Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast CookiesA name can hold great power. If I baked these in a tray then cut them into rectangles and called them oat bars, my brothers would instantly turn their noses up in disgust. But, dropped onto a baking sheet and called cookies, these are at least given a chance. They taste the same and are just as healthy, but the presentation is familiar and associated with positive memories. Now, if I made these too healthy and cut down the sweeteners or tried to pretend they were just like less healthy cookies, they would no longer trust my baking. When substituting ingredients and making healthier options for people who aren’t too into health food it’s imperative to take baby steps. I think I was around 4 or 5 when I made my dad a brownie secretly filled with hot chili peppers in my easy bake oven- decades later he still makes me taste any brownies I bake in front of him before he’ll take a bite. Though it was a slightly different issue, it still comes down to recognizing that people have high expectations of and attachments to how they think food should be, and it is best not to mess with that too much. One caveat- the pickiest of eaters may not always go for it, my brother said even the cookie monster wouldn’t eat these because they’re not “real” cookies. On the other hand, my father who normally goes out of his way to avoid healthy food ate some by accident and said they were pretty good… you win some, you lose some.Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast CookiesAll the ingredients used are very nutrient dense and mostly completely unprocessed. They tick off the boxes for being vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar-free, some of the biggest buzzwords in the nutrition world today. Together they offer protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates, all the macronutrients and elements necessary for energy and highly functioning bodies. They are also filled with a vast array of vitamins and minerals, the micronutrients that make us function as best as possible, inside and out.Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast CookiesChocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 32
INGREDIENTS:
  • Wet ingredients
  • 1 tightly packed cup medjool dates, pitted and chopped (around 14-16)
  • ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 very ripe banana, peeled
  • 1 very ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
  • ¼ cup almond butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Dry ingredients
  • 2½ cups oats
  • ½ cup mini dark chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup chia seeds
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Preheat oven to 325°. Blend together the wet ingredients (dates, almond milk, banana, avocado, almond butter and vanilla) until liquified in a blender or food processor. Fold in the dry ingredients (oats, chocolate chips, chia seeds and baking powder) and let sit for 5 minutes- the chia seeds will plump up, absorbing some of the liquid. Spoon out 2 tablespoons of the batter at a time onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until golden brown.
  2. Place the trays on a cooling rack for a few minutes to set then lift the cookies off the tray and place them directly onto the cooling rack. Once completely cooled place store them in an airtight container for a few days, put it in the freezer for up to a couple months for longer storage.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

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