Mornings as of recently have been early and hectic to say the least! But I never forget to enjoy my favorite meal of the day.  As the weather is cooling off, the temptation to keep pressing snooze on the alarm, snuggled up in my bed is a constant morning battle with myself and the golden retriever who wants to play fetch during the dark morning hours.  I think if it weren’t for breakfast, I would never want to get out of bed, but the scents of hot coffee and anticipation of breakfast eagerly awakens me.

I am an eggs for breakfast type girl—like big egg scrambles with spinach, raw cheddar and a generous side of bacon.  If you follow me on Instagram, you will quickly realize breakfast is my favorite meal!  Or sometimes its a quick fried egg with a dash of hot sauce.  However some days you just need to grab something quickly without all the clean up! I have been working away at a few new projects, coming soon and oh so exciting, so the thought of another pan in the morning when my eyes are barely open is just not happening.  So I created the breakfast cookie! I know so many people suffer from intolerances to eggs and nuts, common ingredients in breakfast foods such as omelets, pancakes or granola.

I wanted to keep this breakfast cookie allergy friendly, kid friendly, full of protein, not overly sweet and purely delicious!  I usually bake a loaf of my grain and nut free sandwich bread to have on hand each week, but many readers have been asking for an egg free breakfast option, so here you all go!  These allergy friendly paleo breakfast cookies are sweetened with apple sauce, golden raisins and just a drizzle of raw honey and full of bold spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg for a cozy, fall spiced flavor.

These cookies are quite simple to make, however I really recommend reading the directions completely through before making them.  I found that adding in the coconut at the end helped with cookies stick together, so pay attention to my tips and tricks for making these little cookies! Most of my ingredients I got at Trader Joes, and actually love their golden raisins as I am not the biggest fan of regular raisins! The golden ones are sightly sweeter and not as overpowering in flavor as regular brown raisins.  The cookies last fabulously in the refrigerator so you can always double the batch to have on hand throughout the week or even sneak into your kid’s lunches.

I hope you enjoy these little, sweet breakfast cookies!

Allergy Friendly, Paleo Spiced Breakfast Cookies {grain, nut, egg & dairy free}

A grain, nut, egg & dairy free Paleo breakfast cookie.  Sweetened with apple sauce and spiced with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg for a cozy breakfast treat on a cold fall morning.

Makes 16 small cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds (raw kernels, shells removed)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 3 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add seeds, oil, honey, applesauce, coconut milk, vanilla and all spices to a food processor.  Pulse several times, then scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all ingredients.  Blend again for about a minute until mixture begins to turn into a smooth paste, but not to the point of a nut butter consistency.
• Next, add in shredded coconut and pulse again.  Remove blade from food processor and fold in golden raisins.  (Alternatively you can transfer batter to a clean bowl and fold in raisins, you just don’t want raisins to go through processor blade).
• Use a medium cookie scoop (1 1/2 tbsp size) to scoop the batter, dragging along the side of the bowl to densely pack in the cookie batter.  Drop onto parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake for 32-36 minutes.
• Serve (fresh from the oven or slightly chilled, my preferred way) with a hot cup of coffee, a glass of milk or almond milk!

This & That

• Make sure to finely grind your sunflower seeds as this helps keep the cookies intact.
• These are breakfast cookies, so please note that they are not sweet like a dessert.
• They are very dense cookie and will not rise or expand.
• Cookies last in the fridge for about a week, and I actually prefer them slightly chilled!