Make Ahead Breakfast Cookies (Plus a Trip to Vancouver and Seattle)

Healthy breakfast cookies to make ahead and bake up fresh for energy throughout the day. Get the breakfast cookies recipe here.

We found Spring!

It was hanging out at the West Coast!

We're back from a road trip over Spring Break to visit relatives in the lower mainland area of British Columbia. We took my mom along, and two of our kids were able to make it, too. So even though it was 'cozy' in the vehicle, the holiday was full of great memories. In addition to the fun of visiting family, we played tourist a bit, visiting Vancouver and spending a couple days sightseeing in Seattle, Washington.

When we left home our yard was still covered with a foot of snow everywhere, although most of the snow was gone from town - those lucky ducks (I love to whine).

Snow was all gone at ground level in Jasper, and the mountains were beautiful. The wild animals were out in full force, checking out the vegetation at the lower altitudes. They knew spring is on its way.

The mountain sheep's winter fur was already getting scraggly-looking - they're getting ready for their new spring wardrobe.

But the white-tailed deer still looked well-dressed and elegant:

As did the elk on the outskirts of Jasper's townsite:

The summit of Mount Robson was wreathed in clouds, and the snow still lingered at lower elevations.

But once we got into the Fraser Valley at the lower mainland, we found Spring peeking around every corner.

A stroll at the beach at White Rock - Andreas had to dip his toes in the chilly water.

Then off to Seattle - such a beautiful city. We filled up two days with as much sightseeing as we could. Our first stop was a ride up to the top of the Space Needle to have a view of the city and the surrounding bay with its many islands. Beautiful.

The flowering cherry trees are blooming in Seattle.

Our amphibious Duck Tour bus took us on a mad ride around the city, then drove right into the water and tootled around to give us a closer view of the boats and floating homes.

Pike Place Market was filled with stall after stall of spectacular spring bouquets in rainbow hues. Most of the tulips and daffodils are grown in colourful fields not far from Seattle.

And of course - Seattle is the seafood center of the northwest - 50% of all the fish consumed in the United States is caught, processed, handled, or shipped through Seattle. There is definitely enough fish to go around.

A visit to Pike Place Market is not complete without a stop at the famous 'fish throwing' stall, where dexterous fishermen expertly toss fresh salmon to each other, singing loudly as they do so!

We spent hours in the Seattle aquarium, poking at sea urchins (not me!) in the interactive area and checking out the huge variety of marine life exhibits.

* * *

Eating out with a group that has varied food allergies isn't always easy, but we had an amazing dinner in Seattle's award-winning vegetarian restaurant, Cafe Flora. Delectable gluten-free pizzas, wonderful veggie paté platter, coconut tofu, quinoa cakes, mushroom wellington . . . mmmm.

Before heading home from Seattle we ate at P.F. Chang's China Bistro and had a great meal, with excellent service and personalized attention to all our dietary restrictions.

Travelling gluten-free can be so difficult, and when you add in numerous other food allergies (dairy, eggs, corn, and a long list of others), it can become downright impossible, but these two restaurants made our eating-out experiences stress-free and memorable.

* * *

Back in Vancouver, we spent a wonderful (albeit rainy) day wandering around Granville Island Market, riding the harbour ferry bus, poking around some shopping areas, and the not-to be-missed 'Fly Over Canada' flight simulation ride in Canada Place. Wow - what a ride! I loved virtually traveling Canada from coast to coast and tried not to scream too hard as it felt like our plane dipped close over waterfalls, icebergs, mountaintops, and prairie fields.

But the best part of this whole trip was the time spent visiting family and catching up with aunts, uncles, and cousins I don't get to see very often.

One morning for breakfast, my cousin Christy had us over for a light and bright breakfast, consisting of fruit smoothies, crisp bacon, muffins, cut-up fresh fruit, and these delicious breakfast cookies. I tell you - the cookie platter was emptied in minutes and had me requesting her recipe. I've adapted it slightly, and have experimented with making the dough ahead to bake up fresh when you want them. So wonderful.

I know I've been on a bit of a cookie bender lately, what with my One Cup Cookies (an absolute must-try!) and then these Power Patties, or the famous Breakfast Balls, but these make ahead Breakfast Cookies were so good, I just had to share. What makes them different, beside the wonderful taste, is that with no leavening in the dough, it is easy to make up beforehand and chill. The breakfast cookie dough can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, and can even be rolled into cylinders and frozen, so that when you want a quick breakfast treat, you whip a roll out of the freezer, slice, bake and serve. Warm breakfast cookies to inhale. How easy is that?

These are not only breakfast cookies, they're:

• Lunchbox Cookies
• Snack Cookies
• Backpack Cookies
• Hello New Neighbour Cookies
• Hiking Cookies
• Hungry at Midnight Cookies
• Healthy Dessert Cookies
• Camping Cookies
• Who Needs an Excuse? Cookies

Kitchen Frau Notes: Christy used 2 cups rice flour for these cookies and they were great. I wanted to add some whole grain goodness, so used brown rice flour and sorghum flour. They tasted just as great. So I think they would work well with any combination of gluten-free flours. Work with what you have.

*Also, for regular, non-gluten-free cookies, you can substitute the two flours with 2 cups spelt or whole wheat flour. Leave a comment below if you tried another flour combo and let me know how they turned out - I'd love to hear.

I also reduced the sugar and oil slightly from Christy's recipe, and was very pleased with the results.

And of course you could use regular dairy milk or almond milk instead of the soy milk if you wish.

Make-Ahead Breakfast Cookies

gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, vegan

adapted from my cousin Christy, who adapted it from YEW Seafood + Bar in Vancouver

• 2¼ cups (210gms) quick oats (small-flake rolled oats, but not instant oats)
• 1 cup (130gms) brown rice flour
• 1 cup (130gms) sorghum flour
• 1 cup (140gms) sunflower seeds
• 1 cup (130gms) pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup (50gms) shredded unsweetened coconut
• ¼ cup  (40gms) hemp hearts (or flax seeds)
• ¾ cup (125gms) coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1½ cups (200gms) raisins
• 1½ cups (175gms) dried cranberries
• ½ cup (120ml) oil - I like grapeseed oil
• ¼ cup (60ml) fancy molasses - or 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses + 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
• 1½ cups soy milk (plain or vanilla)

Mix all dry ingredients plus raisins and cranberries together in the bowl of a mixer (or by hand).

Add oil, molasses, and milk. Mix well.

Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes before shaping cookies. The dough can also be refrigerated for up to 1 week in an airtight container or frozen (see below).

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop out 2-tablespoon-sized chunks of dough. Roll them into balls and flatten slightly, or just plop them onto the cookie sheets, and use a spoon to even out the shape into flattened discs.

Bake in a preheated 350° F oven, for 15 to 18 minutes. Cookies should still be moist and chewy. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.

*To freeze dough, measure the dough by packing portions into a 1-cup measuring cup, then scraping it out with a spatula and shaping it into 6-inch (15cm) long logs and rolling them tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, remove a roll from the freezer.

 

Let rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes (just long enough for the oven to preheat), then slice with a sharp, serrated knife into 8 cookies. I like to cut the log in half first, then in quarters, then cut each quarter in half again. It is easiest to get evenly-sized cookies that way. You may need to use your fingers to gently pat the sliced cookies into rounded shapes, tucking in any stray bits that escaped.

Bake from frozen for 18 to 20 minutes at 350°F.

Makes about 48 small cookies, or less if you make them larger.

Guten Appetit!

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