In an effort to make Mom proud, Chow Bella's taking a good, hard look at the most important meal of the day in the form of Scrambled, a mashup of breakfast recipes, news and reviews of local restaurants serving the a.m. crowd.
We were eager to jump on the breakfast cookie trend. We've seen the prepackaged ones here and there for years but given the other trend of home cooking, these are the real deal. It's so nice to wake up on those days that you've done some work ahead of time and know that breakfast is ready. Bon Appetit magazine featured this recipe from Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner: A Love Story for her breakfast cookie.
One of the comments on her blog post mentions Mark Bittman's story about breakfast cereals containing more sugar than the cookies his grandmother served him for breakfast as a child. This cookie is definitely still a cookie but absolutely leans toward the healthful side with 3 cups of dried fruits, nuts, oats and the once weird and now mainstream ingredient quinoa.
For something that's supposed to be healthful, we think they taste really good. Granted, they do have a whole stick of butter in them and three different sweeteners -- sugar, brown sugar and honey. The barely crispy edges (with extra crispy toasted quinoa), soft sweet cookie and chewy bits of dried cranberry were wonderfully satisfying. It's probably safe to say they won't last the whole week but you can always make a game out of it and try.
Almond-Cherry-Quinoa Breakfast Cookies Recipe by Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner: A Love Story White whole wheat flour and quinoa can be found at Trader Joe's, better supermarkets, and at natural foods stores. 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar 1/4 cup honey 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled 1 cup old-fashioned oats 1 cup dried cherries or cranberries 1/2 cup slivered unsalted almonds
Preheat oven to 375°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and honey in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and extracts; beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir in quinoa, oats, cranberries, and almonds. Spoon dough in 2-tablespoon portions onto prepared sheets, spacing 1" apart. Bake cookies until golden, 12-15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. DO AHEAD: Store cooled cookies airtight at room temperature for 1 day, or freeze for up to 1 month.
