Vegan breakfast cookies by Lazy Cat Kitchen

Ingredients

• 90 g / 1 cup rolled jumbo oats
• 1/3 cup almond meal (or any other finely ground nuts)
• 3 tbsp desiccated coconut or hemp seeds
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon or vanilla essence
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 45 ml / 3 tbsp 100% natural nut butter (I used smooth almond butter)
• 45 ml / 3 tbsp maple syrup or agave syrup
• 1/3 cup mashed ripe banana (1 medium)
• fresh or dried berries, to decorate

Instructions

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 160° C fan / 320° F fan (or 180° C / 355° F with no fan function) and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
2. 2
   Place all the ingredients (apart from the berries) in a medium bowl.
3. 3
   Mix really well to make sure all the wet ingredients are evenly distributed. It does help if you combine the wet ingredients (nut butter, maple syrup and mashed up banana) in a separate bowl first, but I found that it's not necessary if you simply mix everything really well afterwards. The mixture should be dense and sticky (if it's not dense enough, incorporate a few more oats).
4. 4
   Chill the mixture in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
5. 5
   Grab portions of the dough and roll them into balls between your hands. I weighed the mixture and divided it into 9 equal portions (about 30 g for each cookie). You could also use an ice cream scoop if you have one. Place the cookie balls on the prepared baking tray. Flatten the balls with your hand gently and stick a berry or two in each cookie (if using).
6. 6
   Bake for about 20 minutes (or until quite brown). Allow the cookies to cool down completely before eating. Keep in an airtight container.