Make Ahead Breakfast Cookies

Need something quick for those busy mornings? Grab one of these delicious breakfast cookies as you are going out the door and you’ll have a great start to your day!

I’m always looking for nutritious things to feed my husband and since he has a legendary sweet tooth, it’s a challenge to put "good for you stuff in him". He would have chocolate cake for breakfast if I let him. His rationale is that it has all the things people normally have for breakfast, Eggs, Flour (bread), Milk, but it is wrapped up in a convenient package.

One of his favorite cookies is oatmeal raisin, so I started experimenting with the dough. I love carrot cake so I thought I would try to incorporate those flavors. I added shredded carrots, cranberries (cause they are a super food), and the beer is a nod to my Irish Grandmother who thought that a little nip in the morning never hurt any one and the only beer worth drinking was Guinness Stout.

These cookies have become one of my favorite things to keep around. Not only are they good for breakfast, they are also good for lunch, or for that much needed 3:00 boost, or for an after dinner desert, or a midnight snack.

They are also great to pack in school lunches. We even put them in our backpacks and take them fly fishing with us. When the fish aren’t biting we snack on the cookies.

Carrot Cranberry Oatmeal Stout Cookies

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup shredded carrots

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 pound unsalted butter

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon molasses

3 tablespoons Guinness Stout

1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir in oatmeal, carrots and cranberries. Set aside.

In work bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in egg, molasses, Guinness Stout, and almond extract. Add dry ingredients, a little at a time, until well combined. Do not over mix.

Drop rounded spoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until done. Let cool for 2 minutes then carefully remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Makes 24 cookies