Who loves cookies? Who loves cookies for breakfast?? These vegan sweet potato breakfast cookies are perfect for a pre-run energy boost or a post-workout treat. They are a quick and healthy breakfast option. Soft, chewy and loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, sweet potato breakfast cookies are perfect for runners or any athlete!

As a runner, I adore sweet potatoes. They are a perfect carb for runners and rich in antioxidants and vitamins, like vitamin A, vitamin C and manganese. They also have anti-inflammatory properties, which means these cookies can be enjoyed guilt-free after a run. As I’ve started ultramarathon training, I’m experimenting with more real foods on my long runs. These cookies are magical after working up an appetite on the trails.









Now, these aren’t what you’d think of when you think of “cookie.” Sweet potato breakfast cookies are meant to be more wholesome and breakfast-y. They are subtly sweet, thanks to the natural sugars found in the sweet potato, banana, maple syrup and cranberries. Also, I’m not sure if I’d call them a cookie necessarily. They’re like chewy, soft, oatmeal bars in a circular form. But “sweet potato breakfast cookie” sounds much better than “wholesome sweet potato oat blobs.”

The inspiration for this recipe came after Thanksgiving. I am in charge of making the sweet potato dish for dinner. Usually my mom does the grocery shopping, so I thought I’d help her out. I texted her to ask how many sweet potatoes I should get for our EIGHT PERSON Thanksgiving dinner.

“Get a pound a person.”

Hmm… that seems like a lot… 8 pounds of sweet potatoes? Well, I guess she knows better.

She did not know better.

SWEET POTATOES FOR DAYS!

What do you do when you have all those leftovers? You improvise and see what sweet potato tastes like in cookies, that’s what. I had seen an article in Runner’s World for pumpkin coconut cookies, so I made some tweaks. These cookies are vegan, naturally sweet, and rich with healthy fats. They provide enough fuel for a run or start the recovery process afterwards. You can sub gluten-free oats with no change to flavor. Let’s get to it!







Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. In a food processor or blender, pulse 2 cups of oats until they’re well-ground. You’re going for “mediumly chopped,” or somewhere in between whole oats and fine flour (why is there no good descriptive word for that?).

In a large bowl, mix the pulsed oats with the remaining 1 cup of oats, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, and ground cinnamon.

In a smaller bowl, mash sweet potato puree and your banana. Pro tip: To make sweet potato puree you have a few options. One is to peel and cut the potato, and then boil it like I did in the above picture. Alternatively, you can poke a few holes in the potato, wrap it in a damp paper towel, and pop it in the microwave for about 10 minutes. Let it cool, carefully remove the skin and mash away. If you’re planning ahead, you can also wrap a sweet potato in some tin foil and stick it in the oven to bake at 350ºF for about 40 minutes. But sometimes cookie cravings come on and there’s no time to waste!

Yes, you want a banana that is black. The blacker the banana, the sweeter it is! Add in the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract and dried cranberries to the sweet potato banana mash. PRO TIP: make sure the maple syrup is warm!! If it is cold, the coconut oil will start to re-solidify and you will be left with a gunky mess. See below if you don’t believe me.

If this happens, then you can always pop the mixture in the microwave for a few seconds until it melts again. If you don’t like cranberries, you can substitute raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips, or whatever other mix-in you prefer. Since my first experimentation with these cookies started around Thanksgiving, cranberries were on sale. Plus, I think that sweet potatoes and cranberries complement each other very well.

Next, Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. The batter will be very thick and sticky. Use your hands or a measuring cup to scoop ~1/4 cup of batter onto cookie sheets and form into a circle. 350ºF for 25-30 minutes or until the bottoms turn golden brown.

Remove to and let cool. Or eat them hot. I know I usually sneak one 🙂

There you have it. Vegan sweet potato breakfast cookies. Chewy, dense, and wholesome. Slightly sweet and healthy cookies. Of course, you don’t have to just enjoy them at breakfast. I know I don’t!

Are you a sweet potato lover? If you try this recipe, let me know! Rate it, leave a comment, take a picture and tag @Rabbitfoodruns on Instagram. I’d love to see your vegan sweet potato cookie creations!

Buen Provecho.

Becca







Print Recipe Vegan Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies These vegan sweet potato breakfast cookies are the perfect pre-run snack or post-run treat! Made with coconut oil, they contain the healthy fats needed to sustain workouts. The breakfast cookies are naturally-sweetened with maple syrup, bananas and cranberries. Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 25-30 minutes Servings cookies Ingredients 3 cups rolled oats, divided *gluten-free if needed

3/4 cup coconut flour *See notes for substitutions

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup steamed and mashed sweet potato *See notes

1 medium banana, mashed

1/2 cup maple syrup *Room temperature

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries *sub walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips or other mix-in Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 25-30 minutes Servings cookies Ingredients 3 cups rolled oats, divided *gluten-free if needed

3/4 cup coconut flour *See notes for substitutions

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup steamed and mashed sweet potato *See notes

1 medium banana, mashed

1/2 cup maple syrup *Room temperature

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries *sub walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips or other mix-in Instructions Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a food processor, pulse 2 cups of the rolled oats until coarsely ground. Mix in a large bowl with remaining 1 cups of oats, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger and ground cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine sweet potato puree and banana. Mash together. Add maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract and cranberries. Mix well. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. The batter will be thick and sticky. Scoop ~1/4 cup of batter onto a baking sheet and shape into a circle. Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes or until the bottoms turn golden brown. Remove and let cool on a wire rack. Recipe Notes *If subbing flours, use 1 cup almond flour or whole wheat flour. Coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid, which is why you need to increase the amount if using other flours. *To make the sweet potato, poke a few holes in it, wrap in a damp paper towel, and microwave on high for 10 minutes. Carefully remove from the microwave and let cool. Alternatively, you can wrap the sweet potato in tin foil and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes. If no sweet potatoes are on hand, sweet potato puree works fine too. * Just like with the cornbread recipe, make sure the maple syrup is room temperature! Otherwise the coconut oil will solidify and you will have crumbly cookies that have giant chunks of oil. No body wants that! Share this Recipe

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