Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 medium overripe banana
• ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 cup almond butter
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• 2 1/3 cup quick oats
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
• ½ cup dried golden raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare cookie/baking sheet by spraying with nonstick cooking spray or lining with parchment paper.
2. Place banana, applesauce, almond butternandhoney in a large mixing bowl.
3. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine the ingredients until creamy.
4. Add vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt to the banana mixture and mix until combined.
5. Add the oatmeal, nuts, and dried fruit to the wet ingredients until thoroughly mixed.
6. To form each cookie, scoop two tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet.
7. Since these cookieswill not spread during baking, flatten each mound of cookie dough using wet fingertips or the back of a spoon.
8. Bake in the oven at 325°F for 15-17 minutes or until cookiesare golden brown
9. Allow the cookiesto cool on the baking pan for 5-8 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
10. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container for up to seven days.

Note: Make these cookies your own by substituting some of your favorite ingredients:

• Instead of almond butter, try using your favorite nut butter, including creamy peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, or cashew butter.
• Instead of honey, try using agave nectar or molasses. Remember: Do not feed honey to children under 1 year old due to the risk of botulism.
• Instead of walnuts, try using your favorite nuts, including almonds, pecans, or pistachios
• Instead of golden raisins, try using your favorite dried fruits, including raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried chopped dates, or dried chopped apricots. Look for these dried fruits without added sugars.