Fruity Oatmeal Breakfast Bites
My spin on one of my favorite store-bought cookies, these nourishing bites are a perfect nut-free on the go breakfast or snack. Pack these in lunch-boxes, spread with nut butter or crumble on yogurt!
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup oat bran
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
WET INGREDIENTS:
- 6 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 large egg *must be room temperature, not cold
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
MIX-INS:
- 1/3 cup medjool dates* pitted & chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup dried apricots* chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with nonstick parchment paper.
- Place 1 cup rolled oats and all of the oat bran in a food processor. Process until mixture forms a fine flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oat/oat bran flour that you just made in the food processor, as well as the remaining rolled oats, cinnamon, sea salt, baking soda and baking powder. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry and gently fold with a spatula to mix evenly. Stir in chopped fruit. Keeping a bowl of room temperature water next to you, use a dampened 2 oz ice cream scoop to form blobs of dough. Place them on the baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. If you don't have a scoop, use approximately 2 tablespoons dough/cookie. Continually dip the scoop in water and shake off excess to help prevent dough from sticking, as this is a wet batter.
- Lightly dampen fingertips and use to smooth the surface and edges of cookies. Bake for 12 minutes for softer cookies and 14 minutes for firmer, slightly more crumbly cookies. Allow to cool 5 minutes before enjoying.
- Store cookies tightly sealed on the counter for 48 hours, or in the fridge for 1 week. If enjoying out of the refrigerator, I suggest microwaving for 10-12 seconds, or allowing to sit on the counter for 20 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
NOTE: my cookies are a little more than twice the size of Alyssa's cookies. They are not intended to have the same carb and nutritional stats as hers, I simply wanted to mimic the flavor using wholesome ingredients. If you want something similar to hers, make them half the size and decrease your coconut sugar to 1/4 c and dried fruit to 1/3 c total.
*Feel free to sub 2/3 cup chocolate chips for dried fruit
