Gluten-free Strawberry Breakfast Cookies
gluten-free | tree nut free | egg free | refined sugar free
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | June 6, 2024
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Cookies? For breakfast!? Yup, you read that right, these are gluten-free strawberry breakfast cookies! These cookies taste like your eating a delicious, sweet, strawberry filled bowl of oatmeal, just in cookie form. With that little hint of peanut butter… it almost seems like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in cookie form… so maybe they’re lunch cookies too! Rich in protein and fiber, with a perfect fruity flavor and drizzled with white chocolate… now that’s a breakfast of champions. No matter when you enjoy these cookies, they will quickly become a favorite way to use up fresh strawberries in the homestead kitchen!
Modern Pioneer Recipe
These strawberry breakfast cookies are a modern pioneer recipe! I made them with breakfast in mind… so I wanted to keep the ingredients as nutritious and simple as possible. The whole oats and flax seeds offer a good source of plant-based protein and fiber. The maple syrup and strawberries provide just the right amount of sweetness while still being slow-metabolizing sugars to keep you from having a sugar rush.
I added peanut butter to the recipe for some extra plant-based protein that will help fill you up and add a delicious hint of flavor to the strawberry cookies. You can also use any other nut butter in place of peanut butter. Almond butter or cashew butter would be good pairings! When buying peanut butter (or any nut butter) look for a simple ingredient list that does not have added sugar or unhealthy oils. Always buy organic or non-GMO nut butters!
Here are some other factors that make these cookies a yummy breakfast option:
- they are gluten-free and use grain-free flours
- no eggs, so they are a great eggless breakfast option
- refined sugar free
- tree nut free
- corn and soy free
- dairy-free option (substitute coconut oil for the butter)
- use organic strawberries, no preservatives or chemicals
As you can see, I could easily justify having these cookies for breakfast. However, if you are not the ‘cookies for breakfast’ type of person, you can still eat these cookies at other times! They might be a rather filling dessert, but you could also use them as a lunch or snack! They could easily be used as a strawberry ‘granola bar’ and would be easy to pack on day trips, hikes, or anytime you have a busy modern pioneer schedule!
Are Strawberries Good for Breakfast?
These breakfast oatmeal cookies contain strawberries, which are an amazing, health-loaded berry! Strawberries are a great food to include in your breakfast meal because they provide so many health benefits to help you start your day off on a healthy note.
Here are just a few amazing benefits of having strawberries for breakfast:
- Breakfasts that contain fiber and protein will help fill you up and give you energy. Strawberries are a good source of fiber.
- Strawberries are a rich source of anti-oxidants, which help fight off diseases.
- Berries are lower in sugar than most other fruits that you could have for breakfast.
- The sugars that strawberries do contain are slow metabolizing and help balance blood sugar levels.
- Keeping inflammation low in your body helps prevent many diseases, strawberries are a great anti-inflammatory food to have for breakfast.
- Fruit is more beneficial to eat in the morning than in the afternoon or evening.
One thing to keep in mind when planning strawberries into your breakfast menu is to not pair them with meat-based protein. Fruits inhibit the utilization of meat proteins so fruit and meats should not be eaten together. I like to have strawberries with yogurt, in smoothies, with granola, on pancakes or waffles, or in these cookies!
Here are some more great strawberry recipes that make great breakfasts, lunches, or snacks!
- Strawberry smoothie with peanut butter granola
- Grain-free strawberry shortcake (made with cassava flour)
Breakfast Cookie Toppings & Pairings
These gluten-free strawberry cookies are good just plain by themselves, but I wanted to top them off with a little something extra… white chocolate! The white chocolate drizzle on top pairs nicely with the strawberries (and makes the cookies look pretty for the pictures!). Here is how I made my white chocolate drizzle:
- 1/4 c. Enjoy Life mini white chocolate chips
- 2 tsp. coconut oil
Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir gently. Once melted, remove from the heat and pour into a small plastic bag. Cut a very tiny piece off one of the corners of the bag. Squeeze the chocolate out the cut corner and onto the cookies, waving the bag back and forth to get the drizzle effect. It’s messy but delicious!
If you want to keep your cookies healthy (no refined sugars) then you can skip the white chocolate and try other natural toppings and pairings. Here are some other ways to spruce up your breakfast cookies:
- add a layer of cream cheese between two cookies for a breakfast cookie sandwich
- serve with additional fresh fruit and homemade yogurt
- have with a smoothie
- top with homemade coconut whipped cream and more strawberries
- slather peanut butter and homemade jam between two cookies for a sandwich
About the Ingredients
If you are going to have cookies for breakfast… they need to contain healthy ingredients. The main factors I was working with when developing this cookie recipe was I wanted them to be egg free, easy to make, and nutritious. Here are a few ingredients I’d like to highlight:
- Ground Flax Seeds- the flax seeds in these cookies provide an excellent source of fiber and work as a substitute for eggs
- Maple Syrup- maple syrup is a natural sweetener that helps these cookies taste sweet but without giving you a morning sugar rush
- Gluten-free Oats– a great breakfast food, adding them to these cookies gives them some sustenance and provides a good source of plant-based protein
- Organic Peanut Butter- the peanut butter in this recipe adds more protein to the cookies, but make sure you buy organic peanut butter since peanuts are a heavy pesticide crop
- Organic Strawberries- organic strawberries are a must because the conventional kinds are coated in chemicals and preservatives
- Tapioca & Cassava Flour– these two grain-free flours help the cookies keep their shape while still allowing the cookies to be anti-inflammatory
Breakfast Cookie Recipe Tips
These cookies are really easy to make! They use minimal dishes and are super quick to whip together. To make sure your breakfast cookies turn out fantastic, here are a few recipe tips:
- Egg Substitute– Make sure you let your flax seeds and water set long enough to become jelly like. They are your substitute for eggs in the recipe.
- Butter Consistency- Make sure your butter is softened, not melted. It will help keep the consistency of these cookies just right.
- Oats– Use whole, rolled oats for the best results. I have not tried making these cookies with quick oats.
- Strawberry Size– For the strawberries, I cut mine in half and some of the bigger ones I quartered. You can cut yours into any size you want! You can even chop them!
- Shaping– These cookies will flatten some, so mound the cookies slightly when placing them on the baking sheets. You can also shape the cookies into rounds using a spatula as soon as they come out of the oven if necessary.
- Cooling– Once out of the oven, allow them to cool on the baking sheets before moving them to a cooling rack. They are a little soft and fragile when they first come out of the oven.
- Quick Drizzle– A quick way to melt the white chocolate chips and coconut oil is to place them in a glass bowl and microwave them in 10 second increments until a smooth drizzle forms.
These gluten-free strawberry breakfast cookies are sure to satisfy all your strawberry and oat cravings! Topped with white chocolate, you can feel like you’re eating a bowl of strawberry oatmeal and chocolate dipped strawberries all at one time. These cookies are delicious fresh out of the oven, saved for the following morning, or pulled out of the freezer for a quick breakfast!
Gluten-free Strawberry Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. organic, grass-fed butter softened
- 1/2 c. organic peanut butter
- 2/3 c. pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 T. organic ground flax seeds
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free whole oats
- 6 T. Bob's Red Mill tapioca flour
- 1/2 c. Otto's Naturals cassava flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1 c. washed and sliced strawberries
- 1/2 c. allergy-friendly chocolate chips
White Chocolate Drizzle
- 1/4 c. Enjoy Life mini white chocolate chips
- 2 tsp. unrefined coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, stir together the ground flaxseeds and water. Let rest for 5 minutes until it thickens.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, peanut butter, maple syrup, and flaxseed mixture. Stir until smooth.
- Add the oats, cassava flour, tapioca flour, sea salt, and baking soda. Stir until combined. Fold in the strawberries.
- Scoop heaping tablespoons of the batter and place them on the baking sheets about 2" apart. Mound the cookies slightly.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. The edges should be lightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and press some of the allergy-friendly chocolate chips randomly into the cookies. Let the cookies cool on the pans for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely before drizzling with white chocolate.
- For the drizzle, melt the white chocolate chips with the coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat or in a small bowl in the microwave. Then drizzle it over the cookies. Let the drizzle harden and enjoy!
Where to Find the Ingredients
- Pure maple syrup
- Simply Organic vanilla extract
- Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free whole oats
- Otto’s Naturals cassava flour
- Natural Way peanut butter
- Anthony’s cassava flour
- Anthony’s ground flax seeds
- Nutiva coconut oil
- Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
- Enjoy Life mini white chocolate chips
- Enjoy Life chocolate chips
- Supplies: unbleached parchment paper
Gluten-free strawberry oatmeal cookies make the perfect, sweet summer breakfast! They are a quick and easy option for breakfast or snack. Being naturally sweetened, made with organic strawberries, and containing great sources of both protein and fiber… these cookies an amazing breakfast! You can enjoy cookies for breakfast guilt-free when you make a batch of these strawberry cookies. And they are sure to be a breakfast favorite with modern pioneers of all ages!
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