My son arrived last night for a short visit, and I needed something gluten free and reasonably healthy to accompany our breakfast this morning. So, with the bananas in short supply, I opted to adjust the Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies and make them Mango Breakfast Cookies instead. I had a large can of Kesar mango pulp on hand (which I bought at an Asian market) and thought the mango would be plenty sweet as well as provide a thick enough texture to bind the oats and other ingredients. Sure enough. The mango worked just fine. I did need to let the batter sit for about 15 minutes, and I added some baking powder and soda (which I decided was not necessary) as well as walnuts and dried cranberries. The cookies turned out quite well. They are sweet--without added sugar--moist, and full of vitamins A and C as well as whole-grain oats. Best of all, the Mango Breakfast Cookies are really good!
Mango Breakfast Cookies – Makes 16+
3 cups of oats (old fashioned)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of allspice
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
2 eggs
2 cups of mango puree
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or coat them with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the oats, salt, cinnamon, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, walnuts, and dried cranberries. In another bowl, combine the mango puree, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix everything well. Let the batter stand for about 15 minutes. Drop the batter by large spoonfuls (about 2 tablespoons worth) onto the parchment. The batter will spread out, and that’s fine. Leave about two inches between each cookie mound. Bake the cookies 20-30 minutes or until the edges are firm and the tops are golden. Cool the cookies completely and store them in the refrigerator.