These cookies are full of oats, whole grains, fats, and beans (beans!) for added protein. (Two of ’em have about the same protein as a grab-and-go breakfast sammie.) They’ll do a great job tiding you over until you can get a proper meal, whether you’re munching them in lieu of breakfast or as fuel before a workout.
This recipe is adapted from Heidi Swanson’s marathon cookies, but our riff is sweetened with maple, lightly spiced with crushed fennel seeds, and studded with dried tart cherries, which can help ease muscle soreness—a boon if you’re making them part of a pre-or post-workout routine.
Dreamy Protein-y Breakfast Cookies
Yield: 15 cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 15-ounce can navy beans, drained
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 cup maple syrup
- ½ cup creamy nut butter of choice, or tahini
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ½ cup dried tart cherries, chopped
Procedure:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper.
- Using a spice grinder, mortar and pestle, or the bottom of a glass, crush the fennel seeds until finely ground.
- Add the oats to a food processor or blender and pulse until they become a fine flour. Transfer to a mixing bowl and whisk in the spelt flour, fennel seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the same food processor, pulse the beans and olive oil until creamy. Add the maple syrup, nut butter, egg, vanilla extract, and lemon zest; pulse until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until it starts to come together. Sprinkle in the cherries and stir until just combined. Roll dough into ¼ cup balls and place them an inch apart on the lined baking sheet; flatten slightly with your palm.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until puffy and starting to brown on the bottom.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week on the counter.
Notes and Substitutions:
- Natural nut and seed butters tend to separate, so make sure to stir before measuring.
- If you don’t have spelt flour, you can substitute all-purpose flour or a 50-50 mix of all-purpose and whole wheat.
