High-Protein Breakfast Cookies

If you been around me very much, you’ll know that I have a child who was treated for a Sensory Integration Disorder for a few years. One of the symptoms was that he was really really really picky about food. Still is, but that is a different blog. (And since that is now a behavior issue which I haven’t completely solved yet, I’m not going to share!)

He hated most normal breakfast foods - french toast, eggs, yogurt, hot cereal. So I went on a hunt to find alternatives. At the grocery store, I found breakfast cookies, but after reading the nutritional information on the back,  realized they had very little protein. This momma made her own baby food from the stuff in the back garden, which was soooo much better than the canned stuff, so I knew I could come up with breakfast cookies that were both healthy and yummy with a little bit of experimentation.

Recently, I pulled the recipe card out per a request from my sister-in-law, and realized that some of you might enjoy it, too. So… here you go. Two notes though: When my kids were little, I processed all the nuts and dried fruit and rolled oats tegether in the food processor so there were no choking hazards. Now I do the same to add fruit and nuts and seeds (like flax and pumpkin) that they wouldn’t willingly eat if they knew they were there. Two – you can use just egg whites, and substitute applesauce for part of the olive oil, but I do not, as olive oil is a really healthy kind of fat, and good fats are important. 

High-Protein Breakfast Cookies

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 c organic sugar
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup soy protein powder (not soy flour)[and I have occasionally used whey powder instead]
• 2 t baking soda
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1 t mace
• 1 t allspice
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 t vanilla
• 1 cup dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries (or any other dried fruit)
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (or any other nuts)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix sugars, flours, oats, soy powder, baking soda and baking powder, salt and spices.
3. Add oil, eggs, water and vanilla, and stir thoroughly until blended.  The dough should begin to gather in a ball in the center. Sometimes you have to add more water, depending on your ingredients. This recipe is not an exact science!
4. Stir in fruit and nuts. (Unless you food-processed them with the oatmeal, and already added them.) The dough will be sticky.
5. Place balls a little larger than a golf ball on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Flatten slightly.
6. Bake 8 to 9 minutes (do NOT overbake), and cool on a rack.
7. Store in a tightly covered container. These cookies freeze well.

Let me know if you have any questions, or yummy variations.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who knows that although these are for her children, confesses they go really well with her morning Earl Grey tea!