Breakfast COOKIES!

I have a favorite little breakfast/lunch place I like to frequent because everything is homemade and fresh! Who could ask for more, right? And recently I noticed they were selling "breakfast cookies"....hmmmmm breakfast, my favorite meal of the day and a cookie, all rolled into one? Well, seemed too good to be true, right?? Well, looking a little closely and asking "What exactly is in this cookie? " I soon found out....although the ingredients sounded delicious, it was FULL of SUGAR and FAT aka: CALORIES! EEEK, not for me, not for breakfast, but there had to be a solution, I mean, a "breakfast cookie" what a sweet concept!
So here's a recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Ellie Krieger, for a breakfast cookie that will satisfy that cookie monster in you, and won't leave you wondering why your breakfast is slowly creeping up on your thighs!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped

Directions

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Per Cookie: Calories; 190 Total fat 9 g (Saturated fat 2 g); Cholesterol 25 mg; Sodium120 mg; Carbohydrates 23 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 3 g