Joy the Baker

Vegan Carrot Cherry Breakfast Cookies

by 159 Comments

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New Joy the Baker Podcast is ready for your ears!  Get your listen on!!

When I was a small little baby girl, I was super stoked to grow up and:

Wear sunglasses like Jackie O.  Stop doing homework.  Shave my legs (um…. wwwhhhhyyyy!?).  Stay up past 9:30.  Watch all the Beverly Hills 90210 ever ever ever made.  Do my own hair.  Roller skate without a helmet.  Play basketball better than my little sister (I can not.  I mean… come on).  Be a firefighter, writer, or veterinarian.  Eat cookies for breakfast, Cheetos for lunch, and fried chicken and chocolate cake for dinner.

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I’m a real-life grown-up now.

I’ve moved past my haphazard Jackie O phase.  I’m pretty sure that email is the new homework.  I shave my legs, but wow… the appeal of that pastime is loooong gone.  I stay up as late as I want… because I’m grown.  Beverly Hills 90210 has been replaced by Real Housewives of Minnetonka.  I get my hair done did…. and that feels nice.  I wear a helmet because I’m totally over trying to look cute.  I’m totally into trying to look alive.  I realized I don’t like fire, dictionaries, or sick animals.  I don’t eat Cheetos for lunch.  If I ate fried chicken and chocolate cake everyday I would be a happy and hefty lady.

But!  but but but but but….. I can totally have cookies for breakfast.

I may have known absolutely nothing about my adult self as a young youth…. Meh! At least now there are cookies, and coffee, and iPhones.

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These are happy happy cookies!  Major.

They’re absolutely filled with good for you stuffs!

Whole wheat flour.  Oats.  Millet.  Carrots.  Dried cherries.  Maple Syrup.  Coconut oil.  and Ginger!

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Amazing!

I didn’t say any words like butter, chocolate, peanut butter, cupcake, nutella, marshmallows.  I didn’t say aaaany of those words!  It sorta made me twitch a little.

These breakfast cookies are entirely wholesome and totally delicious.  They’re moist, soft, and cakey… like carrot cake with a crunch.  They have just a hint of coconut flavor (from the oil), a little zip from the ginger, and a perfect tartness from the dried cherries.  I am totally obsessed!

If you eat one whole rushing out of the house, into your car, into traffic, spilling your coffee, forgetting your cell phone, trying to get to work… I assure you, you’ll feel like a real-life grown-up.  For better or worse.

Carrot Millet Breakfast Cookies

makes about 2 dozen cookies

adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Print this Recipe!

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 cup old-fashioned oats

3 tablespoons dry millet

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup real maple syrup

heaping 1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, millet, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In another medium bowl, whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup, shredded carrots, dried cherries, and ginger.  Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients.  Fold together until thoroughly incorporated.  Let dough stand for 5 minutes before spooning by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until just slightly browned and cooked through.  I like these cookies a bit underdone.  Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.  The fresher the cookies are, the better the are… obviously.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Kerzia

    I made these cookies yesterday. Wow they are delicious. I’m really glad I didn’t substitute anything for the millet, they add a great texture. Also, I added yogurt chips (I know, not vegan) which reminded me of cream cheese frosting :-)

    Reply

  4. Carol

    I make these cookies all the time – and I can gain weight from reading recipes so-
    I put it into a nutritional calculator website- since I’m eating them regularly and knowledge is power- and I found out that if you get 24 cookies from the recipe, they have 127 calories, 18 gr. carbohydrate, 2 grams protein and 5 gr. fat. Just so you know….

    They are worth every one!

    Reply

  5. Janel

    I did not have any coconut oil, so I used 1/2 cup butter in place of the coconut oil. I also added 2 egg yolks to make them more moist because I live in Colorado a dry climate. Also, I added a small handful of coconut. They were great! I fed some to my cattledog and she loved them! :-)

    Reply

  6. Kylin

    I’m so excited to make these! I’ve been looking for a healthy breakfast cookie. This is perfect! Also, I too wanted to grow up and shave my legs and bike without a helmet. Of course, now shaving is dull and biking without a helmut is a nicht gut idea. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  7. Becca

    So I was hoping you could tell me what I can sub in for the whole wheat if I’m attempting to go gluten free for a bit… just an experiment mind you, so if I eat wheat I won’t puff up and die. So, I’ve got some barely flour and teff flour recently, have no idea why, they just looked good and I thought, why not? Can I use them in place of the wheat flour? Or do I have to add other things? (learning about potato starch, arrowroot starch, xanthum gum… what?)
    Thanks!!!

    Reply

  8. catherine

    yum! made with butter instead of coconut oil and came out great. next time I’ll spread them out a little more before baking b/c they stayed in almost the exact shape I put them on the sheet.

    Reply

  10. Caitlin

    These just came out of the oven! I substituted cranberries for cherries because my grocery store did not carry any, but they are still amazingly delicious! Thanks for yet another excellent recipe. I will be living off of these for the next few days :)

    Reply

  12. Danielle

    I made these today and am keeping this recipe for life. So good! It took a while to find dried cherries but my local Whole Foods carries ONE KIND — the Eden brand and on the top shelf so they’re hard to find. I knew I wanted to hold out for cherries and not use a substitute and it was totally worth it.

    Reply

  13. Lady Jennie

    I made these today. I couldn’t find coconut oil or dried cherries so went with grape seed oil and raisins. Lots of spicy ginger (yum) and rice-chestnut flour with xanthum gum to make them gluten free.

    They are sooo good!

    (It was the millet that seduced me and that crunchy touch makes the recipe). (Oh, and I had a bunch of runt carrots from the garden to use up too).

    Reply

  14. laura k

    Ok, I’ve just discovered your blog this morning and have already bookmarked about 3 recipes. It might be a new favorite. Thanks to Shutterbean for sending me over here. :-)

    Reply

  15. Seanna Lea

    This sounds pretty amazing. They look like some of the soft scones (of the non-triangular variety) that I’ve made in the past, only healthier but with more bad press (I mean, really, cookies makes it sound like it cannot ever in a million years be good for you). I have carrots from the farmer’s market and some wheat germ that I can use in place of the millet. Awesome!

    Reply

  16. doe mora

    joy – i feel like i always say the same thing…THANK YOU!! i just made these for our 2cd thursday meeting for the docs and the midwives and they are going to be thrilled. i admit i cut the oil a little ( no coconut, used safflower) and the maple syrup a bit; added some candied and dried ginger. you are an amazing baker and you make a LOT of people happy.

    Reply

  17. Danielle

    I don’t have any millet but I have a big bag of amaranth lying around. Do you think you can substitute the millet with amaranth? I’ve never cooked with either.

    Reply

  18. Kendra

    I made these yesterday — I didn’t have coconut oil so I used butter. And I substituted dried cranberries for the cherries and I also added some shredded unsweetened coconut. Super good! They are addicting!!

    Reply

  19. thou

    wow, I could so feed these to my pet parrots as well minus the oil part. def will have to try these. one batch for me and one batch for my birds.

    Reply

  20. Lady Jennie

    I bet I can tweak this to make it gluten free (chestnut flour?) but I have never seen dried cherries here. I’d have to find a substitute, but how delicious (and healthy) does this look?

    Reply

  22. Gillian

    I just made these and they are wonderful. My husband wanted to eat them all. He said a 4 pack of these and an espresso for breakfast and he’s set.

    Reply

  32. Rebecca A E

    Helmets, always! I’m living in Texas right now and not even a person driving a motorcycle… on the highway!… wears a helmet. This… is scary.

    Reply

  36. Esther

    Eating cookies (or cupcakes, or cake, or ice cream) for breakfast is one of my favorite things about being a so-called ‘grown-up’. These look scrumptious!

    Reply

  37. christine [the sugar apothecary]

    Joy, you crack me up. The “not having to wear a helmet” thing goes hand in hand with my burning childhood desire to go fishing with my dad without a life jacket. I am 24 and still feel like a cool kid, sitting on the back of the boat without being surrounded by fluorescent styrofoam.

    Those are some mighty good lookin’ cookies, missy. Such an adult, eating your grains and veggies!

    Reply

    • homegrown countrygirl

      That’s what I was thinking, too! You did become a very good writer! “Tiny Joy” just forgot to add that you would also become a very good baker, recipe maker, photographer, podcast developer, pretty dish collector, bourbon drinker, kitty mother, list maker, and inspire-er!

      Reply

  43. Rita D.

    Ohhh! These are a must bake….I just made breakfast cookies last week, but yours are so much yummier than mine. I just used oats and crushed corn flakes in mine.

    Reply

  47. Paige

    I love the idea of a healthy cookie for breakfast! Has anyone substituted raisins for the cherries and omitted the ginger? I love carrot-raisin muffins and thought this may work here…!

    Reply

  49. Josie Ryder

    Joy! I have just become Vegan and was sooo excited to see this recipe on your blog! Yours is my absolute favourite food blog and there wasno way I was gonna stop trying your recipes, I was just gonna try and veganise all that butter stuff. But this is way better! Thank you :)

    Reply

  54. Alex

    Being a grown-up is all about doing the things you weren’t supposed to as a kid. One of my greatest little pleasures of being an ‘adult’ (I’m 23, so adult is still kinda stretching it) is eating a donut from the bakery section while at the grocery store. I always get glares of envy from the kids in the shopping cart seats because it is totally what they wish they could be doing; I know the feeling because it was always something I wish I could do when I was a kid accompanying my mom to the store.

    Reply

  55. Amy @ Saving with Us

    Hmmm…I wonder if my son would think these were actual not-good-for-you cookies and eat them for breakfast and think I was the greatest Mom in the world…. Must try this! Maybe I’ll build up some great-Mom points to counteract the bad-Mom points I scored for not letting him wear a mohawk or monster-truck tattoos to kindergarten this morning! Thanks!

    Reply

  57. Mary

    Joy, I love your blog and so enjoy all your posts! But I have a very important question for you (and for anyone else out there)…if you and a boy were cooking together for a first date, what would be a fun thing to make that is easy but involves lots of doing stuff and having fun in the kitchen? Any suggestions are very appreciated!

    xo Mary

    Reply

  59. Lina

    This is great- Ima try these.

    Could I use quinoa for the millet?
    And maybe I’ll split 1/4 cup of the oil for olive oil and 1/4 for extra virgin coconut oil, or maybe I’ll use applesauce to make them even healthier…

    Reply

    • Elizabeth

      Yeah, I was wondering the same thing too? Cause I have quinoa in the pantry, but not millet. Do you think the applesauce for the fat would work in this cookie – or would it be too soft? Thanks SO much!

      Reply

  62. Paula

    These look amazing, and they will be perfect for my little guy, who has many food allergies as well as for the rest of us, who are trying to FEED ourselves more, rather than eating empty, unhealthy stuff. I hate coconut with a passion. It just makes me sick. The mere thought of it now… *gag* Never mind. Can I substitute unsweetened applesauce or canola oil (or a combo)?

    Reply

    • Paula

      Do you know if Costco sells millet? or even Wal-Mart? I’m just hearing about it, and I’d rather not trek to my nearest Whole Foods and spend a fortune, if possible.
      Thanks!

      Reply

      • Archer Atkins

        Millet is VERY cheap and is usually found in the bulk food aisle of most grocery stores. Even if you did go to whole foods to get it, its not really expensive, even at the expensive stores. ;) I’ve never seen it at Costco or Wal-Mart, though.

        Reply

  64. mendomamma

    Great recipe! Appealing to moms and kids alike and very easily adapted to gluten free (which we are). The Vegan-ness of it is a bonus- good choice!!!! And yes, cookies for breakfast are awesome. I also have my 7 year old loving “dinner smoothies” with fresh fruit, yogurt, some sort of milk and then fill a good portion of the blender with spinach (that’s the “dinner” part as far as he is concerned). Life is good!!!

    Reply

  65. Sincerely Jill

    I remember fighting my mom about shaving my legs, too… and you’re right, it has completely lost its appeal. These cookies look all around amazing anytime of the day! I love me some dried cherries, and anything that resembles carrot cake is a win win.

    Reply

  66. lidia@ sugarslut

    I think I’m going to do a combination of your recipe and 101 cookbook’s recipe.
    Maybe leaving out the millet but adding the cinnamon and switching the cherries for
    another dried fruit?

    Reply

  68. h

    1. oh, joy. you bring so much delicious-ness into my life!
    2. if you no longer want to shave your legs, you don’t have to; it hasn’t scared away all those clean-shaven souls near and dear to me.
    3. thank you. :)

    Reply

  73. Lucia

    When I was a kid I wanted to sell books and treats. Now I love to write stories and to bake pies. We grow up, we change. But in some ways we’re still the same.

    Reply

  74. Meghan

    I’m actually really excited to make these. I love it! They look delic! AND cookies for breakfast rules. I always couldn’t wait to shave my legs as a kid, too. Kids are weird, man!

    Reply

  78. B

    The list of things I fantasized about as a young girl cracks me up now. Marrying Johnathan Taylor Thomas, getting boobies, and I totally wanted to shave as well (I remember fighting with my mom the second I graduated to middle school about this fact). I also wanted to wear bright red lipstick every day (ha!), and reallyreallyREALLY wanted to wear heels every day. These days it’s a dash of lip balm and flats but somehow I think 9yr old Beth would still think 23yr old Beth is cool regardless of how far I strayed.

    Ps. I’m totally making these cookies, like, as soon as I get off work. It’s going to be delicious and my roommates are probably going to hug me for it :)

    Reply

  81. Sarah

    When you tweeted that you were making cookies into breakfast, my brain figured you had cookies of some sort that you were eating for breakfast thereby making them into breakfast. To your tweet I thought, “yeah…just add milk.”
    These are actually breakfast cookies! Yay!

    Reply

  86. Emalee

    I read your post and I went “What? Real housewives of Minnetonka?!?”
    Is this a real thing? And are you talking about Minnetonka, MN?

    Anyway, your breakfast cookies look delicious!

    Reply

  87. Michelle

    Forget the real adult things like bills and stupid obligation that we feel. Other than that it is pretty awesome to ummmmm….. be around fun kids and live a little vicariously through them. …… I also just go ride my bike and forget all the real adult things for a few hours. Come home and eat cookies…..

    Reply

  90. Holly

    Wow! I’m totally impressed. These look amazing, and who doesn’t love cookies for breakfast? If I can find cherries I’m definitely trying them!

    Reply

  99. Beeb

    Oh my goodness these look scrumptious! I even did the calculations and they’re only 3 WW points (each)! Thank you for being so amazing Joy. :)

    Reply

  101. A Plum By Any Other Name

    This post had me rolling. And by the end of it, totally convinced that I needed these cookies. Which is funny, because saying “vegan” and “dessert” together usually makes me twitch, as well. That said, I’m a sucker for carrots in dessert. And I confess: I’ve become quite taken with millet.

    Reply

  105. Re

    You looked forward to shaving your legs?! Ha ha! That’s a riot! You must’ve been an awesome kid. :)

    I was a little wary of mixing carrots and cherries together, but I think this would actually be really fun to try. :)

    Reply

  106. Tracy

    Whoops…meant vegan…although I would like to make somw gluten-free stuff too! Better have another cup of coffee :)

    Reply

  109. Tracy

    I’m inching my way into doing some gluten-free baking, and these look like a great start. I like to bake with my 2 little boys, and the upside is that they will try ANYTHING as long as they helped make it. Carrots for breakfast? Mom WIN!

    Reply

  110. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga

    Love the looks of these. I actually make a nobake “dessert” ball. Or snack bite. Whatever you want to call it. It uses very little sugar and you can skip that :) but dates, carrots, raisins, almond flour. Just good clean vegan and GF fun! And I love the looks of your clean vegan goodies.

    But I am not going to lie, I do love desserts of all kinds, including the sugary ones too :)

    Reply

  111. booboo

    now it will seem that I write only when there is millet in your recipe, but it is a mere coincidence. I just, without delay, need to tell you that not only that my mondays are great when your posts are in my mailbox, but you turn my wednesdays quite miraculous also. I woke up very early and I wanted to make some breakfast for my sleepy boyfriend and your cookies came over. and I made them. and boyfriend loved them. and he loved me as a consequence.
    and I absolutely need to tell you that, while I am typing this, my dog is snoring (that little dog’s snore) under my bed, where her bed is. and that is the sweetest thing. that’s why you need to know.

    Reply

  113. Mallika

    Gosh! These cookies look sinful… and being vegan they will be perfect for me :) I love your website. Please post a few more vegan or eggless recipes, so that I can make them for my family.

    Reply

    • Maxi

      Although I haven’t made these yet, I think you can most likely substitute butter for coconut oil. I have substituted the other way (coconut oil for butter) many times. And everything from pie crust over shortbread cookies to crumble topping worked out just fine. So, I’m sure it’ll work to substitute butter for coconut oil! Have fun baking. I know I will…

      Reply

  119. Frances @The Foodess Files

    Ohmygosh, Yea!!! I bought millet for the buttermilk banana bread, so: I HAVE MILLET! Yesssss……..And all the people at work are vegans, so thank god another vegan recipe. Just made an heirloom tomato salad with buttermilk blue cheese dressing from an old bon appetit, so I made a nice little space with salad. A space I shall fill with breakfast cookies. I once ate an entire box of Toaster Struedels in one sitting. Tast. Ty.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  7. […] will want to eat for breakfast. Described as “like carrot cake with a crunch,” the Carrot Millet Breakfast Cookies are the healthy way to indulge your cake and cookie cravings at […]

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  8. […] haven’t yet entered the world of vegan baking, this is a great introduction adapted from Joy the Baker. Instead of your usual cookie, think of them like soft little granola bites.  The dough can be […]

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  10. […] Vegan Carrot Cherry Breakfast Cookies (by Joy the Baker) Mini Muttballs (by Chef Mimi Blog) Roast Carrots with Butter, Cumin and Orange (by Caramelised Blog) Parsnip and Carrot Rosti (by Two Fat Vegetarians) Blackbean Burgers & Spicy Cilantro Carrot Fries (The Primitive Pantry) […]

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  13. […] Now that I’ve left Philadelphia for the summer, the power muffins are out of reach, but I’ve developed a new respect for millet as an ingredient in baked goods. When I saw that Joy the Baker had a recipe for carrot breakfast cookies with millet, I couldn’t resist. Carrot cake plus power muffins plus healthy enough to eat for breakfast: perfection! Luckily, the cookies (almost) lived up to my very high expectations. Their texture is more cake-like than a traditional chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookie, and they’re bursting with good stuff: oats, millet, shredded carrots, and dried fruit (Joy used dried cherries and I used dried cranberries). Fresh ginger, maple syrup, cinnamon, and coconut oil also contribute to the flavor. I don’t like my baked goods to be too sweet, so I reduced the amount of maple syrup a little from Joy’s original recipe, but I’m sure the original is delicious as well. Since the cookies are vegan, cook time is pretty flexible. Joy recommends 10 minutes so that the cookies are slightly undercooked. I found that I liked the cookies a little more well done. Also, the batter doesn’t spread so after making my first batch using an ice cream scooper (cookie dough scooper in my house) and getting spherical cookies, I flattened my second batch before putting them in the over. I liked the flatter ones a bit better. You can find the recipe on Joy’s blog here. […]

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  27. […] about a normal routine of cookies for Breakfast…) check out my really cool pretend  friend Joy the Baker…She talks about cookies, pies, and nail polish with ease and expertise… Cancel […]

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