Okay, that’s unfair. I’m fine with Jamba Juice, but some are stocked with sub-par items. You’re usually charged $5 for water, and your name is misspelled on the coffee. There are also no vegetables in sight.
Portland Airport is a shining beacon of light. Coffee People has a pretty good selection of coffee, tea, and almond milk lattes. They also offer a “Wonder Muffin,” which is just what it sounds like.
I tried for hours to make the Wonder Muffin, a gluten-free, vegan blueberry muffin, but I failed. The recipe may still be floating somewhere in the universe. Breakfast cookies will do until then.
After a few failed muffin attempts, I realized that the closest thing you can get to a muffin would be breakfast cookies, which are completely doable, vegan, and gluten-free.
It is easy to make, as it only requires one bowl. It’s also (vegan), Butter-free, vegan, gluten-free, and naturally sugared. Oh yeah.
This recipe can be made ahead and brought to school or work (or even while traveling). These are the perfect breakfast or snack, and they’re packed with healthy ingredients!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal (to make flax eggs)
- Use 5 Tbsp of water to make flax egg
- One medium to large ripe banana, mashed (1 banana yields ~1/2 cup mashed)
- Unsweetened applesauce, 1/3 cup
- I mixed 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/2 cup almond Butter.
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Coconut oil 2 Tbsp
- Maple syrup or agave nectar, 3 Tbsp
- Baking powder, 1/2 tsp
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- Sea salt, one pinch
- Gluten-free Rolled Oats, 1 1/2 cups
- Almond meal (finely ground raw almonds): 1/2 cup
- One cup oat flour (finely ground gluten-free grains of oats).
- Chop walnuts or pecans into three tablespoons
- Add more dried fruit for topping.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine flaxseed and water in a large bowl and allow to rest for five minutes. This will give you an “eggy” texture.
- Add the bananas and mix well. Add applesauce and mix thoroughly.
- Add the peanut butter or almond Butter, vanilla, melted Coconut Oil, Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt and whisk well.
- Mix oats with almond meal and oats until well combined. The batter may look wet and sticky, but that’s a good thing!
- Add the walnuts and blueberries and stir to combine (see photo). Then, refrigerate the batter for five minutes to allow it to harden. Lightly grease a baking tray.
- You can use a tablespoon, small teaspoon, or Cookie scoop to scoop the batter on your baking sheet. Then, spread it out with your fingertips. The cookies won’t spread much so that you can place them pretty close together. Add a few dried blueberries on top (optional). Press gently to adhere.
- Bake the cookies for 15-16 minutes or until they are golden brown around the edges.
- Allow to rest on the baking sheet for three minutes before moving onto a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container after cooling completely to keep the food fresh for a few more days. The frozen product will keep for up to a month.
