This week’s recipe is a good one – Carrot Raisin Breakfast Cookies.  They remind me of a sweet  muffin or bread, only in cookie form.  And I love muffins and bread!  They do have added sweetener, but the sweetener is real maple syrup – something that’s naturally occurring.

I’ll admit that they’re a little on the plain-looking side…

…but who cares about looks, right?  The important thing is: how do they taste?

In a word, they taste delicious.  They’re yummy and healthy and easy to make.  Oh, and they’re vegan – nice to know for when you happen to be entertaining vegan friends!  I don’t think that I’ll be using these to replace my morning cereal, but they’re a great little snack.  Like the granola bars, I store these in the freezer and just take one out when I have a craving.

And if you happen to be on the WW plan, you’ll be happy to know that 1 of these sweet little morsels is only 2 WW ProPoints.  Nice.

Carrot Raisin Breakfast Cookies

• 1 1/2 C whole wheat flour {you can substitute with all-purpose, if you prefer}
• 1 C rolled oats
• 3 T dry millet
• 1 1/2 – 2 tsp ground cinnamon {I love cinnamon, so I always tend to add a bit more!}
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 C light coconut cream {not the same as coconut milk, but can be subbed with melted coconut oil}
• 1/2 C real maple syrup
• 1 heaping cup of finely shredded carrot
• 1/2 C raisins
• 1 – 2 tsp fresh grated ginger {I prefer a less gingery taste, so I only used 1 tsp}

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.  Prepare baking tray by coating with non-stick spray.

In large bowl, combine all of the above and mix thoroughly, being sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.  Place medium-sized scoops onto prepared trays.  Bake for 10 – 15 minutes, or till cookies are slightly firm and golden on top.  Remove from oven and let sit on trays for a further 10 minutes.

Yield – 2 dozen cookies

Notes – The original recipe called for dried cherries, but I happen to prefer raisins.  I’m guessing that you could substitute them for other complimentary dried fruits and it would still taste good: cherries, cranberries, apple chunks, or something else.  Just make sure that the dried fruit is chopped down to about the size of a raisin.

With the coconut cream – be sure to shake the can before opening.  The coconut cream has a tendency to separate into layers, as I discovered after opening it.  Bummer, but easily fixed by pouring the can into a bowl and giving the whole thing a good stir.

Another thing – if you don’t have fresh ginger or you just don’t like ginger, you could leave it out and bulk up the flavor by adding a few other complimentary spices or more cinnamon.  I’m not a huge fan of ginger, but I’ll admit that adding 1 tsp made the cookies taste a-mazing.

Adapted from Joy the Baker’s “Vegan Carrot Cherry Breakfast Cookies”