Can we please make cookies for breakfast a regular thing? Aside from being delicious, they're portable, taste amazing with coffee and they are just plain fun. Recently, I've returned to more structured fitness and athletic pursuits.  I'm one year post partum after 2 close pregnancies and healthy deliveries (thank you God). I'm feeling the call to get back to my athletic self.  Fitness has been a regular part of my life forever, minus about a year or so in college when I lost my way on that front and thankfully picked it back up because I would not be able to keep up with my 4 kids (with 2 of them being 2 and under) if I hadn't been healthy enough to keep fitness a priority over the years. The point of this little fitness blurb is that I'm prioritizing protein in my diet as I also work to build strength.  Hence, protein breakfast cookies.

This recipe does not use any sugar.  Rather, the sweetness comes from a coffee flavored protein powder and a small amount of maple syrup.  You can use any protein powder you like.  I used Vega Cold Brew Protein Powder for that rich, coffee flavor. These cookies are soft, flavorful and a nice little pick up in the afternoon too.

Ingredients
-3/4 cup butter
-2 scoops Coffee Flavored Protein Powder (the type I used is here)
-2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
-1/4 cup maple syrup
-2 cups oats
-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a cookie sheet with non-stick spray or parchment paper. In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and protein powder together.  Add the eggs, maple syrup and vanilla.  Combine. Pour the oats, flour, salt and powder on top of the wet ingredients.  Mix lightly on top of those ingredients with a fork.  Then use the stand mixer to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips and chill the dough for 20 minutes.

Scoop out the cookies into tablespoon sized balls of dough.  Bake for 9-10 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack as cookies are super soft out of the oven.  Enjoy!

How do you take your coffee in the morning? I prefer my coffee to be a dark roast blend and I drink it black.  I like jet fuel.  Sometimes I add some cream or milk if I have more coffee later in the day, but most days I simply drink a wee too much black coffee.  Why so much coffee talk? Well, it turns out that these cookies are incredible with a piping hot cup of jet fuel.  The flavor is rich and the texture is decadent.  I used all brown sugar to add a deeper flavor and I used a local whole wheat flour from Upingil Farm.  They're the kind of cookie that I can have one and feel very satisfied, not that I'd mind having more.

So here's what you'll need:

Ingredients
-1 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup almond butter
-1/2 cup butter
-1 egg
-1 1/4 whole wheat flour
-1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
-3/4 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-additional white sugar for dusting

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream the butter, almond butter and brown sugar together.  Add in the egg and mix.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder.  Mix with the butter mixture.  Using a small spoon or cookie scooper, shape a small amount into approximately 1 inch balls and roll the cookie ball in the white sugar. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Enjoy!

We're getting closer and closer to this baby's arrival and I officially began gradually stocking our freezer last week so that we have some meals and baked goods on hand after baby's arrival.  Since that start, the coronavirus shut downs have heavily moved forward and for good reason, but I don't know if the grocery store availability will have us dipping into those baby meals sooner than later.  Regardless, the meals won't go to waste and I'm grateful that we have some preparations in progress.  We're certainly in new terrain at this point and I hope that you and your families are healthy and safe wherever you are.

One of the preparations I'm making for baby's arrival is this updated version of these new mama cookies.  I made a previous version here with our last delivery, but I wanted to update with a new recipe that was closer to a classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  They're packed with ingredients known to help increase milk supply, but I call them new mama cookies because they're wholesome and convenient for all sleep deprived mamas, regardless as to how they choose to or need to feed their sweet little baby. A wholesome cookie is going to come in handy if you're up every 1-2 hours, every night for months.

The star ingredients in these cookies, aside from the dark chocolate chips, are oatmeal, flax seed and brewer's yeast.  Brewer's yeast can have a little bit of a strong odor and a bitter taste so I keep the amount to 1 TBS in the entire recipe.  These may make a sweet little surprise for any friends or family that are expecting.  What mom wouldn't love someone to show up with homemade cookies?

Here's what you'll need to get baking:

Ingredients
-1/2 cup butter at room temperature (grass fed preferred)
-3/4 cup coconut sugar
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 1/2 cups oat flour (to make oat flour, I simply processed 1 1/2 cups oatmeal in my high powered blender.  You could also use a food processor or purchase oat flour already processed if you prefer)
-3/4 cups oatmeal
-1/4 cup flax seed
-1 TBS Brewer's Yeast
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp baking powder
-1-2 tsp cinnamon
-1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions
In a large bowl, use a stand or hand mixer to cream together the butter and coconut sugar.  Then add in the eggs one at a time, mix and add in the vanilla.  Once these ingredients are combined, begin to add in the dry ingredients of the oat flour, oatmeal, flax seed, brewer's yeast, salt and baking powder.  Mix together with the mixer on low/medium until a cookie dough forms.  Fold in the 1 cup of dark chocolate chips.  Cover the bowl of prepared cookie dough with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for approximately 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie tray with parchment paper.  Using a small cookie scooper or spoon, scoop out the cookie dough into roughly shaped domes and place on the prepared cookie tray approximately 2 inches apart.  Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 11 minutes.  Allow to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before gently transferring to a wire baking rack to finish cooling.  

This recipe makes approximately 35 cookies, depending on the size of cookies that you scoop.  You can serve them immediately or freeze in a freezer bag once they have cooled completely.

Stay safe and healthy friends!