Breakfast Cookies

When I first realized there was a whole world of food blogs out there, Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy was one of the first that I started reading.    I've been striving to make a bigger commitment to breakfast and have been trying out some new recipes in that direction (cereal bars, mighty muffins, migas, etc.  I saw the recipe for Peanut Butter and Banana Breakfast Cookies earlier this year on Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy and printed it out for a future baking.   The future is now here.    And it confirms what I've always known:  I can bake almost any kind of cookie successfully, except traditional chocolate chip.

What You Need

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 medium ripe banana, mashed

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup chunky peanut butter - I used the Kroger brand Honey Nut Chunky PB....so good!
3/4 cup whole wheat flour - Buying this flour makes me committed to healthier baking
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 honey nut O's (not Cheerios per se, but they were made using wind energy, so I felt good about myself)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut

What You Do
Good news - no Denver altitude problems or adjustments needed for this recipe!

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream butter, brown sugar, banana and applesauce together in an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add eggs and mix until combined.  Then add vanilla and peanut butter and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix just until combined.  Stir in rolled oats, cheerios, chocolate and coconut.

I don't have an ice cream scoop, so I just used a 1/4 cup measuring cup and a spoon to scoop them onto the silicone mat on my cookie sheet.  I could fit 6 per batch.   I formed them to look a little bit uniform and then pressed down to flatten them just a bit.   Bake for 18 minutes and cool on a wire rack.  I laugh that SGCC's description is "makes 18 hefty cookies."  Hefty is an apt description.   But it's breakfast, so you need something substantial to start your day.

Well, cool most of them.  You probably want to eat one straight out of the oven while the chocolate is still melty.   Or dip it in your coffee.   I think this recipe is amazing and can't wait to try it with other mix-ins.

I posted the picture of these cookies  for my friends on Facebook on Sunday and it persuaded another friend to make a donation to my Bike MS ride in return for me making her a batch of breakfast cookies.

Click here to read about my 2012 Bake MS Campaign

Click here to make a donation to my 150 mile ride in June