The other day, I found myself aimlessly wandering around my kitchen, trying to figure out what I wanted to bake.  I scrolled through some recipes on Pinterest, looked over at the hanging fruit basket and saw some brown bananas and — boom.  Question answered.

These cookies aren’t super sweet or sugary — you know, the decadent variety I usually like to stack high and feast on with a cold glass of milk.

No.  These are dense, chewy, and perfect in the morning — when you want to start your day with a treat, but with one that makes you feel good.

These don’t really puff up, so you can keep them pretty close together on the cookie sheet — and then add a little decadence, and top them with chocolate chips (if you’re feeling inspired, you can make smiley faces… a-like so…).

Cookies for breakfast.  Get into it.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

Recipe adapted from Watching What I Eat
Makes about 10 medium-sized cookies

You will need:

2 ripe bananas, mashed until smooth

1/3 c. chunky peanut butter

2/3 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 t. vanilla

2 T. honey

1 and 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats (note: you could easily make these gluten free by adding gluten free oats, like those from Bob’s Red Mill)

1/4 c. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix mashed banana and peanut butter until well combined.

3. Add in applesauce, honey, and vanilla.

4. Fold in oats.

5. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

6. Drop dough by the rounded spoonful onto cookie sheet and flatten into rounds with your hands.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

7. Bake cookies 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and leave on baking sheet about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Cookies will keep, in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.