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Paleo Trail Mix Breakfast Cookies :: Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free

September 20, 2018

Your favorite handful of sweet and salty trail mix combined into one amazing Paleo Trail Mix Breakfast Cookie!

Breakfast cookie Friday’s!

You say you’ve never heard of Breakfast Cookie Friday before?! Well let me tell you, dear momma, it is totally a thing. (Check out my hashtag #BreakfastCookieFriday on Instagram!).

It all began with that sweet and spunky second born that so many of us end up scrambling after!

My second threw me for a complete loop as a baby and toddler, tossing me every single opposite behavior as my mild natured first born. If you looked up “infinite energy” in the dictionary, her name and picture would be right next to it, along with the definition of “sleepless.” Breakfast cookie Friday started as a way for me to feed my non-stop, busy toddler at the end of the week when I was completely spent and awaiting the weekend reinforcements to arrive (otherwise know as…Daddy!).

Same breakfast idea, different reason…

So “breakfast cookie Friday” became a “thing” in my house to survive the inexhaustible days of the toddlerhood season of life. Today, we still enjoy our Friday breakfast cookies, but for different reasons. Now I have a houseful of 3 school-aged kids, and breakfast cookie Friday is a fun way for us to end the school week – the girls look forward to it every Friday. I set up a “breakfast bar” of sorts, with a bowl of breakfast cookies, a bowl of hard boiled eggs or container of yogurt, some hot tea, and some plates and the girls help themselves. Oh yes, dear momma…you totally have permission to eat your breakfast cookie with a cup of coffee just a little longer because the kids can do this by themselves. *cue the round of applause! *

*Another* breakfast cookie recipe?!

I know it. There are so many on the blog – you can use the search bar for “breakfast cookies” and find all of them. (I will also link some of them up later in this post). But yes. I did create another recipe. I was inspired by some trailmix that I started making over the summer as an on-the-go snack for the girls. They were obsessed with all the flavors, and I ended up playing around with making it in cookie form. Having a variety of different breakfast cookie options not only gives our family a change up every Friday so we don’t get bored with the same flavors, it also allows me to play around with different combos of ingredients so that my readers are able to find something that fits their unique dietary goals.

All the trailmix fun in a portable, handheld breakfast on the go!

Just think of your favorite trail mix! Think of all the fun components and flavors. Salty, sweet, crunchy, and just fun to eat! Everything from nuts and seeds, to dried fruit and crispy dried coconut, it’s really all in here!

Notes on the dried fruit

This is the super fun part to change up. Depending what you have available where you live, go for it and have some fun! I will say that in the 6 or 7 batches of these cookies that I trialed making (including lots of different dried fruit trials), chopped figs were my kids’ favorite flavor. My favorite was a toss-up between the chopped figs and dried cherries. I’m able to get dried figs at a very good price at Costco or on Amazon, so it is cost effective for me. If it is pricier where you live, then simply use some raisins – they are tasty too!

What are cacao nibs?

Essentially, raw cacao nibs are little bits and pieces from a real cacao, which are the little seeds from a cacao tree. What we know of as “chocolate” only contains a little bit of cacao plus a load of sugar. They taste “bitter” on their own, but sprinkled into a honey sweetened breakfast cookie with swirls of fig or other dried fruit, and they really taste like little chocolate bits! These little cacao nibs are packed with phyto-nutrients, and you can read more about them and their benefits here.

Other ingredient notes and swaps

*Please note it is impossible for me to trial every single ingredient possibility. I did up to 6-ish batches of these cookies with various combos and I have a few swaps to suggest. If you have dietary restrictions that are not mentioned here, feel free to ask and I can try to help.

  • You can swap sprouted oats for the coconut if you can tolerate grains.
  • If you are nut free, you can swap “seed meal” for the almond flour. Just blend up sunflower seeds super fine, but don’t take it all the way to “sunbutter.” Also, if you are nut free, you can swap pumpkin seeds for the walnuts.
  • There are notes right in the recipe for my egg free friends. This is one swap I am sure of because there was one day that I ran out of eggs and didn’t have a choice! I thought the fruit puree worked fantastic.
  • If the “heaping 1/3 cup” of raw honey scares you, remember this is divided among about 16-18 cookies depending on how big you make them. It is pretty minimal. If you prefer, you could swap the honey for coconut sugar with lower glycemic index. Keep in mind that will change the color a bit darker because of the color of the coconut sugar.

Freezer notes

One of the coolest things about Breakfast Cookie Friday, is that if you plan a little ahead, you can just pull your cookies out of the freezer for breakfast – it doesn’t get any more convenient for real food than that! Cool the cookies to room temperature before putting them into freezer bags and into the freezer. I pull them out frozen the morning of and just warm them up in the oven a little. You can leave them on the counter overnight and just eat them at room temperature too.

Print Recipe
5 from 18 votes

Paleo Trail Mix Breakfast Cookies

Your favorite handful of sweet and salty trail mix combined into one amazing Paleo Trail Mix Breakfast Cookie!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time18 minutes
Total Time28 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Paleo breakfast cookies, Paleo trail mix breakfast cookies, Paleo trail mix cookies
Servings: 12 cookies
Author: Renee - www.raisinggenerationnourished.com

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • ½ cup cassava flour
  • ½ cup blanched almond flour
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds finely chopped (I use my food processor to buzz them up. You can combine flavors of seeds and use a variety of seeds if you wish.)
  • ½ cup walnuts finely chopped (I use my food processor to buzz them up. You can combine flavors of nuts and use a variety of nuts if you wish.)
  • ½ cup nut or seed butter of choice
  • 2 eggs OR if you are egg free, you can use 2 chia “eggs,” OR 2 “fruit puree eggs” (1/2 cup mashed banana, applesauce, or pumpkin puree).
  • Heaping 1/3 cup raw honey if you have older kids used to sweeter things, you can bump this up to ½ cup for sure
  • ½ cup dried fruit such as dried cherries chopped figs or dates, raisins, goji berries, etc.
  • ¼ cup raw cacao nibs
  • 1 tsp almond extract vanilla extract would work too if that is all you have
  • ½ tsp sea salt if your nuts are salted you can skip this ingredient

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Everything into a medium mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Form the cookie dough into the size cookies you want. These will not spread out, so just roll, and flatten into a disk, and set them on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 18-19 minutes. Check the cookies around the 15 minute mark in case our ovens run differently. Cool on the pan for a few minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack.

 

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30 Comments

  • Reply Karen @ Seasonal Cravings September 24, 2018 at 11:01 am

    5 stars
    I’m always up for another breakfast cookie recipe! My kids love them. I haven’t used cassava flour yet but I am interested in trying it out. If I was really organized I would make a big batch of these on Sunday and have healthy breakfasts for the whole week!

  • Reply Tessa Simpson September 24, 2018 at 1:37 pm

    5 stars
    I think I might have to adopt this idea of breakfast cookie Fridays! Look at all those healthy goodies!! I have kids who won;t touch coconut….I am sure I could figure it out, but what would you suggest?

  • Reply Joni Gomes September 24, 2018 at 2:19 pm

    5 stars
    Wow these cookies are amazing! I’m always looking for healthy but yummy treats to take to work!

  • Reply linda spiker September 24, 2018 at 3:55 pm

    5 stars
    Grab and go breakfasts are the best! Especially when they are this healthy!

  • Reply Katja September 24, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    5 stars
    This is my favorite type of recipe. So much yumminess in one healthy cookie. I’m totally making these this week. My little one will love them.

  • Reply Jean September 24, 2018 at 9:28 pm

    5 stars
    Cookies for breakfast? You know I can’t say no to that! I love that these are packed with all the things I love.

  • Reply Raia Todd September 25, 2018 at 1:49 pm

    5 stars
    I’m all about cookies for breakfast! Sometimes I even share them with my kids… haha.

  • Reply Carol Little R.H. @studiobotanica September 26, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for the great story and the delicious recipe with all the add ons and substitutions.. We eat almost anything at my place, so I can use any/all ideas and will do so! Love Cacao nibs! I actually tincture them to add to my potions! lol

  • Reply ChihYu Smith September 26, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    5 stars
    Love trail mix and now I have a recipe for breakfast. How awesome !

  • Reply tina September 27, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    Cookies for breakfast! What a great idea – looks amazing too!

  • Reply Annemarie September 28, 2018 at 9:05 am

    5 stars
    Cookies for breakfast will make my kids so happy! I love all the nourishing ingredients in these.

  • Reply Lindsey Dietz September 28, 2018 at 11:37 am

    5 stars
    I love the concept of these, so brilliant and fun! And cookies for breakfast?? BIG win!

  • Reply Emily @ Recipes to Nourish September 28, 2018 at 5:14 pm

    5 stars
    These breakfast cookies are perfect Renee! Love all of the goodies you packed into them. That sweet older photo made me teary too, probably my pregnant hormones, but my goodness our kiddos are growing up so fast. Such a sweet memory in that photo, love it!

  • Reply Anne Lawton September 30, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    5 stars
    what a great idea for a quick breakfast and so healthy too!

  • Reply Kari - Get Inspired Everyday! October 1, 2018 at 9:50 am

    5 stars
    I love breakfast cookies, and you could never make too many versions in my opinion! Also just love that you added cacao nibs to yours, definitely need to try that!

  • Reply Diana November 20, 2018 at 6:53 am

    5 stars
    This recipe is a family favorite for sure! Today I made them with a 50/50 mixture of blackstrap molasses and maple syrup (for a total of 1/3 cup) in place of the 1/3 cup honey and they taste amazing!

    • Reply Renee Kohley November 24, 2018 at 6:51 pm

      I’m glad you enjoyed it Diana! Molasses is a great add!

  • Reply Pam November 30, 2018 at 11:27 am

    Can you substitute the cassava flour? Would more almond flour work or something else? I cannot get cassava easily.

    • Reply Renee Kohley December 1, 2018 at 10:04 am

      Hi Pam! I’m sure more of another flour would work – you would just have to work with the amount a little – cassava flour is really absorbent, so more almond flour would have to be more in amount.

  • Reply Shelby @Fitasamamabear January 13, 2019 at 11:22 am

    5 stars
    They looks tasty- and fueling, perfect for breakfast!

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  • Reply paleoglutenfreeguy August 29, 2019 at 5:58 pm

    5 stars
    I love this idea! Plus I’d rather eat a trail mix cookie than try to eat a bag of trail mix with all the little separate bits and pieces. This is such a great idea for a portable snack!

  • Reply Megan Stevens September 1, 2019 at 10:39 am

    5 stars
    I LOVE these! The fig and nib combination has me ready to make them. Thank you, all my kids can eat these with the egg-free option! 🙂

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  • Reply Courtney April 22, 2021 at 6:48 am

    These looks great! Where we live we don’t have access to cassava flour. Do you have any substations? I have almond flour, coconut flour, oat flour, whole wheat, and a gluten-free blend flour

    • Reply Renee Kohley April 22, 2021 at 7:22 am

      Hi Courtney! Sure! I think any of those would work actually, just maybe in different amounts. Cassava is really absorbent so might have to add a bit more of whatever you use than the 1/2 cup of Cassava. For texture reasons, I think I would avoid the coconut flour or they might get too crumbly/dry since there is already coconut shreds in there. The other flours would lend softness like the cassava gives 🙂

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