Spiced Orange Zest Breakfast Cookies
“... and it seems, but only seems, that you went from parched to overflow in the blink of an eye.”
As I'm wrapping up the last few pages of Small Victories, this excerpt from the end of a chapter stood out to me. Do you know those times in life where the universe speaks directly to you and you're not quite sure where it was coming from, but it was a message for you, somehow? That's what this quote was. Small encouragements reminding me to keep going. I need those.
Denver has been dreary this week, to my delight, and I've wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch with a blanket and read and write, and listen to mellow music. Also, rainy days make me want to bake all the things. All of them. These gluten free breakfast cookies are packed with nuts, fruit, almond butter, and a hint of orange! They're fresh but filling. Great for a pre or post-workout snack!
These could probably be called "everything but the kitchen sink breakfast cookies". I just threw in everything that sounded good to me, added a zing of orange, and called it a day. You could likely substitite a lot of these ingredients, sans the heavy hitters like oats, GF flour, sugar, and baking soda. I'm going to try these again without oats, substitute to be determined, and will post an update to Instagram soon!
Spiced Orange Zest Breakfast Cookie
Ingredients
1 1/2 c oats
1 c gluten free flour
1/2 c coconut sugar
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 c golden raisins
1/4 c orange flavored craisins
1/4 c dried cherries
1/4 c pepitas
1/4 c pistachios
2 T cacao nibs
1/2-3/4 t cinnamon
pinch clove
1/8-1/4 t nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 c applesauce
2-3 T almond butter
1 T honey
generous squeeze orange zest (about a tablespoon or so) and zest
*nut milk if desired/necessary
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a standing mixer, blend together applesauce, almond butter, honey, eggs, and coconut sugar. Then, in a large mixing bowl, mix together oats, flour, baking soda, nuts, and spices. Once incorporated, add nuts and dried fruit. Slowly add dry to wet, mixing on low. Lastly, add in orange zest and juice. If you feel the batter is too dry, you can add more applesauce or a tablespoon or so of nut milk.
Using a cookie scoop (1/4 measuring cup can work as well!), place cookies on a greased cookie sheet or parchment paper, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with sea salt. (I use Maldon)
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
PS- The whole house smelled like warm orange spices when I baked these! Great for a cold day. Happy baking, sweet friends. All the love.