Well, I didn’t end up making the Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies, but I did end up making an off-spring!
Meet the carrot cake cookie in breakfast form. I cut down the oil (using applesauce to replace some of it) and amped up the protein, fibre, and healthy fats naturally using ground flax.
In my first version, I used protein powder instead of flax, but the texture was weird and the flavour was off. Ground flax all the way!
I also left them chunky instead of flattening them down. Much better.
The cookies are lightly sweet, with a lovely carrot cake flavour and the texture of a muffin top. I added in a full cup of grated carrots and a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger for a boost of nutrition and an authentic carrot cake flavour. Ginger also aids in digestion as an added bonus.
Eric summed them up nicely, “If I was looking for a healthy cookie, I would be happy with these. If I wanted a regular unhealthy dessert cookie, I might be a bit disappointed. But they are perfect for breakfast or a snack and I like that they taste like a muffin.”
I’m not sure I can add anything to that, so I’ll just give you the recipe! Nutritional info follows.
Oh Mega Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
Yield
13 cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Like a healthy breakfast muffin in carrot cake cookie form. Coconut oil, maple syrup, and fresh ginger work well to create a nice carrot cake flavour, however if you are without those ingredients you can try subbing in another light tasting oil of your choice, other liquid sweetener, and ground ginger (maybe 1/4 tsp?).
Adapted from Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies, which was adapted from 101 Cookbooks.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
- 3/4 cup ground flax
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup regular rolled oats
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1 cup lightly packed shredded carrots (use finest grate)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (other liquid sweeteners should work)
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325F and toast the pecans for 10-11 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the batter. In a large bowl, mix together the flax, flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and raisins.
- Grate the carrots and ginger using the finest grate. In a smaller bowl, melt the coconut oil in the microwave for about 45-60 seconds. You want the oil hot so it doesn’t clump up when adding the cold wet ingredients. Now add in the maple syrup, carrots, applesauce, grated ginger, and vanilla. Stir well.
- Remove pecans from the oven and add to the dry ingredients. Increase oven temp to 350F. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. The dough will be very sticky, so not to worry.
- With a spoon, scoop about 13 cookies onto a lined baking sheet. They don’t spread much so you can put them an inch apart. Bake for 14-15 minutes at 350F and allow to cool on baking sheet.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Just a word of caution- the dough is very sticky so don’t be alarmed when you mix it up. It’s easiest to just scoop the dough with a spoon and drop it onto the baking sheet.
They are a lovely cookie for an on-the-go breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack. And like Eric says, keep in mind that it’s a healthier cookie and you won’t be disappointed.
Breakfast this morning was a lovely Green Monster with a side of cookie.
Superfood Green Monster
Yield
1 serving
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
This Green Monster packs in superfoods like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, chia seeds, and spinach! For more Green Monster recipes, visit the Green Monster Movement.
Ingredients
- 1 large handful spinach
- 1 cup + 2-3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 cup frozen mixed berries
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 scoop Garden of Life Raw Protein powder, or other powder
- Ice, if preferred
Directions
- Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Add ice if desired.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Note the hot tea in the background to warm me up!
[Mason glass was picked up in November while visiting Fish’s Eddy in NYC]
I thought I would pass along a couple fun vegan links for you today…
1. Check out the PPK’s Vegan Top 100 of 2011 list
2. VegNews Top 10 Vegan trends of 2011
Have a great day!
Mmm these sound tasty Ange! I bet they made your house smell pretty great as well. Eric is a very good food critic – I know that he, like me, has a highly sophisticated palate when it comes to carrot-based goods lol!!! Have a great day!
hah yea he should go pro, I think. ;)
The house did smell awesome come to think of it!
yum! those cookies look great!! added to my list of things to make ;)
oh how i miss green monsters. i just can’t seem to bring myself to make cold smoothies in the winter time..
I’m so glad I bought a bag of carrots this week! Of course between this and pineapple carrot muffin recipe I found, I’ll need to buy another bag for the chicken noodle soup I was going to make but it’s all good baby! Tell the hubby thanks for his input too. I have a feeling my hubs will feel about the same. But it’s all about variety right!
I love how they look unflattened! Such great texture. I haven’t had a green smoothie in way too long! Wow, the PPK top 100 list looks awesome. Need to check that out! And reading the other article, I just realized there is a vegan food truck in Denver! I’ll have to check that out at some point.
These cookies look amazing! I know I need to get more veggies in my daily diet and these are the perfect solution :)
Bookmarked! My husband is going to LOVE the idea of breakfast cookies! Thank you!
These cookies look DELICIOUS, can’t wait to try out the recipe! :) Also – I have been buying a different brand of protein powder lately, but prefer Garden of Life, just wondering do you buy it in store or order it? I’ve heard it can be less expensive to order online, but haven’t found the best site to do so… iherb perhaps?
I think Iherb and Amazon carry it although I haven’t purchased it from there yet…been meaning to!
Too bad the protein powder didn’t work out – I have yet to find a great way to bake with it. But they still have 4g of protein – I’m impressed!
your green smoothies looks almost exactly like my daily drink. Except this morning I was running late and skipped it – I think I’m addicted because I’m having serious cravings now. :)
I haven’t had much luck baking with protein powder either…I find the taste always comes through!
The only success I’ve had are the high protein no bake granola bars: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/11/25/last-minute-protein-energy-bars-creamy-holly-nog-smoothie/
hye girlie, you’ve been tagged
http://nomorefatass.blogspot.com/2012/01/ive-been-tagged.html
If I had to use Ginger from my spice cabinet instead of fresh grated Ginger, how much would you recommend? I have everything for these in my possession except the fresh ginger! Thanks!
I would start with 1/4 tsp and then taste test and add more if you like.
I think, just think your making a LOT of us women stop in our tracks right now with knowing we can HAVE COOKIES for Breakfast!!! OMG!!!
These look amazing, doll!!!
xxoo
I can’t get enough of your carrot cake loaf, so I’m sure I’d also love these cookies!
My Green Monster is just like yours, minus the berries :)! I love it! I’m going to make these cookies after falling in love with the itty bitty carrot cake ones…do you think I could replace flax seeds with something else? It’s not easy to find them around here! Thanks!
You could maybe replace it with chia seeds (but I doubt you can find those if you cant find flax), however I wouldn’t use a full 3/4 cup of chia…maybe 1/4 cup since they absorb so much moisture.
Maybe try 1/2 cup wheat germ or more oats?
I love carrot cake cookies! Good call on keeping them unflattened–the texture looks perfect for a snack cookie.
Any excuse to eat cookies for breakfast! I think I have all of the ingredients, minus the pecans. I might try subbing in some chopped almonds instead…
Also, I just added that widget to my blog. Thanks for sharing!
Angela, when I got the feed of your post this morning, I couldn’t wipe a grin off of my FACE!There is something just so EXCITING about your posts. So, thank you. really, thank you. My Grandpa died on Sunday and it’s been really hard for me and really hard for my entire family. Because Grandpa was such an icon, the family is getting flooded with words and prayers and it’s a bit overwhelming. REALLY, I just want to say, thank you, Angela, because your blog is such a lovely place to just hang out (however nerdy I do sound)
much love! – jasper
Hey Jasper, I’m sorry to hear about your Grandpa. You and your family are in my thoughts!
Thank you for your kindness…that means so much to me.
These look fantastic! I actually love healthier cookies. I used to be a cookie fiend but now that I’ve stopped eating regular sugary, buttery cookies I don’t really want them anymore(OK, just sometimes ;) ), so these look perfect. Can’t wait to give these a try :)
Angela, these look awesome… I get the same reaction from my husband when I make healthy cookies instead of dessert cookies :) But he’s gotten more and more used to them over the years! I’m going to a skating competition in Mississauga this weekend and was trying to think of some healthy snack to take, and if I have time I will definitely go with these. the ingredients are going on my grocery list, and I’ll be sure to check back to let you know if I get them made… I love that you mentioned the tea to warm up this time of year after green smoothie for breakfast :)
I hope you enjoy them….goodluck with your competition! You are right in my area :)
Well, the cookies went very well :) I made half the batch with protein powder (for me to take to the competition) and half with flour to leave at home with my husband. I liked the protein powder ones, but Phil preferred the flour ;) Anyway, this is a fantastic recipe that I’ll definitely use again. Love the mound of flax going in there!! I didn’t think about it when I read the recipe, but when I was measuring it out it made me really happy :) Thanks!
I love that you add the note about them tasting like a healthier breakfast cookie as to not dissappoint anyone. I’m a fan of healthy cookies and what a great way to pump up the veggies first thing in the morning :)
Where do your purchase your chia seeds? I’ve only found them at one grocery store, and they were really expensive. Do you get them online?
Awesome! I am so excited about this! My work schedule is really weird now, so I eat breakfast around 7:30 and then need to eat half a meal at 10:30 and the second half at 3. This would be perfect for the first half of my meal at 10:30! I’m definitely making these for next week.
I’ve been loving green monsters since new years, they are #1 when trying to get back into the healthy habits. I have to ask, is that an actual pic of the recipe provided? Whenever I add blueberries, even just a few, I have a purple monster :)
hah yup that was the actual pic. I know though isn’t it weird that it didn’t turn colour that much? I was thinking the same thing. I think it was because I only used 1/4 cup and the scoop may have been heavier on the strawberries.
this might be an off color comment (no pun intended) but my boss just had a baby and she’s SO DARK and he’s black (my entire family is African so I feel weird saying “African American” because he’s not) and they just had a baby that is SO WHITE…smoothies can just be surprising like that with the way they mix maybe ;)
I can’t see my previous comment…these look super yummy, can’t wait to make some! What could I replace the flax seeds with? It’s hard to find them over here! Thanks!!!
Hey Valentina, I answered your comment above! :)
Wow – these look awesome! I’ve been looking for something I can make a batch of and throw in the freezer. I’m in Nursing and my usual hot oats don’t bode well with 7am starts 2x a week!
I have been cutting back on my sugar intake and am finding myself really sensitive to sweets! If I cut back the maple syrup to 1/4c, would I have to sub anything else in to compensate or do you think it would be ok?
Side note: I have been following your blog since I became vegan three years ago… in fact, this blog is the main thing that helped me when I thought that I couldn’t handle another salad (although now I crave greens!). You have inspired me so much with vegan food! Thank you!
Thank you Katie! Congrats on being vegan for 3 years :) If you cut down the maple syrup, I would probably add a couple more tablespoons of aplpesauce, just to make sure they dont end up too dry.
anything with the phrase carrot cake is golden in my book :) i would love to have one of these now but I went gluten free for a month. would there be a specific flour you would recommend instead of the whole wheat pastry?
GF baking is always unpredictable, but I would like to think the flax would hold the GF flour together? I would probably try oat and almond flour, only b/c I think that would taste great. Let me know if you end up trying a gf version!
Carrot Cake BFast Cookies!? Loving it!! I’ve made some seeded versions of bfast cookies but love the idea of using carrots. I’ll have to make these this afternoon as it’d be a great choice for my kids!!
I’ve needed new breakfast ideas So. Badly. Those “cookies” look amazing! Something I can get the Husband to grab before work is always a plus…
Thank you for providing specifics regarding ingredients that you use in your recipes. So many times I try a recipe and then when I plug in the nutrients they are nowhere NEAR what has been listed. Having the specific products you use makes it easy to see where the discrepancies might be and allows me to adjust if necessary to the products I have on hand. Thanks again!
yumm! I can definetly see myself making these! I love anything carrot-cakey :D
Those made my stomach grumble. I’ve been craving cookies constantly lately… I like to see carrot bits in my cookies, so I would go with a slightly larger grate, but then again, my grating is usually very small even on the big side of the grater!
This sounds really good- I think I’m going to try to make larger cookies and have them as a breakfast, along with a little nut butter. I have a huge appetite in the morning and breakfast is usually 400-500 calories!
Have you tried Vega protein powder? I’m kind of obsessed with it. And their vanilla chai flavor makes your smoothie green- instant green monster!
Carrot cake, and cookies for breakfast! Sign me up!
I was looking through your recipe page today to get inspiration for overnight oats, I finally purchased chia seeds! They make a world of a differences in overnight oats!
1st: Love (as in L-O-V-E) your blog–read it all the time. Comment like never. You are very inspiring!!! Just wondering what would happen if I used a gluten free flour blend?? I COULD try it myself, of course, but I’d hate to waste a batch if they’ll be yucky. What do you think?? Thanks!!!! :)
Hey Jamie, I’m really not sure! GF baking can be so unpredictable at times. I would guess because of all the flax it would hopefully hold together with GF flour. I would probably try a mix of oat flour and almond flour?
Excellent timing to use up some carrots. But I noticed you have 2 Tb in your green monster for a one serving monster. My husband had me back off for his to only 1 Tb (too much ‘music’ in his intimate office setting). Over the holiday break, I shared with my daughter and she now makes them for herself and her boyfriend after workouts, but he had an ’emergency run’ in the grocery store. And after she served him some muesli with flax seeds on the same day, he’s convinced she’s trying to kill him with biological warfare. So they’re backing off to 2 tsps since she feels like a whale with an upside down blow hole, and he lost half of his body weight (her words, sorry for the mental image). But 2 Tb for you, incredible!
The breakfast cookies look wonderful, I’ve gotta try them! And I’m a fan of that protein powder, not harsh to digest and blends well.
The only disappointing thing about these cookies is the fact that I just did my big weekly grocery shop and I don’t have all of the ingredients on hand to make them! The look wonderful – I need to remember them for next week.
Hope you are having a good Tuesday!
~Emily~
Since the winter has been so unseasonably warm I actually have been getting back into making smoothies lately!! Always looking for a new one to try out! I tend to stick to the same boring combos but this one sounds really good!
Those cookies look great. I am trying to spruce up my baking skills, I am an excellent cook, but baking is a whole other realm. I am hoping to try some raw dehydrated cookies and see if i am any better at “raw baking”. I will give these a try…cross my fingers!
these look incredible, angela! carrot cake is one of my most favorite desserts. having it in a healthy breakfast cookie form makes me excited!! I saved this recipe. :)
I’m ALWAYS happy to see a recipe for breakfast cookies, love them! Thank you! And I’ve been loving my Green Monster lately – I usually omit the berries and put a tbsp of peanut butter or almond butter and it is a creamy nut buttery delicious smoothie! My favourite juice would probably be apple, spinach, kale and some blended berries – so refreshing, so sweet and so good!
These cookies look awesome! And it’s also fun to see what you have a breakfast or dinner, etc. on a random day :) Always gives me meal ideas!
Good thing I bought a 2 pound bag of carrots this week. I’m off to make these right now!
These sound so yummy! Love this idea!
Oh I should try apple…I dont use it enough in smoothies!
The cookies sound like a fantastic recipe to keep in the freezer and grab for breakfasts. You could add even more omegas by using walnuts instead of pecans!
Are Kcals the same as calories?
yup!
Hey, I have the same mixing bowl. Fun! Also, I’ve been looking for a good breakfast cookie recipe, so thanks! xoxo
These look lovely and I am such a fan of carrot cake, raisins, cinnamon…all those flavors make me happy. They look perfect for a cool day to put something warm in my tummy. I make oatmeal and blueberry or oatmeal and raisin cakes like this in…the microwave :) Because I am impatient like that. Haha!
A delicious looking recipe and a great tip on a social media widget. I’m going to use both!
Thanks Angela!
carrot cake is so under-appreciated! I feel like I should make a cheering section for it!