Breakfast Cookies (Vegan and Gluten Free)

A couple days ago I got together with some girls in my community and helped them prepare (and eat) a healthy dinner. The goal was to show them how easy it is to prepare a meal, and how much better everything is with fresh ingredients. I think it was a huge success! We made chicken fajitas with brown rice and the amazing cookies whose recipe I'm posting today. 

Chopping Veggies 

This cute girl practically made the cookies by herself. 

She did a great job!

Since the girls were doing the baking we did not flatten them out, just plopped them onto the pan.

I adapted the recipe from here.

Ingredients
1 c unsweetened applesauce
1 c mashed banana(about 2 large)
2 tbsp maple syrup
½ C dried cranberries
¼ C roughly chopped almonds
¾ – 1 C fresh strawberries finely chopped (since strawberries are out of season I just doubled the dried cranberries)
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp sea salt
1½ C old fashioned rolled oats(certified gluten free if necessary)

You can also add some peanut or almond butter, or if you want to just spread some on the cookie before you eat it it's super YUM!

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare one baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking sheet and set aside.
In a bowl stir together the applesauce, mashed bananas and maple syrup. Add in the dried fruit, nuts and fresh fruit. Sprinkle the cinnamon and salt over the mixture and then stir in the oats. When completely combined, drop 12 – ¼ cupfuls on the prepared baking sheet. They do not spread so place as closely together as possible without touching. Pat the cookies down to about ½” thick and 2.5″ around, being sure to press anything that has fallen out of the cookie as it will not hold together. Place cookies in the oven and bake for 30 minutes till golden, rotating the sheet around half way through baking. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cookies rest for 5-10 minutes before gently removing them and placing them on a cooling rack.

The finished product!

Special thanks to Ashlee for letting us use her amazing kitchen!