Healthy Breakfast Cookies

DRAGON BITES carb-counted recipe

A family-friendly, mostly healthy (sometimes treat-y!) simple recipe for families living well with type 1 diabetes.

Carb-Counted. Convenient. Grab-and-Go Breakfast.

These nutritious breakfast cookies are easy to make (even young kids can help bake ‘em!), are easy to grab & go on busy mornings, and will keep kids AND parents full to face the morning challenges. This gluten free, vegan recipe has no added sugar (though refined sugar may be included in some dried fruits, chocolate chips, or other mix-ins). It starts with a rolled oats + nut butter base, and then gives you the flexibility to customize your cookies by adding your family’s favourite dried fruits, nuts and seeds, so you can make a different creation every time… a surefire boredom fighter. To jump-start your ideas, we’ve shared 5 distinct Breakfast Cookie Variations below… try one or all, as-is or with your own unique twist. Have fun creating!

Many thanks to Denise M. for submitting this recipe! (adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie)

Low-Carb? No
Gluten-free? Yes (if you use gluten-free oats as indicated below)
Dairy-free? Yes (if you use dairy-free chocolate chips as indicated below)
Nut-free? No

Active Time: 10 mins
Bake: 15-20 mins
Cool: 10 mins
Ready in: ~45 mins

Total Yield: 4-6 cook­ies per batch (each cookie 5-6cm in size)

Carb Content: 11-20g per breakfast cookie

 

INGREDIENTS:

Base Recipe:

1/2 cup GF rolled oats [33g carbs; 4g fat]
scant 1/2 cup mashed banana [24g carbs] (or apple sauce)
1/4 cup almond butter [8g carbs; 36g fat] (or allergy-friendly sub)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/16 tsp salt

(optional) 2 tbsp sugar or pinch stevia

(I like these cookies on the naturally-sweetened-side, but Chocolate Covered Katie suggests that if you prefer, you can add extra sweetener as desired, starting with the listed 2 tbsp and going from there – if you use a liquid sweetener, just cut back on the banana or applesauce.)

Mix-ins:

2-3 tbsp nuts/seeds (see Variations below)
2-3 tbsp dried fruit (see Variations below)
2-3 tbsp mini chocolate chips
(optional) 1 tbsp ground flax seed (for fibre, good fat) [2g carbs; 4g fat]
(optional) 1 tbsp chia seeds (for fibre, protein) [<1g carbs; 3g fat]

Variations:

Cranberry Almond
Pumpkin Pistachio
Banana Bread
Cinnamon Raisin
Maple Pecan
Coconut Pineapple
Mocha + Freeze-Dried Raspberries

Toss in whatever you have on hand, or whatever your kids love most at the moment...
pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, raisins, dried cherries, dried mango, dried blueberries...

Here are a few of our family's favourites:

For Blueberry Almond Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies…

Add to the base recipe (which has 65g carbs & 40g fat):

2 tbsp dried blueberries [15g carbs] (I buy President’s Choice brand at Superstore, though they are sweetened with sugar; there are other brands available at natural food stores that may contain only natural fruit sugar.)

2 tbsp mini chocolate chips (I use “Enjoy Life” Semi-Sweet 100% Real Chocolate Mini Chips, as they are free from many major allergens, including dairy and gluten) [16g carbs; 9g fat]

2 tbsp sliced almonds [2g carbs; 8g fat]

Total Carbs: 98g

Total Fat: 57g

Total Yield: 5 large cookies

Nutrients per Blueberry Almond Chocolate Chip cookie: 20g carbs; 11g fat

 

For Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies…

Add to the base recipe (which has 65g carbs & 40g fat):

2 tbsp raisins [15g carbs]

2 tbsp mini chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand, as detailed above) [16g carbs; 9g fat]

1 tsp cinnamon

Total Carbs: 96g

Total Fat: 49g

Total Yield: 5 large cookies

Nutrients per Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip cookie: 19g carbs; 10g fat

 

For Maple Walnut Breakfast Cookie variation…

Add to the base recipe (which has 65g carbs & 40g fat):

4 tbsp chopped walnuts [2g carbs; 20g fat]

2 tbsp maple-flavoured syrup (I used E.D. Smith Syrup Sweetened with Sucralose) [4g carbs]

Total Carbs: 71g

Total Fat: 60g

Total Yield: 5 large cookies

Nutrients per Maple Walnut cookie: 14g carbs; 12g fat

 

For Pecan Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Cookies…

INSTEAD of the base recipe use:

2/3 cup GF rolled oats [44g carbs; 6g fat]

1/4 cup apple sauce [6g carbs]

1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree [2g carbs]

1/4 cup almond butter [8g carbs; 36g fat] (or allergy-friendly sub)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/16 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp dried cranberries (I used Craisins Dried Cranberries 50% Less Sugar) [12g carbs]

3 tbsp chopped pecans [2g carbs; 15g fat]

Total Carbs: 74g

Total Fat: 57g

Total Yield: 6 large cookies

Nutrients per Pecan Pumpkin Pie cookie: 12g carbs; 10g fat

 

For Tropical Coconut Breakfast Cookies…

Add to the base recipe (which has 65g carbs & 40g fat):

3 tbsp canned crushed pineapple, well drained [6g carbs]

2 tbsp unsweetened coconut [2g carbs; 10g fat]

2 tsp coconut flavoured extract (I use Watkins Imitation Coconut Extract.)

(Chopped dried mango would also be yummy in here! I didn’t have any on hand to try it, but plan to do so with the next batch.)

Total Carbs: 73g

Total Fat: 50g

Total Yield: 5 large cookies

Nutrients per Tropical Coconut cookie: 15g carbs; 10g fat

Please don’t rely exclusively on my carb counting! Nutritional information is given for general information only, and will vary depending on the amount, type and brand of ingredients you choose - Please verify your carb and fat content when you make your own version of this recipe.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰F.
  2. Grease a small cookie sheet.
  3. Mash the banana; mix with the almond butter until smooth.
  4. Stir in all other ingredients until well-combined.
  5. Spoon ~ ¼ cup of dough (I used a Wilton “Regular” cupcake scoop) onto the greased cookie sheet, and shape into cookies, flattening slightly if desired [which will result in a more evenly baked product, and a shorter baking time (closer to the minimum baking time)].
  6. If you're making more than 1 variation, sprinkle a bit of the key ingredient on the top of each cookie, so you can tell them apart later.
  7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
  8. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from sheet.

Should I Give Insulin to Cover the Fat???

What is a Carb Factor? How Do I Use It?

By Cup or By Weight?