Cowboy Breakfast Cookies Recipe

In our house, like many others, there are weekday breakfasts and weekend breakfasts. The latter is all about indulgence and slowing down. I look forward to an unhurried Saturday morning when I can flip pancakes in my pajamas or have people over for a big spread with a pile of bacon, a fruit salad, and a beautiful casserole at the center of the table.

Weekday mornings, on the other hand, are about speed and sustenance. Everyone needs to eat something to fuel their brains and bodies before they race off to work or school. Some days there’s oatmeal or cereal with berries, and other days a toaster waffle is eaten in the car. Every so often, someone goes to the Dunkin’ drive-through and lets their kid eat a bag of Munchkins doughnut holes. (Okay, fine…it’s me.)

Could the two breakfast worlds ever combine? My vision was to create a grab-and-go option that’s a little bit decadent without being a total sugar bomb. And I didn’t want it to come from a box or a package.

Enter the breakfast cookie. More wholesome than a muffin or a bowl of cornflakes, it’s packed with enough whole grains, pecans, and fruit to keep you going throughout the morning—but it still tastes like a treat. And if you have someone with a food allergy or an aversion to nuts in the family, you can tweak this recipe to suit your needs, like in the two variations shown below.

Bake a batch on Sunday, and you’ll be set for a whole week of easy breakfasts—just add a cup of coffee or a glass of milk. If a delicious cookie can’t get you out of bed in the morning, I don’t know what will.

Southern Living Test Kitchen Tips

• You want your bananas for this recipe to be super ripe. They should have lots of brown spots, or even large brown swaths on them, like the kind of bananas you would use for banana bread.
• Don’t panic if the dough looks slightly broken when the egg, mashed fruit, and maple syrup is mixed in, it will come together in the end.
• Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days, or in the refrigerator for up to four days. Make sure to store the cookies in a single layer, separated by parchment paper, to prevent them sticking together.

Editor’s Note: This recipe was developed by Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman; the headnote was written by Lisa Cericola.