Cranberry Walnut Protein Breakfast Cookies

Recipes

Feb 20

Written By

Rise and shine! Today we're having cookies for breakfast! And as much as I'm a believer that if you do truly want real cookies for breakfast you should go ahead with it, I personally feel best when I have a more filling breakfast packed with protein and complex carbs leaving me satisfied for the morning! But, who says you can't have both? These breakfast cookies have all that and more! You ready? Let's do breakfast cookies!

I just got back from 6 days in Barcelona and Madrid, and let's just say...AMAZING! It was my first time to Europe and my husband's first time out of the country (because we didn't count Puerto Rico last year...they're still part of the U.S). So, now that we're back home and getting back into the swing of things, I thought that nothing could be quite better than prepping some breakfast cookies to have on hand.

I discovered chocolate croissants in Spain...I know, how have I not tried them before?! And now chocolate croissants and I are pretty tight. Croissants used to be on my "bad food" list and I didn't allow myself to eat them, so it felt so great to actually try them and discover that, when I let myself enjoy them equally with other foods, I actually really enjoyed them! I had my fill there and got home and don't really care to have them this week, but definitely still not going to restrict them to an only vacation item, either! This is what free eating looks like. This is what actual "healthy eating" is and what I mean when I say that all foods can be part of a healthy diet. You can enjoy things like croissants and churros (yes, we had those too for breakfast!) and not feel guilty, but also know that eating them all the time may not make you feel your best. So they're a healthy treat that helps you stay balanced with eating and not too extreme in any one way of eating. If you have some foods that are off limits, I encourage you to try them sometime and see what you think without the bias of what people say is or isn't healthy!

So, though those chocolate croissants for breakfast were amazing, I craved more body nourishing food this week to help fuel my day (the croissants were soul-nourishing even though not as much body-nourishing). So these breakfast cookies felt like the perfect option!So I call these "breakfast cookies", but I'll probably be eating these for snacks and dessert too! They're absolutely delicious, packed with lots of protein to help keep you satisfied throughout the morning or in that mid afternoon slump. They're also filled with quality fat from nuts and seeds and are sweet but not overpowering...I'm not a fan of super sweet in the morning. So basically, the perfect combo for a satisfying breakfast or any other time of day snack!

You can whip a batch of these up in less than 30 minutes, which is great because as much as I love cooking, I can't spend too long on one recipe. Just no! lol. So all you do is throw all the ingredients in a bowl, mix together, form onto a cookie pan and then throw in the oven for 15 minutes!You're going to love these...well at least I hope you do because they're delish!

Let me know if you end up making them and what you think! I love seeing your creations, so definitely snap a picture and tag me on instagram at @victoriayates.nutrition!Happy cookies for breakfast!

Cranberry Walnut Protein Breakfast Cookies

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup vanilla protein powder

1/4 cup ground flax seed

2 Tbs chia seeds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

2 bananas, mashed

1 egg

1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lay out a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Combine oats, protein powder, flax, chia, sunflower seeds, coconut, cranberries, walnuts, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a medium sized bowl, combine mashed banana, egg, and peanut butter. Stir well. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix until just moist. Now to form cookies. The easiest way is to use your hands and form a circle cookie shape that's about an inch and a half in diameter. Press cookies down slightly on sheet. Repeat for remaining dough. Bake for 15 minutes until just brown. Allow to cool and enjoy at all times of the day!