Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Let me start by saying, it's been a while. A very very very long while since I've actually taken the time to post about something I've baked. Quite like my last hiatus (which I believe was not too many posts ago...) I've been baking a lot, some new things and some old things. My goal is to try those new recipes again and get them up here. We'll see how that goes. 

With Christmas coming up, I've decided to start this up again. Last Christmas I made these delicious chocolate eggnog cupcakes with eggnog frosting. I started to post about it and never finished. Now, I have no idea how I made those cupcakes. Quite disappointing. This is my grand attempt at saving all of these recipes from the holidays. 

The first on my holiday list is a little ironic since it's a healthy cookie. With the exception of some sugar, you really can't feel bad about eating these... which hey, might be good to have around during the holidays. While everyone is busy running around during the hectic weeks leading up to Christmas, I felt like it would be a great idea to have something remotely healthy to grab in the morning. These won't taste like your average cookie, you can definitely tell it's made with ingredients that are good for you, but still a great treat.

Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter spread (I use this since I'm lactose intolerant, can substitute with butter)
4 tablespoons peanut butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups oats 
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened fat free Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 cup grated apples

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine the oats, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. 

Grate approximately 1- 1 1/2 apples to produce one cup of apples. Set aside. 

In the base of a stand mixer cream together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter. Add the egg followed by the vanilla. In another bowl combine the yogurt, milk, and pumpkin purée. Add half of the milk ingredients into the stand mixer and combine, followed by half of the dry ingredients. Repeat and stir just until everything is incorporated. Stir in apples. 

Spoon heaping tablespoon onto a non-stick cooking pan. Slightly press down on the top since the cookies don't spread much. I used my cinnamon-sugar grinder to top off the cookies. Place in the oven for 15-17 minutes. It may take longer to reach desired consistency. The bottom of the cookies should be golden brown.

Remove and set on cooking rack. Set these out for an on-the-go breakfast treat or just whenever you're craving something that you won't feel TOO bad about.

Enjoy :)