Cookies for Breakfast

I am lazy in the mornings. I don't want to get up any earlier than I have to. This means that I routinely eat my breakfast once I get to the office. It seems more efficient to eat while catching up on my emails instead of taking away from my precious time in bed. A few years ago, Kristen sent me a link to a recipe for breakfast cookies and my life was forever changed. I tried out the recipe right away and fell in love. For quite awhile, these were my go-to option for our "second breakfast". For close to 3 years, Kristen and I would take a mid-morning break and head to the kitchen for a snack. Most often she would have peanut butter and toast and, for a long while, I had a slightly warmed breakfast cookie. 

Delicious goodies

I wouldn't exactly call these things healthy but they are certainly a better option than some. They're full of oats, nuts, and dried fruit and actually have some good staying power in the belly. The recipe came from a Canada.com interview with a chef from Vancouver. The recipe is great as is, but here are the changes I make...

• reduce the sugar to a total of 1 cup - with all of the dried fruit, the cookies are more than sweet enough with less sugar
• mix up the dried fruit - I usually use a dried fruit mix made up of dates, prunes, apricots, apples, peaches, and pears and use a total of 1.5 cups of the assortment. This time I got it at Bulk Barn but they also sell a similar mix at Costco
• add more healthy stuff - I usually add ground flax, use some whole wheat flour, or make some other healthy addition. This time I didn't have any of the good stuff on hand.
• make the cookies smaller - in the past I've always formed the cookies with a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop. This time I decided to make them half the size and they still seem like they'll make a good snack. 
• freeze them - I make a batch of these (38 at the smaller size), wrap them up in plastic wrap and throw them in the freezer. They keep really well. About 15 seconds in the microwave and you're ready to eat. 
  

It's all about the prep work

Ready for the oven

The finished product

I think they cookies turned out great. A good recipe to use as a starting point is as important as the skill (or patience) to execute it. I'm very much looking forward to breakfast tomorrow!

What are your favorite options for a portable breakfast? Do you have any breakfast rituals?