Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies

The post that post I planned to post today has been rescheduled due to extremely cold temps and school being closed. Yep that means it is a day this mama gets to play in the kitchen with her girls and I am thinking first up some healthy cookies! Since they had pancakes for dinner last night today would be a great morning to make cookies for breakfast so I thought I would share these cookies I made awhile back and forgot to share. With all the cookie overload from the holidays I was going to save them for another time but that time has come!

As I wrote awhile back when we were in Ireland I, and the girls, fell in love with some Sour Cherry Pistachio White Chocolate Chip Cookies! The cookies were heavenly and while I haven’t tried to recreate the cookies yet (will save that for another time and instead use them as inspiration to make a healthier version) I made Sour Cherry Pistachio Scones. Now that things have settled down a little I decided now would be the time to start tackling some of the things on my “Want To Make/Must Make” list. I woke up one chilly morning and realized it had been some time since I baked the girls some cookies for breakfast. Yes if you are new to my blog and haven’t seen our previous recipes we like to make healthy cookies for breakfast. Made from oatmeal, banana, a splash of non dairy milk, little to no sugar (depending on the recipe), and any add-ins we add they are a great start to any day! I like to think of it as a different way of eating a bowl of oatmeal which the girls go through phases of I liking and disliking it. Getting on a roll and not being able to decide which flavor I wanted to make I made a few batches of these cookies over a couple of days, and more for taking to grandma and grandpa. With only a dozen or a couple more cookies per batch you can switch them up without commitment.

These cookies are best the day you make them and depending on moisture content in the air they can lose their freshness and only last a couple of days. If you have any that last that long as a batch in our house doesn’t last hours, let alone a day.

Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 15 cookies
2c rolled oats (used gluten free)
1/2c applesauce, pumpkin puree, or mashed banana
1/4 c non dairy milk (used So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk or So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Milk Plus)
2-3 TBSP coconut palm sugar or 2 TBSP maple syrup (used Navitas Naturals Coconut Palm Sugar)
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4- 1/3c dried cherries, or cranberries would also be delicious
2 TBSP chopped raw pistachios
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, optional/
1/4c white chocolate chips, optional

Variations:
Applesauce, almond milk, no white chocolate chips.
Pumpkin, coconut milk, cinnamon, added white chocolate chips.
Banana, almond milk, no white chocolate chips.

Variations made after but not pictured (some on Instagram):
Pumpkin, So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk, cinnamon, no white chocolate chips.
Applesauce, So Delicious Egg Nog Coconut Milk, added white chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350. In a food processor, or blender, add oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and pulse until oats are to desired texture. I like texture so I just pulse them a couple times to combine. You can also just mix the dry ingredients in a bowl without chopping. In a large bowl mix applesauce (or mashed banana, or pumpkin puree), milk, coconut palm sugar (or maple syrup), and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients into the wet, once combine fold in dried cherries, pistachios, and optional white chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool a couple of minutes and remove from baking sheet and place on cooling rack. Enjoy!