By Melanie Pores
…a gift for you, your friends, your neighbors, or anyone for whom you’d like to provide a simple, healthy treat…
During this busy holiday season, in keeping with this Coop Scoop’s theme of “giving back,” my favorite healthy, high-protein, and high-fiber breakfast cookies can serve as a nutrient-dense way of “giving back,” not only to “your future self,” but also as a loving way to help nourish your family, friends, and neighbors.
Made with heart-healthy oats, seeds, nuts, and lots of plant-based protein, they offer a simple treat to share with anyone in need of a comforting, nutritious morning meal or a snack during the day.
You can make a double batch to share fresh or freeze for later; leave a bagged batch on a busy friend's doorstep; or perhaps drop a box off at a nearby food pantry or shelter. They are easy to pack and hand out individually without mess.
Melanie’s Favorite High Protein and High Fiber Breakfast Cookies
Makes 12 to 15 gluten-free, vegan cookies
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup vanilla plant-based protein powder or collagen powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup date powder or date sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup walnuts
Wet ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp almond butter
- 2 Tbsp light olive oil
- 3/4 cup soy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with silicone pad or parchment paper.
Mix Dry: In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, almond flour, protein powder, spices, salt, date powder, baking powder, ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts.
Mix Wet: In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond butter, olive oil, soy milk, and vanilla and almond extract.
Combine: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Let the dough sit for 5–10 minutes so the chia/flax can absorb moisture and bind the dough.
Shape/Flatten: Using an ice cream scoop, drop approximately 2 tablespoons of dough in the form of balls, and place onto the lined baking sheet. Use a fork to gently flatten them into your desired thickness, as these cookies do not spread.
Bake: Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
Cool: Let them cool completely on the baking sheet before moving. They firm up as they cool. Because they are vegan and flour-heavy, they need extra cooling time to fully "set" and avoid crumbling.
Tips:
You can substitute 3/4 cup coconut sugar in place of the 3/4 cup date powder or date sugar, and add this to the dry ingredients, or you can substitute 3/4 cup maple syrup for the 3/4 cup date powder or date sugar, and add the maple syrup to the wet ingredients.
If the dough feels too wet after resting, add another tablespoon or two of oat flour. If the dough is too crumbly to hold a shape, add a splash more soy milk.
Enjoy!
Melanie Pores is a retired bilingual educator, an HWFC member since 1978, has facilitated HWFC’s Spanish Conversation Group since 2015-currently on Zoom, Fridays 10am to noon.