Gluten Free, Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

As many of you know, I recently visited General Mills' headquarters in Minneapolis, MN. As part of my visit, I was given the opportunity to create any recipe of my choosing (using cereal as one ingredient) in the Betty Crocker test kitchens - which are immaculate and filled with every cooking tool and ingredient you can imagine.

Since Cascadian Farm Organic is one of General Mills' brands, and I give Layla their "Purely O's" on a regular basis as an after dinner snack/treat, I decided that would be a perfect ingredient in a healthy breakfast cookie recipe, since I've been wanting to make one for a while.

I had my choice of every ingredient under the sun...

And so I chose: bananas, ground flax seed, peanut butter, almond butter, coconut oil, vanilla extract, rolled oats, Cascadian Farm Purely O's (ground into a flour), almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, walnuts and dark chocolate chips.

The Ingredients

Adapted from Minimalist Baker

• 2 medium ripe bananas
• 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 5 Tbsp water)
• 1/4 cup natural, salted peanut butter
• 1/4 cup natural, salted almond butter
• 2 Tbsp refined coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1.5 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup Purely O's flour (Cascadian Farm Purely O's ground into a flour)
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 Tbsp raw walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (non-dairy for vegan)

(Note: to make these gluten free, use gluten free rolled oats, and gluten free oat flour instead of the ground up Purely O's).

The Directions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine flax seed and water and let rest for at least 5 minutes to achieve an "eggy" texture.

Step 2: In a food processor, combine bananas, peanut butter, almond butter, baking powder, baking soda, melted coconut oil, and vanilla. Process until combined.

Step 3: Pour the mixture into a bowl, and add oats, almond meal, Purely O's flour (or oat flour), "Flax Eggs", and walnuts - mix well. Refrigerate for 5 minutes to harden.

Step 4: Drop cookies by spoonfuls (I used a small ice cream scoop) on a lightly greased baking sheet (or one lined with parchment paper), and press them out a little to expand (they won't expand in the oven). After you've pressed the cookies, add 1 tsp chocolate chips on top of each one.

Step 5: Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden brown.

Step 6: Once the cookies are done, let them rest for a few minutes before serving. These will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container, even longer if refrigerated and even longer if frozen.

These cookies were absolutely delicious. Not too sweet, with just the right amount of chocolate to feel decadent, but still be really good for you! Grab two of these in the morning before heading out for the day, and it's equivalent to a small bowl of oatmeal.

Ingredients

Directions

Notes