You read that title right, cookies you can eat for breakfast! Now that can’t be a bad thing. Healthy Breakfast Cookies have been on my mind for ages, and I finally got around to making some. These “cookies” are made with whole wheat flour and oats for fiber and pumpkin because that stuff is magic (and adding a veggie to breakfast is always smart). They are naturally sweetened with just a bit of honey and applesauce, and have a good amount of protein thanks to the addition of one special ingredient – hemp seed hearts!
I’ve been doing a good job of counting calories, being conscious of my protein and vegetable intake, and exercising for the past month and a half in an attempt to slowly lose the baby weight that has crept on over the last 8 years (5 babies in 8 years has left me a little on the soft side, ok, very soft side). These healthy breakfast cookies are a guilt-free treat that you can enjoy morning, noon, or night. I logged them into the Myfitnesspal app and they came out at 65 calories a cookie without the chocolate chips and 75 calories with them. I’m on team chocolate and 10 calories is worth it. I highly recommend adding the chocolate chips on top, they make it feel much more like a cookie/treat.
Hemp seed hearts, hemp hearts, or hulled hemp seeds are something I’ve been buying for the last 2 years to toss in my smoothies. I read an article on super foods a while back on Simple Green Smoothies that convinced me to try them. They are an excellent source of plant-based protein, fiber, and amino acids. They are a little chewy and have a great nutty flavor.
A few weeks ago I worked with Lindt and Imperial Sugar for #choctoberfest and I’m finishing up that project by working with Just Hemp Foods. The product shipment was a little slow getting to me, but once it did, I got cooking! They sent me toasted hemp seeds (excellent on salads for some nutty crunch), hemp hearts, which I used here and have been putting in my morning smoothie, and some hemp protein powder and hemp oil, which I haven’t opened up yet. I’m excited to try.
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think! Leave a comment, pin it, and don’t forget to tag a picture #blessthismesseat on Instagram. I love to see your kitchen skills in action!
Healthy Breakfast Cookies
- Yield: Makes 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup hulled hemp seeds (hemp seed hearts)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- In a medium bowl beat together the pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and melted butter. Add the eggs and beat well to combine. Add the vanilla and stir to combine.
- Add the flour, oats, hemp seed hearts, baking powder, soda, and salt and mix well to combine. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. Use a 1 tablespoon scoop to scoop out balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with additional hemp seed hearts or add 5-6 chocolate chips (gentle press them into the dough before baking).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Remove for the oven and allow to rest on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before placing the cookies on a cooling wrack.
- Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
I highly recommend adding a few dark chocolate chips. It really makes them feel like “cookies”.
These are very lightly sweetened, so don’t expect differently. If you are looking for more of a treat, you can double the honey. I also thought these were much better fresh, so next time I’m going to halve the recipe and just enjoy them the first day or two. They travel well too! I popped a little baggie of healthy breakfast cookies in my purse while we went to town last week and munched on them instead of treats when I got hungry in the car. They also survived the lunch boxes well.
You are going to love having a healthy cookie recipe on hand that is also light on calories. These healthy no-bake cookies are also delicious for dessert!
Disclosure: Just Hemp Foods sent me a package of hemp products though I was not compensated for writing this post, recipe development, or taking pictures. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that I choose to work with.
What would be a good substitute for the hemp seeds?? Chia or flax? I have already placed my co-op order for this month and would like to bake them before! Thanks for any suggestions.
You could leave them out all together or go for a little ground flax I think! It’s up to you but I don’t think leaving them out would affect the recipe too much.
Thanks so much….I will try hemp seeds soon. Happy new year and love your blog!