Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Cookies (oh ya.)

(Note: nothing pictured above is used in this recipe, because they're vegan and gluten free. But I liked that picture. It's happy. So I used it!)

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Asking me to pick my favorite meal is like asking me to pick my favorite sibling. It's just not right. They're all so great and I love to enjoy them in their own way.

But, unlike with my siblings, if you really forced my hand, I would likely admit that there is a baby chance breakfast edges out lunch and dinner. Just a tiny bit!

Because on mornings that I don't have breakfast prepared in advance, I begin to panic a bit. The fact is, most days I wake up absolutely ravenous, to the point that I need a snack before I even get to breakfast time at my desk.  It's just the best way to start the day.

But you know what contends pretty closely with breakfast? Dessert. Which is why, when my friend Emily sent me this recipe for breakfast cookies, I had to make them immediately. 

Especially because I had two ripe bananas ready for battle. It was fate!

As you all know by now, I look at recipes as a great place to begin negotiation; a starting off point, really. The satisfaction I find in altering a recipe successfully, so I can avoid a trip to the grocery is actually a little scary. But we all have our vices, right?

So without further ado, my take on peanut butter banana oat breakfast cookies (which yes, I have realized that I like EVERY single word in that name), straight from my kitchen to yours this morning...

Peanut Butter Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 whole ripe bananas, mashed until creamy
• 1/2 c. peanut butter 
• 2/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 c. Vega chocolate protein powder
• 1 t. Earth Balance vegan butter
• 1.5 c. quick oats
• 1/4 c. Enjoy Life chocolate chips (Side note: I recently found these and saw they were gluten, soy and dairy free. I am not all of those things, but I was so intrigued by them and had to know, ASAP, how they would taste. And they were surprisingly amazing.)

To make:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mix wet ingredients, then add in dry (real talk: I just mixed them all at once. But grown ups would say you should do it this way) 
• Let dough rest for 10 minutes
• Drop on greased pan or parchment paper
• Bake cookies for 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden brown

Eat for breakfast all week!

Happy day! 

image and image