it added any crunch. I didn’t see a noticeable difference though. I always put a little sea salt on top of my oatmeal raisin cookies. I love them that way!
On January 13, 2012 at 10:32pm, Katrina said...
Mmm what a fun breakfast idea! Gotta love when things get crazy! haha
On January 15, 2012 at 12:57am, Dana B said...
These look yummy! I hope you all are doing better soon!!
On January 15, 2012 at 9:54am, Emily said...
These are AWESOME!! Your photos won me over and I just had to make them Friday night. They’ve been the perfect breakfast to grab before weekend spin classes. I’m looking forward to playing around with different add-ins. Thanks for sharing!
On January 15, 2012 at 1:19pm, Mommyof2Girlz/StephD said...
This sounds/looks amazing and just what I am looking for to make for a grab and go item. Thanks for sharing
On January 15, 2012 at 8:55pm, Michelle @ Brown Eyed Baker said...
Ooooh, these are right up my alley! Banana, peanut butter, chocolate, YUM! Can’t wait to give these a try. I hope your family gets healthy soon!
On January 18, 2012 at 4:37am, Bea said...
I made these yesterday, without chocolate but with chopped peanuts and raisins. They are YUMMY! Could hardly stop eating them. A great, healthy recipe
On January 27, 2012 at 11:02am, Kris said...
These turned out great - despite the fact that I left out the eggs! You might want to review your recipe directions - when to add the egg is missing. Even though I’m an experienced baker, making these with 4 excited kids (WHAT? Cookies for breakfast!?!?!?) left me in a bit of a mess and it wasn’t until the cookies came out of the oven that I went *forehead smack* “I forgot to add the eggs!”.
Definitely a big hit in our house this morning.
Also, I made these Gluten Free. I substituted the flours for a GF flour mix (I like King Arthur’s) and added 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum (this is a must in GF baking). Hope this helps someone on their GF journey!
Thanks for the fun recipe
On January 27, 2012 at 11:43am, Susan said...
Thanks so much for the heads up! I’ve corrected the recipe so hopefully, no one else will have any issues.
So glad you all enjoyed the cookies. And, thanks for the GF tips too.
On January 27, 2012 at 5:53pm, jenna said...
I am making these now! My only concern is where do the eggs get added? I see them on the list and not on the directions. I just threw them in, figuring that is where they go. Hope so!
On February 19, 2012 at 4:03pm, Jenni said...
Just took my first pan out of the oven. So good! I’m lazy in the morning and often eat granola bars or lara/luna/clif bars. I like being able to make something of my own that’s equally delicious. I used 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup coconut for the add-ins. Thanks for sharing!
On March 05, 2012 at 5:59pm, Liz said...
Hi Susan!
I work with the team at Cheerios on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Cheerios and was wondering if it would be ok with you if we post to this recipe from our wall? Its such a great post and the photos are fantastic.
Thanks for writing this,
Liz
On May 08, 2012 at 11:44pm, Melissa said...
Do you know how many calories are in these
On June 05, 2012 at 9:52am, Intisar said...
I made these yesterday morning with my 2 year old. I used biscoff spread instead of peanut butter. The family really likes them. Thanks for sharing!
On August 06, 2012 at 7:28am, Tracee said...
Do you know how many calories each cookie has and/or nutritional info? Thank you!! These are perfect for my kiddies breakfast and snack! I snuck in some Chia seeds as well!
On March 02, 2013 at 6:06am, Steph said...
Hi,
The recipe reminds me of of my fav recipe Banana Cream Pie with Caramel Sauce.
http://lickmyspoon.com/recipes/banana-cream-pie-with-chocolate-ganache-salted-caramel-sauce/
Its heavenly good. Thanks for posting this.
On March 18, 2013 at 10:30pm, Autumn said...
These look yummy. I was just wondering if you happened to know how many calories there are in a serving size?
On June 03, 2013 at 4:34pm, Tara said...
I analyzed my cookies (mix-ins were 1/3 cup cinnamon chips (kinda like chocolate chips) and 2/3 cup Craisins) and they were about 240 calories each. They are HUGE and filling! I eat them for breakfast if I have to get up too early to make anything decent, or sometimes I have one for an afternoon snack or as dessert.