These healthy breakfast cookies are an easy make-ahead gluten-free breakfast. My kids love these healthy breakfast cookies, and they keep them full all morning.

Healthy Breakfast Cookies (gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan option)

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Are you a morning person? I desperately want to be a morning person, but let me tell ya:

It doesn’t come naturally to me. At all.

I have to work pretty hard to get up early and have my head on even semi-straight before my kids come bolting out of their rooms like squirrels with their tails on fire.

So needless to say, I’m a huge fan of healthy make-ahead breakfasts (and coffee).

We don’t do cereal around here on a regular basis, so quick breakfasts can be harder to come by.

These healthy gluten free breakfast cookies take some time to prep beforehand, but, oh my, they make at least two breakfasts with a family of 6 so smooth.

Everyone gets excited when it’s breakfast cookie day! Because who doesn’t like cookies? And when you get to eat them for breakfast? AND when they’re protein packed and actually healthy for you?!

Fo’get about it.

I. Love. Them.

They’re moist and slightly sweet, but not too dense or rich. They’re also really filling, thanks to the flax seed, almond flour, and oats. These cookies are really versatile and can have lots of various substitutes.

Substitutes for these gluten free breakfast cookies

Vegan? Omit the egg and add an extra 1/4-1/3 cup water.
Dairy free? Use dairy-free chocolate chips, or replace them with chopped dried fruit or nuts
Nut free? Swap the almond flour for an extra scoop of brown rice flour.
Want to use butter? Swap out the coconut oil for butter, just adding an extra 2 tablespoons.
Want to use regular sugar? Sure! You can swap the coconut sugar for cane sugar or brown sugar.
No processed sugar? Maple syrup or honey works great in this recipe. Just add an extra tablespoon and don’t add the extra water.

See? Versatile!

Here’s the low down on these healthy breakfast cookies

The most time consuming part is of these gluten free breakfast cookies is soaking the oats.

Why soak the oats, you ask?

Oats are extremely nutritional, as we all know, but they can actually be hard for our bodies to digest. Oats contain phytic acid, which can inhibit our body’s absorption of minerals from the oats, like zinc and iron (which are two BIG ones you want, especially if you’re a pregnant or breastfeeding mama!). Soaking the oats breaks down the phytic acid (and starches). Soaking the oats for this process is actually an important step that I don’t skip anymore.

That whole once you know better, do better thing.

Side note, there’s research that shows diets high in phytic acid can also cause deterioration of your teeth. You can research more by reading Cure Tooth Decay

Oats should soak for 8-24 hours before using. To make this really easy, I put my oats in my kitchen mixer in the morning and make the gluten free breakfast cookies at night for the next day. So easy. It really is.

A few more things about these healthy breakfast cookies:

• The batter is really thick. If you are omitting the egg, you will need to add an additional 1/4-1/3 cup of water with the ground flax seed. You may even need to add a touch of water depending on how much water your oats soak up. You want the dough to be really thick, but not so thick that it clumps around the mixing blade.
  
• When scooping them out, it’s helpful to use a silicone spatula, and then shape with slightly wet hands. You’ll want to press the tops down flat a bit, as they will hold a lot of their shape.
  
• I make these really large so that everyone just needs one. Of course you can make them smaller if that’s your preference. Just reduce the bake time by 2-4 minutes.
  
• You can make these healthy breakfast cookies with chocolate chips or without. I prefer them with, but they’re easily replaces with chopped nuts and extra raisins. Sometimes I’ll use all three, but with a total of 1 1/2 cups.

My favorite dairy-free chocolate chips to use are Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips. They are half the price of most dairy-free chocolate chips. Buy these in a Trader Joe’s store (link is just for reference).

What is your favorite quick and easy breakfast? Are cookies for breakfast your dream, or do you prefer savory foods for breakfast?