Hearty Oat and Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
Cookies for breakfast? Yes, please! These Hearty Oat and Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies are incredibly filling and a healthier choice for those who like something a little sweet in the morning. They also really hit the spot at snack time!
Why do I love them?
They are a good source of fibre.
Packed full of fibre and good fats, these breakfast cookies will help keep your hunger at bay.
The oats, flours, ground flaxseeds, and pecans help these breakfast cookies to be a good source of fibre, with 2.9 grams of fibre per cookie. If you read my What’s the big deal about fibre? post, you’ll know that the average person needs 25-38 grams of fibre daily. Pair two cookies with a handful of berries, a pear, or an orange, and you’ll have a great head start on meeting your fibre needs for the day.
They contain heart-healthy unsaturated fats.
There is a good amount of unsaturated fats found in these breakfast cookies, too. Dietary fat can help you feel full sooner and for longer. Additionally, it is an essential part of our diet because it is used for energy, absorbing vitamins and minerals, and producing hormones.
Over the last few years, you may have heard about “good” fats and the importance of including fats in your diet. Those “good” fats you have been hearing about fall under the category of unsaturated fats. These fats are liquid at room temperature and can be further categorized into two major types: monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats, found in olive oil, nuts, avocados, and seeds, may help lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. You can find monounsaturated fats in the pecans and avocado oil used to make these breakfast cookies.
Polyunsaturated fats can help to reduce “bad” cholesterol levels in your blood (aka LDL cholesterol). Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats. They are essential fats that your body requires to function normally. “Essential” means you must get these fats from your diet because your body cannot make them. You can find omega-6 fats in the pecans and avocado oil, whereas you can find omega-3 fats in the flaxseeds. Since most diets contain enough omega-6 fats, you may opt to increase the amount of omega-3 fats in your breakfast cookies by swapping out the pecans for walnuts, a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.
They are a good source of plant-based iron.
Each hearty oat and chocolate chip breakfast cookie contains 11% of your daily value for iron, making them a good source of plant-based iron. Iron is crucial for helping our blood carry oxygen throughout our body. The iron found in plants is called non-heme iron, whereas the iron found in meat, poultry, and fish/seafood is called heme iron. Heme iron is easily absorbed by our bodies. However, non-heme iron needs a little help from vitamin C to help our bodies absorb it. Therefore, add a source of vitamin C to your plate when eating these breakfast cookies, such as orange slices or strawberries, to ensure that your body can absorb the available non-heme iron.
Please note: this recipe is not for you if you have a nut allergy, as it contains nuts and nut butter.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!
Hearty Oat & Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
Yield: 15-18 cookies * 2.9g fibre/cookie
Ingredients
2 tbsp ground flaxseeds (+ 4 tbsp warm water)
1/2 cup oat flour
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup avocado oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Combine ground flaxseeds with water and set aside until thickened (approx. 5 minutes).
Meanwhile add oat flour, rolled oats, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a medium sized bowl and whisk until well combined. In a separate bowl, add avocado oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup, peanut butter, and the flaxseed mixture and whisk until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and gently stir with a spatula to combine. Add chocolate chips and pecans and gently fold into the batter with a spatula.
Using a soup spoon, portion out dough and roll between hands. Place dough balls on sheet with approximately 2” between cookies and use a fork to gently flatten cookies (they will not spread out much).
Bake for 14-16 minutes until golden at the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Store in an air tight container at room temperature for 2 days, in the fridge for 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Enjoy!
