Recipe: 'Oh She Glows' PB&J Thumbprint Breakfast Cookies

Perfect for snacking, or even healthy enough for breakfast, these delicious cookies from Angela Liddon’s Oh She Glows Every Day are basically an oatmeal on the go. Top with your choice of nut butter, some homemade chia jam and you’ve got yourself a vegan, soy-free, oil-free treat that is sure to please.

PB&J Thumbprint Breakfast Cookies

By Angela Liddon

These wholesome cookies are soft, very dense, and mildly sweet, thanks to the addition of fresh, ripe banana. Rolled oats give them a pleasantly chewy texture. I like to think of them as portable baked oatmeal. They’re also a perfect option for breakfast on the go...that’s if you can keep yourself from eating them that long (I never can). Prepare them at the start of the week and grab a few as you leave the house on busy mornings, or simply have them on hand for a healthy snack. Have fun adding different mix-ins to the recipe, like chopped nuts or seeds, or using different flavours of jam. I always pop some in the freezer for later, as they freeze and thaw beautifully.

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 cup mashed very ripe banana (about 2 extra-large)
• 3 tbsp chia seeds or ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
• 8 heaping tsp Berry Chia Seed Jam or your favourite jam
• ¼ cup smooth peanut, almond, or sunflower seed butter, for serving (optional)
• Coconut oil or coconut butter, for serving (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor, add the oats and pulse until the oats are coarsely chopped. Avoid processing them into a powder — you still want some texture.

3. Transfer the oats to a large bowl. Add the banana, chia seeds, cinnamon, and salt and stir to combine. The mixture should be very wet and dense.

4. With a retractable ice cream scoop or a spoon, scoop the dough into 8 mounds, placing them at least an inch (2.5 cm) apart on the baking sheet. Press your thumb into the centre of each cookie to create a well. Fill each well with 1 heaping teaspoon of jam.

5. Bake the cookies for 11 to 13 minutes, until they are slightly firm, but still soft and doughy in the middle. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes or so.

6. Spoon the nut butter into a plastic baggie and snip off one corner. Pipe the nut butter over the cookies. Alternatively, you can skip this step and simply enjoy the cookies as they are, or serve them with a pat of coconut oil or coconut butter. The cookies will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days, or you can wrap them in plastic wrap and place into an airtight container or zip-top bag in the freezer for 2 to 3 weeks.

Make it nut-free:

Omit the peanut or almond butter topping and swap in sunflower seed butter instead.

Excerpted from Oh She Glows Every Day: Quick and Simply Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes by Angela Liddon. Copyright © 2016 Glo Bakery Corporation. Photography by Ashley McLaughlin. Published by Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.