Breakfast-Friendly Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

When is it okay to have cookies for breakfast? No, this isn't the first line of a riddle, nor is it a trick question. The answer is, it's fine as long as they're the right kind of cookies. Recipe developer Deniz Vergara's oatmeal cookies, she says, are breakfast-friendly because they're "made with healthy unprocessed ingredients," so eating them is kind of like having a big bowl of raisin-filled oatmeal along with a side of unsweetened applesauce. "Of course, these breakfast cookies aren't just for breakfast," she adds, and tells us she likes having them as a post-workout snack, as well.

Vergara notes that these gluten-free vegan breakfast cookies are not only easy to make, but can be customized by adding different types of mix-ins like nuts, craisins, or pepitas. She also adds that a mashed banana could be used in place of applesauce and oat flour can be used in place of almond flour, although she does not recommend using all-purpose flour.

As these cookies are egg and dairy-free, they get moisture from applesauce and almond butter. They're sweetened with maple syrup or honey, flavored with almond extract and cinnamon, get their bulk from oats (Vergara uses the old-fashioned kind), and have raisins as a mix-in. Additional ingredients include baking powder, baking soda, salt, and almond flour.

Set the oven to 350 F. As it heats up, you'll have plenty of time to make the cookie dough. Start by mixing the "wets": applesauce, almond butter, maple syrup, and almond extract. Now add the "dries": the oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir just enough to mix everything together, then fold in the almond flour followed by the raisins.

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper, then proceed to form 15 cookies. Vergara likes to use a scoop measuring about ¼ cup (a measuring cup will work just fine) to help with this. Plop those cookies on the pan, making sure to space them as evenly as possible, then squish them down to flatten them out.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, then let them cool before you take them off the pan. Once they've cooled, you may store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. If you won't be eating them so quickly, you can also freeze them. As Vergara advises, "You can just pop [the frozen cookies] in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up."